j frame holsters.

O

ohihunter2014

New member
I purchased a desantis thumb break holster today for my j frame hammerless and dropped the gun in and said man this is loose so I tightened the retention screw down and still loose almost like its for a 6shot and not a 5 shot gun. no biggi as its got a thumb break.

Now for the kicker. if you wear the holster in the traditional horizontal draw with belt loops parallel the cylinder will grab onto the large thumb break button causing the gun to stop dead in its tracks when drawing it. if worn in the canted way it draws fine.

a little advice to you guys when buying a holster don't buy one online without trying it in person first. I don't care for the canted carry or how loose it is and especially how it catches 20 out of 20 draws on the steel button.
 
J frames are for pockets.
smile.gif
Try a Desantis Nemisis or similar.
 
Originally Posted By: DiRTY DOGJ frames are for pockets.
smile.gif
Try a Desantis Nemisis or similar. already have one. I gained some weight and hard to find jeans for a fat man over 6ft6 so the pockets are a little tight so went to a serpa but my buddy swears it prints too bad so I ordered the pancake from midway. nice holster just the way it grabs the button turned me off bigtime. I'm a big believer of trusting your gear and I lost all trust in that holster. someone runs up on me and I have to draw I'm never getting that j frame out of my jeans pocket in time or out of that desantis belt.
 
After trying a couple factory holsters I had a custom IWB made for my j-frame. No thumb break and after years of use it still holds the revolver securely and it is very comfortable to wear. It was made by a guy on Smith and Wesson forum.
 
Look at the Blackhawk "Askins" leather holster. I run a 5 shot Ruger LCR in one and it really works well without a thumb break. Retention is solid as I wear mine while riding around on my trail bike. They run $79.00 on the shelf, but someone on GB sells them for $45.00. It's what you're looking for.
 
I'm sure it's been mentioned 10 - 100 times here,I've talked about it. Do some homework , look at said products, save a little longer and buy better stuff. Buying cheap things 2 or 3x times saves no money or time.

The saying goes.. "Buy once, cry once "
 
Desantis are terrible holsters. Large run production pieces that only ever seem to fit "OK."

Serpa are the absolute worst option available in a retention holster. There is a good reason many LEO agencies have banned them from use.

Get a well built, custom fit holster. Blister packs and store bought sammich bagged products never don't suck...there is always a compromise.

White hat or Crossbreed would be a decent place to go. I usually go with Alien Gear as they are very well built and have exceptional CS...But I only see IWB options on there, not conducive to a fat man carry.

Also, getting clothes that fit, or loosing weight so your current clothes fit will be very beneficial in preventing printing.
 
My J-frame OWB belt holster is a Kramer and I find it excellent. I also agree about J-frames for pockets and my pocket holster is from Robert Mica.
 
My 642CT j-frame rides in the following holsters, DeSantis leather hip holster with thumb break, DeSantis leather ankle holster with thumb break, BlackHawk #4 pocket holster, Galco belly band holster. These all work great, it just depends on what I am wearing.
 
I really like holsters and have several for each of my handguns. For a j frame Ive went to a holster that I didn't think would be very practical. It is a Galco shoulder holster. Ive found that it conceals well under a loose button up shirt. I usually drop an old school cell phone an my shirt pocket and it really cuts down on printing. The trick is to blouse your shirt out at the belt line.
Iam not a large person, being heavier and taller would conceal the gun even better.
Advantages are:

No more digging in sides or back.

Not necessary to wear shirts untucked

Put it on over undershirt and under dress shirt and gun and ammo are ready to go.

Easier than most holsters to draw from while sitting.

Pockets are left so you can carry normal stuff in them.

Cons:

Not conceal able under white dress shirts or plain colored dress shirts. However if you wear a jacket you are good to go. Dress shirts with a pattern work fine without a jacket.

Ammo is harder to get to than pocket or belt carry. (But, if you have shot the 5 in the gun and you still need more ammo, things aren't likely to work out anyway.) I usually drop a speed strip in my pocket so I have a quick reload available.

The draw is a little slower than belt carry from under a untucked shirt or jacket. If I am going into a iffy situation my first move is to leave if possible. If I cannot leave I unbutton a middle shirt button so my hand can slip in fast, In real unstable situations I can cross my arms and put my right hand in thru the unbutton shirt. My hand is then on the gun and ready to draw and most people wouldn't even notice.

The holster is expensive, about $150.
 
Riflemann said:
My 642CT j-frame rides in the following holsters, DeSantis leather hip holster with thumb break, DeSantis leather ankle holster with thumb break, BlackHawk #4 pocket holster, Galco belly band holster. These all work great, it just depends on what I am wearing. [/quote

No issues with the thumb break?
Click to expand...
 
I carry a mod. 60 in the Desantis pancake thumbreak for rattlesnakes w/o any issues. But not into fast draw....well, most of the time, anyway.

Regards,
hm
 
No problems with the thumb breaks at all. I also have thumb break holsters for a 3" Colt Defender, 5" Colt LW Government, 4" S&W 686, 6.5" S&W 629. I have been using the leather holsters with thumb breaks for over 15 years now and plan on getting a Galco shoulder rig with a thumb break for my Defender in the next week or so.
 
The only problem I've ever encountered with a thumb break is in reholstering the handgun. Sometimes the strap over the top hangs in the way when you try to reholster. Not a big deal for most folks, just make sure you don't jam the gun into holster and tangle that strap into the trigger. As a peace officer I've had to reholster in a big hurry at times and the thumb break was an issue. A jacket or shirttail can do the same thing. Just something to be aware of because Mr. Murphy will get ya if he can.

Edit: I strongly feel a holster needs some other form of retention besides just a strap. A sloppy fit holster body that relies on the strap to retain the gun will spill your gun out the top at some point. Either an internal locking device, tension screw or tightly molded good quality leather is important to retain the handgun when you bend over to pick something up, slip and fall, riding a horse or ATV, or fighting hands on with an attacker.

I've had it happen to me when my worn out duty holster lost my S&W 686 .357 directly in front of a very large, very irate man I was struggling to get cuffs on. We were fighting hands on and it was about tit for tat with maybe me coming out on the loosing end of the fight. I was by myself and back up was miles away. We went to the ground and I was on this big sum bucks back nearly upside down when the revolver fell within inches of his hand as we grappled on the floor. I saw him look directly at it and knew that the next seconds were going to be decisive. I had a S&W M38 Airweight Bodyguard on my ankle. I told this big old drunk butt hole that if he reached for that gun I would kill him. I had no other choice. I must have said it like I meant it because he quit fighting and let me put cuffs on. This was in a rowdy crowded bar full of mean SOB's. I cuffed this guy, gathered up my gun and got enough energy to stand up when a cheer broke out. [beeep] drunk guys said it was the best fight they had in there in a good long while! Chit...
smile.gif
 
Last edited:
Back
Top