A guide to five different models of holsters

by Ashley Foster, PCI #356
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston (SC)

For a police officer in a life or death situation, such as a close quarters combat or a surprise assault followed by an attempt by the suspect to disarm the officer, there are several pieces of equipment that are vital to the survival of that officer. One of the most important is the holster; can the officer draw the weapon fast enough to eliminate the threat of the armed suspect, and can the officer prevent the suspect from taking the weapon and using it on the officer?

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for command staff officials to make equipment decision with little or no input from individuals who possess the necessary expertise. When considering holsters for duty use, one must consider several factors prior to the purchase and utilization of that holster, including ease of operation, retention capabilities, and endurance level. This does not include construction material, (i.e. leathers, laminates, nylon, etc.) since this has very little to do with retention abilities.

Recently, the MUSC Department of Public Safety conducted a study with respect to the use of holsers. To determine the more commonly utilized holsters, a telephone poll was conducted on fifty state, county, and municipal police agencies. Forty-three of these participated in the review; seven refused. All calls were made to either the Training Officer or the ranking Firearms Instructor. Three questions were asked; (1) What brand and model number of holster is used in your department; (2) What is the rated retention level of that holster; and (3) Other than firearms training (including qualifications/live fire), is additional training provided with reference to how the weapon is drawn from the holster. Results are in the below graph.

*The weapon retention level can be upgraded by the addition of the Safariland 6001 Sentry.

Armed with this knowledge, we set out to test the most popular holsters. In order to ensure that we did not receive any upgraded or enhanced versions of any particular holster, each of the holsters was purchased from various retail stores and not from the manufacturer or distributor. Five officers were used to evaluate the holsters. All five officers received the same forty hours of training in defensive tactics, ground defense and weapon retention techniques, as developed by an international training authority. Each officer then received four hours of specific training and practice time on each holster prior to testing and evaluation.

The evaluation phase consisted of every officer using each of the five holsters going through five scenarios, for a total of twenty-five scenarios per officer. Officers were evaluated on the amount of time that was required to draw the weapon and discharge one round upon stimuli. Each scenario forced the officer to utilize some form of weapon retention. They included officers in a ground defense position (officer on back and suspect in mounted position), bike officer riding a bicycle through a confined alleyway, bike officer standing over the bike in stopped position, officer standing in interview position, and officer in standing position with the suspect at the rear.

Upon completion of the evaluation phase, it was determined that the Safariland #295 and the Uncle Mike's #98251 were a few tenths of a second faster to draw than the others, but made it the easiest for the suspect to strip the officer's weapon. The Safariland #295 consisted of a thumb break, which was very simple for the suspect to disengage, and a push-and-rock to release the weapon. This push-and-rock requirement made it simple for the suspect to strip the weapon, due to the natural push and pull effect which occurs in a struggle. Overall, the weapon was stripped from the officer approximately 46% of the time, and the thumb break was released in 83% of scenarios.

The Uncle Mike's #98251 was a nylon holster with a thumb break that wrapped over the slide of the weapon. This thumb break was made of a plastic type material that was sewn to the nylon holster. Throughout the evaluation phase, two of the thumb breaks failed where the stitching was sewn through the thumb break strap. On one occasion, the holster was ripped off of the belt. Overall, the weapon was stripped from the officer approximately 59% of the time, and the thumb break was released in 76% of scenarios.

The Safariland #6280 SLS consists of a hood-style thumb break. The hood requires the wearer to push down and forward on the hood to disengage the weapon. The #6280 also requires that the weapon be drawn straight up. This requirement made it very difficult for the suspect to strip the weapon, due to the fact that a canted weapon increased the difficulty of the draw. Even though the suspect was able to disengage the hood, he was only able to strip the weapon on three occasions, or 12% of the time. In one of those occasions, the hood was disengaged, and when the officer affected the suspect's release of the weapon, he was in a ground defense position. The weapon fell from the officer's holster. The Safariland #6280 was also tested in its Level 3 format, with the addition of the Sentry, resulting in one strip by the suspect, a 4% failure rate. Draw speed for #6280 ranked at third fastest in both formats.

The Safariland #6070 Raptor consists of a hood-style thumb break and has a straight draw technique like the #6280, but has one additional security feature which makes it a Level 3 holster. The holster includes a trigger guard lock, which is released on the draw and will secure the weapon in the holster without having to engage the hood. The #6070 resulted in zero strips and four hood releases (16%). The Safariland #6070 was also tested in its Level 4 format, with the addition of the Sentry, resulting in zero strips and zero hood releases. The #6070 Raptor and Safariland #070 ranked at the fourth fastest draw in both formats, behind the #6280 by an average of three tenths of a second.

The last holster evaluated was the Safariland #070 SSIII, a Level 3 holster. This holster consists of a top snap thumb break, middle finger release tab, and a decoy side strap. This holster also requires a straight draw similar to that of the #6280 and #6070, but is canted forward slightly. While this does provide for a more natural draw, if the thumb break and the release tab have been disengaged, the canted draw provides the suspect with a natural motion for stripping the weapon if the officer cannot effect a release quickly enough. The evaluation process was not completed because both test holsters were broken in the middle of the test phase. On one holster, the thumb break snap broke off, and on the other, the thumb break began to show extreme wear and to crack where the thumb break transitioned into the outside of the holster. The #070 tied the Level 3 version of the Safariland #6070 as the fourth fastest draw.

Now that the evaluation phase is complete, the next phase may be to determine which is the best holster. But the more important question to answer is which holster is the best for YOU. The holster is only as good as the officer using it. If you cannot draw your weapon from the holster fast enough (two rounds/two seconds), then you should not be on patrol with it. It could cost you, your partner, or someone else their life if you encounter a threat and are unable to draw the weapon, or, if a suspect succeeds in stripping your weapon.

First, pick the appropriate holster and retention level to meet your needs. Then, practice with that holster. If the holster level rating is low, develop your retention skills. If the retention rating is high, practice drawing and pointing the weapon. Find the weakness in the holster and make it stronger.

Ashley is the departmental training officer for MUSC public safety. He can be reached at fosteram@musc.edu.

© 2004 IPMBA. This article first appeared in the Winter 2004 issue of IPMBA News.