Open Carry and Concealed Carry Holsters

Open Carry – Hiking & Backpacking Holsters

Looking at this picture, I have to ask, when did I get so tubby? Oh boy. I’ve had this and the concealed carry holster since 2016.

Before I talk about the holsters, I’ll start by saying that gun forums can often be full of a lot of BS. Often, but not always. Stories I do believe are about people getting their pistols snagged on branches when bushwhacking resulting in a negligent discharge¹ — I won’t call this an accidental discharge². If there is a possibility of it happening, you should take steps to ensure it doesn’t.

I’ve done a lot of bushwhacking in my time, and I can see how easily the hammer or the entire pistol could get snagged by a branch or some brush and be cocked or pulled out of a holster respectively. If this sounds unlikely to you, then you’ve probably not bushwhacked through dense Ozarks undergrowth. This possibility factored into my choice of open carry holsters with positive retention (aka level 2 retention) for hiking and backpacking.

In January 2019 I saw a black bear in Piney Creek Wilderness, and in March 2020 I encountered a feral hog in Bell Mountain Wilderness, and more recently a razorback hog in Irish Wilderness. Fortunately, none of them were interested in me.

This Blackhawk Serpa holster has positive retention, unless the button on the holster is pressed the gun is locked into the holster and it is not coming out, keeping the trigger covered and secure. This effectively stops the brush or anything (or anyone) else grabbing at the gun and pulling it from the holster. That should fool the bears and feral hogs and stop them from stealing it from me (I am joking. I’m not so sure I’d trust the squirrels though).

When I first began wearing this holster I kept the Beretta’s safety off. There is a firing pin block and catching the hammer will just cock it. There is no way for the trigger to be pulled while it is in the holster. I figured keeping the safety off was one less thing to worry about when drawing the gun while wearing a fairly bulky backpack with lots of webbing and straps around. After re-thinking this I now keep the safety on as that’s how I carry the Beretta in my concealed carry holster. This makes the muscle memory almost the same for both holsters. I still have to remember to press the retention release with this holster though!

I’ve read in the reviews that some people do not like the position of the holster retention release, which they consider too close to the trigger. It’s outside the holster above where the trigger is located. I have found that the release lies exactly where my finger should be when I’m holding the gun — straight along the frame above the trigger.

The holster is adjustable to different belt sizes, and there are lots of options to set the angle of the holster, and it holds the gun well. The only problem I’ve found occurs if you try to draw the weapon without pressing the retention release to free it. The button becomes very hard to operate or jams. To unjam it, you have to push the gun back into the holster, which removes the pressure on the release mechanism, and then press the release again and draw the gun.

Would I recommend this holster? Yes, but I’m going to have to try a few more. And I recommend a lot of practice undoing the retention release.

Why Open Carry?

There is a very simple reason. Convenience. It’s much easier to carry the gun on my hip than it is to carry it zipped up in an inaccessible pocket in my backpack. Where we backpack and hike we rarely encounter other people so I’ll not be frightening non-firearms aware trail users. I don’t open carry on the more popular hiking trails where we’ll encounter families with their children. But then on those trails I’m not carrying a backpack then either.

Why Carry a Handgun?

Of course, that also leads to the question as to why I carry a handgun at all. The answer to that is simple too. Safety.

Of course, that also leads to the question as to why I carry a handgun at all. The answer to that is simple too. Safety.

We hike and backpack where there is no cell phone connectivity and no emergency services. Like a fire extinguisher, you have one (or more – we have three fire extinguishers). You train in how to use them, and that’s fun and instructive. And you hope you never, ever, have to put that training to use in a real-life situation.

However, I’ve talked with someone, who when hiking with his daughters, encountered an aggressive group of trouble-seeking, partying youths at a wilderness trailhead. The situation very quickly de-escalated when the youths realized he was armed and not an easy target. He and his daughters were then able to exit the situation and trailhead in safety. This, I should add was at a trailhead we’ve used many times.

Then there was the Ranger we met who (very unusually for a National Forest Ranger) was dressed in black, wearing a knife vest and carrying a baton, taser, and sidearm. While trying to not alarm us, he told us that this was because the locals frequenting the campground we were staying at had a history of getting into quite serious trouble. That was reassuring!

Finally, anyone who’s been laying in a tent when a pack of coyotes, yips and yowls their way past – despite the fact coyotes are not known for attacking people — will quickly decide it might be prudent to arm themselves. Well, that’s what happened to me in 2011 backpacking on the Berryman trail.

So, I carry firearms as a deterrent to two-legged aggressors at home and on the trail, and a gun makes an awful lot of noise which I hope will scare off any four-legged aggressors we might encounter. We have not had to deal with either, and that’s the way I plan to keep it. But, just in case …

Concealed Carry Holster – In The Waistband

I have to say that this inexpensive in the waistband holster is very comfortable, and conceals well. It did take a few days to break it in; that is time for the leather to mold to my body and how I wear it. I prefer the lowest setting for the holster, that is with the gun low to my belt, so I had to adjust it. three different heights are provided. The only problem I’ve had was a squeaking sound caused by the metal clips rubbing on the leather. I cured this by fixing a small fabric pad to the backs of the clips. I used the looped part of a piece of Velcro sticky tape.

Another thing to note is that you can wear your shirt tucked in with this holster; though doing so makes accessing the weapon more difficult. To do this you have to work your shirt down between the clip and the holster. The only other downside I’ve found is that when you do this the holster’s belt clips are visible unless you only clip the holster onto your pants’ waistband behind your belt. This, however, is not as secure as clipping the holster onto your belt.

The Beretta doesn’t ‘print‘ when I’m wearing it with my shirt un-tucked, even when I’m wearing shorts and a tee-shirt. It’s harder to stop it printing when you tuck your shirt in. I don’t see this as a problem with the holster, just an issue trying to conceal carry with one’s shirt tucked in. Overall Ginger doesn’t tend to notice if I’m wearing it or not. And people won’t know it is there unless they brush against it. And people do not normally get that close.

The retention of this holster is good too, the gun stays nice and secure even when I’m running. (Notice the subtle suggestion that I actually run from time-to-time?)

And yes, the weapon in these pictures is loaded, and there is a round in the chamber. However, the safety is on, and as mentioned above, the Beretta has a long and heavy first round trigger pull. It is safe.

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1. Negligent Discharge. When a gun is unintentionally fired due to the negligence (intentional or otherwise) of the person in possession of the firearm.

2. Accidental Discharge. When a firearm unintentionally fires due to a failure of the firearm or ammunition.