Blackhawk Thoughts...

So, in preparation for carrying concealed, since I already own Blackhawk's CQC Serpa holster which, I must admit I truly enjoy because of the Level II retention, I decided to pick up a shoulder rig for the holster.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the holster, it's an injection molded holster and the assembly where the belt attaches to the holster is removable so you can have your standard belt attachment, replace it with the 'paddle' so it rides much closer to your body or, for guys like me who have a little bit of what you might call 'love handles' pick up some spacer brackets so it rides out from your waist a little more -- also nice for competition.

So, the holster rig is nylon and velcro and you're able to remove the belt attachment from the holster and attach it to the rig.

This was my first time wearing anything other than a belt holster so, continuing with Blackhawk's stellar reputation for little to no documentation, it took me a few minutes to figure out what was what.

Under my right arm (right side of the picture -- these were taken in a mirror) you can see two rails there where you can place one of Blackhawk's dual magazine holster. So, my first thoughts are with, being chubby and all, that the only way I can really effectively draw my weapon is to bring my weak arm above my heart (so as not to sweep my arm during the draw) and really reach over to release it from the holster.

You may not be able to tell from this image, but my upper body is twisting slightly, which may be normal but, once again, I've never worn this kind of harness before.

One complaint I've heard before is that the harness does flop around quite a bit and, while I tend to agree to some extent, I've found that if you push the straps that hook onto your belt on either side a bit more forward, it'll create a decent amount of tension to keep it fairly secure against your body.

Outside of that, all straps are adjustable and the medium size fits up to 56" I believe the Blackhawk representative told me -- thankfully, I won't need all of that, but I'm looking forward to being prepared... As I walk through the Christiana mall and see some of the people there (especially during Christmas time) and think back to the three (four?) jewelry store robberies in plain daylight, I truly am glad that I'll be prepared to protect my family should the need arise.