Merits of a Chest vs Belt/Subload Mounted Secondary

[ejeffreyhorn]

I've searched through the forum here and haven't seen this discussed and would be interested in your opinions...

Any thoughts on the relative merits of holstering your secondary on your chest rig / plate carrier versus an on the belt or drop leg holster? I admit that I find this approach appealing but maybe there are some drawbacks I am not seeing.

NOTE: For frame of reference I am not LE/MIL/PSC. I am specifically thinking about the merits of this setup for SHTF type of defense and thus this is what I would be taking to carbine classes in the future.

Pros:
1) Ease of Access while in a vehicle. My potential use of a primary/secondary setup outside of class would probably mean 2 scenarios: A) I am defending my home from inside the house itself or within a hundred yards of the house or B) I am in the car bugging out. The simple fact is that where I live I would have to drive through populated urban areas that are likely to be part of any unrest when bugging out. Those areas are not the most socially or economically advanced and the potential for confrontation is enhanced by this fact IMO. Thus the potential need to access the secondary in the vehicle. If I am driving the pistol might be more accessible than my 16" rifle.
2) Ease/Speed of transition from the primary to the secondary. My instruction on pistol draw is to draw the pistol and bring the it up to the mid-torso area, apply the support hand and punch out toward the target from that position. My secondary would be mounted on the right side of my chest rig. So when I transition from the rifle, my strong side hand is basically already about 6-8 inches from the pistol and in the position I would naturally bring it up to during a normal draw. Assuming I have a sling setup that keeps the rifle out of the line of the draw, this theoretically could be faster than moving down to a secondary on a drop leg or belt holster.
3) Potentially less gear to purchase/carry as I wouldn't need more complex belt or subload type gear.

Cons:
1) Sling/Rifle could interfere with the draw of the seconary. I use a 2 point sling that basically points the muzzle down and left so I should not have issues in a standing position but prone or squatting position it could be an issue.
2) Mid-Torso is not a place my arm is automatically used to drawing from. I have done most of my training drawing a pistol from the 4 o'clock position as that is where I usually carry. Drawing from a belt holster would be a little more familiar than going to the chest.


I know I can't be thinking of all the angles. What's your take?

[TimW]

If you have a chest rig, then practice both and see which works better for you. All I know is drawing a handgun from a chest rig, for me, is a bit difficult and not at all faster. Additionally, since I don't normally carry a handgun in that position when I CCW, I would be having to overcome any muscle memory I have from drawing from my hip/hip-area.

[MIKE G]

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[Failure2Stop]

The primary benefit of a vest/chest-mounted pistol is to keep crap off of your legs/thighs when a belt mounted holster is not a good solution. Keeping things off of the legs have inherant benefits with regard to long foot movement and extended time with less than optimal hygene opportunity.

Think about the vehicle scenario, which lots of people like to bring into the discussion about vest mounted pistols. If you are driving a vehicle when people start shooting at you, your primary focus should be to drive the vehicle out of the ambush area. If you cannot drive the vehicle for whatever reason, you will need to get out of the vehicle and fight your way to safety. When vehicle-borne, you should have a weapon in immediate access (at hand, not in a holster), preferably a long-gun. The primary aversion to thigh-mounted pistols is that they are generally a pain in the ass when it comes to seat-belts and other snag-hazards.

The vest-mounted pistol will be more accessible than a thigh-holster from a seated position, however, the application of that feature is of lesser importance than frequently imagined. For a driver of a left-hand drive vehicle the vest mount is a way to have better retention while offering decent ability to bring the weapon to bear on a threat that is in the driver's side window, but there are usually better, easier options of action.

I personally prefer belt-mounted pistols due to their ease of use for the situations required of a secondary weapon. The draw stroke of a vest-mounted pistol is much more difficult than most assume. Remember that the muzzle needs to clear the top of the holster before it can be brought into the fight. This will force holster placement and orientation into a narrow and fickle envelope, and will be very difficult to access with the support hand, especially if the holster is canted toward the dominant side. Belt and thigh mounted holsters generally offer more access (with technique) to the support side. Still, my transitions are measurably slower from a chest mount than a belt mount.

When choosing a position to place the secondary you will have to prioritize needs and make compromises based on reality. There is a difference in application between traveling around in a permissive environment when only armed with a pistol that is primarily carried concealed, driving with a belt-mounted pistol only in a permissive environment, and driving in an imminent threat area with long guns and pistols with passengers with immediately accessible long-guns.

Limiting yourself due to a belief that you will need to shoot while driving is unnecessary in my opinion.

[TehLlama]

The first advantage would be access for enclosed spaces, but as you've stated, it's limited in terms of when you might ever employ it that way.

There are other advantages, though the only one I have a rig set up for is a grab-and-go setup, where I want rifle magazines, pistol, pistol magazines, and some details on hand, so I can grab my bug out bag, rifle, and rig.

Working rifle sling around it is the key consideration, but if you can work it around to the opposite side (although it might require some creativity) you'll be all right.