I took a defensive handgun class and the instructor indicated in his prep list that under no circumstances would he allow anyone to use the Serpa holster, for the exact reasons provided in this thread. I had one at the time, and it's been sitting in a drawer ever since.
US Army Military Police 97-03
Federal LEO/M.R.T. 05-Present
NRA Life Member
"There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter."
-E. Hemingway
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it."
-Jack Nicholson (A Few Good Men, 1992)
Hmm... I have been using a Serpa holster for off-duty since they came out. Neary a problem for me. I have even rolled on the ground fighting shitbags on several occasions. I have found it to be a secure holster and if you practice basic gun safety the button is not a problem.
Most of the ND cases I have read about involved the shooter still having his finger on the trigger when re-holstering the pistol. ND would have happened with any holster in these cases. The proper way to release the "switch" or what ever is with the finger riding straight along the side of the holster using the "pad" of the index finger. It's a natural movement IMO.
As far as the belt attachments being weak. That is usually the case with most plastic holsters. I agree Safariland makes a much better design and its my choice out on the job.
While the place holder sights policy is dumb as all get out, I do understand the weapon mounted light position if its being done for the right reasons. I spent my career with an agency whose ranks numbered in the four thousand range. There was a period of time where weapon lights were allowed for patrol officers and the rate of ND's went up drastically. Our tactical training unit looked at the cost and time involved in adding weapon mounted light training evolutions to the curriculum and it was determined that the cost was simply too high. So the weapon lights went bye-bye for all but tac units.
When considering costs for training like that, one has to remember that training time is precious and departments are being piled with more and more required training every year. Pressure from the federal and state governments to include various legal training, blah blah. The cost of the training is usually proportional to the size of the agency and the costs involved encompass paying for the instructors to become certified and to maintain a certification to teach low light tactics with a weapon mounted light. Instructors need to be sanctioned for legal reasons to protect the agency. It involved more pay for the instructors and their students due to increased training time, more ammo, etc. Many agencies would be contractually required to supply the lights and holsters too. Costs add up fast.
I'm not saying I agree 100% with all this, but in today's world, costs play a major factor in the frequency, quality and type of training that departments provide. There's a lot of places that have frozen hiring and many that are laying off. As a career SWAT officer I can say with some authority that many agencies do not have the best interest of the officer in mind. They and their parent government look out for their ass and wallet first.
On the subject of the SERPA. It was banned from my state's regional training academy. I have personally seen, on several occasions, weapons become jammed in the holster. Some to the point that the holster had to be destroyed to remove the weapon. The release mechanism can become jammed with small pieces of debris (like small rocks or clay soil like the kind found in the Southwest) and seize up. I will not own one of these holsters.
Last edited by DireWulf; 06-30-11 at 22:46.
Nothing man-portable is guaranteed to end a fight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYvAx...&feature=feedu
despite the excuses in the video the slow motion frames do a great job showing in graphic detail why a trigger finger activated release mechanism on a holster is such a bad idea.
Last edited by kmrtnsn; 07-04-11 at 02:04.
Rule#3 Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
I'll jump on this band wagon. At our place we have seen two significant issues with the Serpa. One was a thigh mounted rig and the student was rolling around on the ground doing those drills we make them do. He attempted to transition to pistol a little later and... no joy. A small rock wedged itself in the latch mechanism. He had to bang on the holster to dislodge the desbris, then he could draw the weapon. One weapon had the pin slide out that the latch fulcrums onto. I think its just held in by friction. He had to reach accross, align the latch then depress the button to withdraw the weapon.
The guys running the chest mounted rigs might not be getting them in the dirt because of the location of the system, so there are no real issues. If they are, make sure the mechanism is clear, please. The guy on the military channel throws it in snow which also locks up the system. Something I had not looked into. But for the guys in the midwest or in a mountain region, say the Hindu Kush, a real potential problem.
Reference the trigger finger sliding onto the trigger; the button is located on the frame area of the weapon, so if you drag the finger along the latch, thats theoretically where it should land. Pushing as opposed to dragging may be the influence putting the finger on the trigger prematurely. I'm by no means defending the system, its just that other folks have shot themselves while drawing "fast" and it wasn't always a Serpa that was the culprit. DireWulf is experiencing the pain that many have who have beaten the system up a bit.
Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. Psalm 144:1
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