Safe to carry without thumb strap?

[waynesan]

I recently purchased an XD9 to use in IDPA and concealed carry. On recomendation from a friend I bought an Uncle Mike's paddle holster for competition as I was not too impressed with the holster that came with the gun. Neither of these two holsters has a thumbstrap so are open on top. Is this considered a safe way to carry a gun for concealed carry? My other "big" gun that I carry is a Ruger P944 for which the two holsters I have for it both have straps that secure the gun to the holster. I had never really thought about the thumbstrap option or whether it is really a safe way to carry until I got the XD9. I know the adjusting screws can be tightened to make it harder for the gun to come out of the holster but the bad part of that is it "makes it harder to come out of the holster", and that is not what you want in a need to draw situation. Does anyone here have any ideas on this? What do ya'll do? Thanks for any advice.

[TGO David]

None of my concealed carry holsters have thumb breaks on them.

Are you worried about someone grabbing the gun out of your holster from behind?

[waynesan]

Yeah, I guess that's the main thing I was concerned about. I know its not a real likely possibility. I was also thinking of like if you tripped and fell or wrecked on a bike (I ride a lot) or anything that might make you get jostled around. Mostly just wondering how others carry.

[Guest GlocKingTN]

I use a Fobus Paddle Holster for my G22 and it does great. It actually takes some strength to get it out of the holster. I really like the locking part that locks the weapon in through the trigger guard. Pretty neat little set up. But thats just my .02!

[Marswolf]

None of my carry holsters has a retention device either. But I don't chase down bad guys these days.

Thumb breaks are too easy to flip for them to be an effective prevention for someone taking your handgun, although anything that slows down the gun grabber is helpful. You really need to train yourself to be aware of what is happening around you and protect the handgun. It's the old situational awareness thing.

[GhostDog]

If it fits well and is a well made holster, it shouldn't be a problem. Test it out for yourself and find out if you are comfortable with it.

[Guest Old Chief]

If it fits well and is a well made holster, it shouldn't be a problem. Test it out for yourself and find out if you are comfortable with it.

+1 on GhostDog's comment. Many well made and effective holsters do not have containment straps. The bottom line is that you must be comfortable with the rig that you choose to use, regardless of the opinions of the rest of the world.

[Marswolf]

The bottom line is that you must be comfortable with the rig that you choose to use, regardless of the opinions of the rest of the world.

+1 on that. The world is full of opinions - some good and some bad. This is one of the reasons most of us have a drawer full of holsters that we haven't used in years that were recommended to us.

[waynesan]

Thanks for all the replies guys. No strap it is. Just one of those things you have to get used to I guess.

[Guest GlocKingTN]

If it fits well and is a well made holster, it shouldn't be a problem. Test it out for yourself and find out if you are comfortable with it.

+3 on Ghostdog's comment as well.

[Guest drewi]

None of my holsters have thumbstraps. Most of the competition inspired holster do not have straps.

Not all hoslters that have straps are low quality. It has to do with retention level. I think all of our concealed carry hoslters are the lowest retention level. Very easy to draw from, and very easy for someone to disarm you. Of course we don't open carry with guns hanging off our hips. We must rely on keeping our guns concealed, but even then it's not a sure bet that the gun will stay in the holster in every situation we encounter.

[Guest biker4life]

i use a glock 23 for my carry weapon, and i bought a don hume H721 open top holster that works very well for carry. i have not had any problems with it possibly unholstering, and this holster is very easily concealable with just a t-shirt.... just check out the site, donhume.com, hope this helps

[gunslinger]

http://www.blackhawk.com/product_catalog.asp?cat_id=90&d=

This is the type of holster I have for my xd.45. It has no thumb strap but it does have a retention screw which requires you to release with your index finger. Very natural motion. THe model I got came with both a paddle and a belt adapter. It also can tilt forward or backward, for a total of 5 different positions.

A pic of my holster

http://www.tngunowners.com/photos//data/500/thumbs/Blackhawk_Serpa_CQC_holster.jpg

[saintsfanbrian]

I use a Don Hume JIT holster (no thumb break.) Fobus Paddle Holsters (no thumb break.) and a Don Hume IWB holster that I cut the thumb break off of. Personally, if you are concealing properly and maintaining situational awareness (keeping your wits about you when everyone else is loosing theirs and blaming it on you) then you shouldn't really have to worry about that thumb break. If you are riding a bike (motorcycle?) then get a good holster that takes effort to pull the weapon out. Fobus are really nice for this.

[Falcon1]

At one time I did use a thumb-break holster all of the time, but I have transitioned to none for my semiautomatics. I don't carry a revolver very often for concealed carry, but currently all of my revolver holsters do have thumb-breaks. I haven't yet purchased one for a revolver that doesn't have one, and in my limited experience they seem to be rarer than those without one for semiautos.

[Guest ProguninTN]

I wear use holsters with thumb straps for autos and revolvers. Although, it is probably safer considering I open carry on occasion.