Great Article on Holsters by Patrick Sweeney

I thought this was a great article on the need for a good holster by Patrick Sweeney, Staff Writer for Guns & Ammo.

Rigged for Wear
CCW sense: Think holsters are unnecessary, inconvenient or uncool? Think again.

By Patrick Sweeney 11-17-09


A firearm for self-defense is not a magic talisman, nor some esoteric piece of anti-virus software. It's a tool, and like any tool, you have to have it on your person in order for it to be at all useful in an emergency. And then, of course, you have to be able to get to it to actually use it. Here are a few instances, a few mental images, to get you in the mood:

Detroit, mid-1980s: A man walks up to the counter at a fast-food restaurant, and on the last step, as he's lifting his hand to point and speak his order, a handgun slings out of his pants cuff, hits the floor, skids to the counter and stops with a clunk. He quickly picks it up, and as he's stuffing it back in his belt, he mumbles a "sorry" and hurries out.

Near Chicago, early 2000s: An off-duty police officer is in the freshly refurbished departmental ready room when his pistol slips. He grabs at it, hits the trigger and fires a shot into the newly carpeted floor.

A couple of years later, New York: A celebrity club-goer feels his pistol slipping, grabs at it, and it discharges; he's wounded in the leg.

Within the last year: An experienced gun owner bends over; his handgun falls, hits the floor and discharges, striking him.

I watched the first incident, was a few hours away from the second and was time zones away from the latter two. Injuries? In the first incident, the gun owner left before he could be arrested.

The second? The officer received a letter of reprimand in his file and had to pay for the reweave repair on the carpeting. The third incident cost the owner his freedom for a number of years and cut short a multi-million dollar career. In the last one the owner died.

What did all these situations have in common? Simple. None of them--not one--involved a holster.