All,
I don't wish to sound like a whiner in this thread, but I'll just present the facts and you can make up your own mind on what happened.
The Serpa holsters have their own followers and detractors. You can still choose whichever side you wish to be on.
OK, a few months ago we had a reasonably experienced shooter show up at our Monday night match as a new shooter. During the briefing I noticed that he was wearing a Serpa holster and mentioned that although we did not have any prohibitions on that type, several other ranges did not allow them and to be prepared in case he was at another match and they elected to not have him shoot.
So far so good. He understood and we carried on.
At the end of the safety briefing, another shooter (obviously new) asked me why the Serpa was not allowed at some ranges.
With all 4 of the new shooters in the briefing, I casually explained that in the "heat of the battle" of a timed shoot, with a bit of adrenalin and some type of urgency, it is possible to pull on the sidearm a bit early, thereby causing the gun not to come out of the holster which causes you to pull harder. Once you realize what has happened, you ease back, push the button again, and draw your sidearm. Other than time lost, not a big deal.
However, what REALLY happens is you pull the sidearm, it jams, you pull harder, realize what's happening, slack off and pull hard again but now your trigger finger is REALLY mashing hard on the button and when the gun clears the holster, there is a very good chance of having an AD, mainly because you may not be experienced enough in having a jammed Serpa.
I left the conversation at that with no opinions one way or the other. If somebody wants to run that equipment and they feel they can handle it, that's their business.
Fast forward to last Monday. The guy with the Serpa, now an experience IDPA shooter as he's been with us most of the year every week has an AD on a stage.
Obviously he is DQ'ed and luckily he was not injured although the round hit about 3 inches from his foot.
After the match he comes up to me and explains what happened and says "It was exactly like you described!" I pulled for the draw, it didn't come out, I clenched and pulled harder, released and my finger just smashed into the trigger as it cleared the holster."
I asked him if he was OK and we went to a safe stage to "demonstrate" it to whomever wanted to see it recreated. There were a LOT of guys who watched it in slow motion.
Anyway, the last thing he says to me is: "I'm putting this holster on the shelf and getting another one."
Remember, this is a reasonably experienced shooter who has used that gun/holster combination a lot. Think about the guys wearing a Serpa who shoot maybe twice a year. Then throw in a "for real" live draw and a bit of pressure in the process and you've got the recipe for a big problem.
I'll let you all decide what you want to use for your "real" holster.
AD
I don't wish to sound like a whiner in this thread, but I'll just present the facts and you can make up your own mind on what happened.
The Serpa holsters have their own followers and detractors. You can still choose whichever side you wish to be on.
OK, a few months ago we had a reasonably experienced shooter show up at our Monday night match as a new shooter. During the briefing I noticed that he was wearing a Serpa holster and mentioned that although we did not have any prohibitions on that type, several other ranges did not allow them and to be prepared in case he was at another match and they elected to not have him shoot.
So far so good. He understood and we carried on.
At the end of the safety briefing, another shooter (obviously new) asked me why the Serpa was not allowed at some ranges.
With all 4 of the new shooters in the briefing, I casually explained that in the "heat of the battle" of a timed shoot, with a bit of adrenalin and some type of urgency, it is possible to pull on the sidearm a bit early, thereby causing the gun not to come out of the holster which causes you to pull harder. Once you realize what has happened, you ease back, push the button again, and draw your sidearm. Other than time lost, not a big deal.
However, what REALLY happens is you pull the sidearm, it jams, you pull harder, realize what's happening, slack off and pull hard again but now your trigger finger is REALLY mashing hard on the button and when the gun clears the holster, there is a very good chance of having an AD, mainly because you may not be experienced enough in having a jammed Serpa.
I left the conversation at that with no opinions one way or the other. If somebody wants to run that equipment and they feel they can handle it, that's their business.
Fast forward to last Monday. The guy with the Serpa, now an experience IDPA shooter as he's been with us most of the year every week has an AD on a stage.
Obviously he is DQ'ed and luckily he was not injured although the round hit about 3 inches from his foot.
After the match he comes up to me and explains what happened and says "It was exactly like you described!" I pulled for the draw, it didn't come out, I clenched and pulled harder, released and my finger just smashed into the trigger as it cleared the holster."
I asked him if he was OK and we went to a safe stage to "demonstrate" it to whomever wanted to see it recreated. There were a LOT of guys who watched it in slow motion.
Anyway, the last thing he says to me is: "I'm putting this holster on the shelf and getting another one."
Remember, this is a reasonably experienced shooter who has used that gun/holster combination a lot. Think about the guys wearing a Serpa who shoot maybe twice a year. Then throw in a "for real" live draw and a bit of pressure in the process and you've got the recipe for a big problem.
I'll let you all decide what you want to use for your "real" holster.
AD
