A Real Workout of My Shoulder Holster

As I've written before, both my son and I are using shoulder holsters for the majority of our everyday carry needs (see, "Review of Craft Holsters' Shoulder Holster System With Mag Pouch" and "Another Shoulder Holster Review"). Although quick and easy access are important for a holster for a defensive weapon, other factors are also important for a holster used for everyday carry, including retention (speaking of simply keeping the weapon from falling out regardless of physical activity, movement, or position) and how much it restricts you in doing other activities. Well, our shoulder holsters got a workout this weekend.

     First, some background detail. One of my typical shooting areas is accessed by an unimproved road off of a state highway. While I will travel quite some distance from the highway to shoot, I've noticed that there is a location just a 100 yards or so from the highway which is popular with people using passenger cars (coups, sedans).

     Coming back out of the desert after doing some shooting this weekend, my son and I were flagged down by a couple as we got close to the state highway. They had pulled off in their subcompact car to do a bit of shooting with two new handguns they had purchased, but had gotten stuck when they tried to leave. Inspection showed that the car had become high-centered, and one of the front tires, being free to spin, had simply dug a deeper hole. Unfortunately, I didn't have a tow strap, but I had a jack and a folding shovel and found some debris we could slide under the front tire, and so after an hour or so we had the car freed and the people on their way.

     During the time we were digging a hole to get the jack into place, jacking up the car, digging underneath the car to remove the soil on which the car had been stuck, and finally pushing it free, my son and I had no problems with our shoulder holsters. Since we were kneeling, bending and sometimes laying on our sides in order to dig, pull out dirt, and examine our progress, pushing on the car to help get it going, and so on, we had a good physical workout in many different positions, and the holsters kept the firearms at ready, but completely out of the way, and did not impede our movements or ability to kneel or lay on our sides. Since we both had casual button-up shirts we were wearing over the holsters, the firearms were kept free of dirt and dust.

    I can't imagine anything that would have given a better test of a carry system as to testing its resilience in the face of physical activities, and the shoulder holsters passed with flying colors.