Recently, I read an article about a gentleman who accidentally shot himself while trying to unbuckle his seat belt. In this instance, it resulted in his death. Unfortunately, there were three or four children in his vehicle (not sure if they were his children or not) that were exposed to this sad incident. With the typical journalistic standards of today, there is little or no useful information in the article about his mode of carry. All they can tell you is that it is one of those dreaded Glock pistols. Maybe he was pocket carrying without a holster or maybe he just had it stuck in his waistband.
http://blogs.fredericksburg.com/newsdes ... ant-store/
It would be folly to think that this could not happen to you because you always carry in a holster. A holster should be rigid, the leather thick enough to not bend or crease. The trigger guard should be covered. The holster should have adequate retention so the gun does not fall out when running or jumping. When I first started carrying, I thought; "why should I spend the bucks for a custom holster when I can buy one from the store for less"? In my first two weeks of carrying, I almost lost the gun when the new suede holster unclipped itself from my belt and started sliding down my pants leg while I was in the process of grocery shopping. It was a brand name holster made by a company well known for its holsters. After that I bought one of those rigid plastic holsters. It seemed to work OK but it could only be worn outside the waistband (OWB) and it was a pain when I was driving. The gun also rattled around a little in it.
Finally I broke down and contacted a nearby custom holster maker. Please keep in mind that there are big name custom holster makers out there who charge mega-bucks for their products and have long wait times. One of my instructors said that he had an order with one custom maker who had an eighteen month lead time!!! This holster maker who i got in touch with had very reasonable prices and his lead time was seven weeks. I paid $45 for the suede holster that didn't work and $70 for the custom holster made to my specifications. It fit my gun like a glove and had excellent retention. Once the gun was inserted in the holster, I could turn it upside down and shake it and it would not release the gun. Yet, when attached to my side, I could draw the gun with ease. The two things should be mutually exclusive but not in this case. I have since bought several of his holsters and have been very happy with all of them. Some of them are several years old and still look as good as the day that I received them. There are many small holster makers all over the internet who will happily do business with anyone, including overseas clients.
Rigid holster covering the trigger guard. Look at the thickness of the leather. This is a rigid holster that will stay open even after the gun is removed.
Below is a link to an article that show what can happen with a poor quality holster. Please read this carefully as your life might depend on it.
http://www.itstactical.com/warcom/firea ... ischarges/“What the hell was that?!?” she said. It took me a half a second to realize that my gun had just gone off…on my hip…in its holster. My wife and I had just finished breakfast at our favorite café and got into the car.
Me being the passenger, I rotated my torso to the left to fasten my seatbelt like I always do. When I straightened again, my Glock 19 discharged, blowing a 9mm hole through my pants, underwear, the leather seat and bottom of the car’s door frame.
