lesson 1: Gun stays in holster unless in use!

By | August 7, 2012

How bloody difficult can that be to remember?  It seems to happen a lot that people (specifically “Only Ones”) have this tendency to take their pistols out of their holsters when they need to use the bathroom.  This leads to the possibility of someone finding a nice shiny loaded weapon on the toilet.

Yep, it’s happened again.  This time, at the Detroit Metro Airport.  This time it was an air marshal who left his piece on the porcelain throne.  Some random passenger found it, and decided to turn it over to the local law.  No word in the story as to which side of the secured area it was on, but I’m hoping that it was on the unsecured side since there was also no mention of screening or mass panic.

7 thoughts on “lesson 1: Gun stays in holster unless in use!

  1. Michael

    At least he didn’t lose his holster. I have to unholster my firearm to unload the groceries, otherwise it could go clang clang bang bang. 9 times out of 10, it goes in my pocket till the deed is done.

    Reply
  2. Tam

    With a good belt & holster combination, it should be possible to use the loo without skinning your smokewagon.

    Reply
  3. HSR47

    There are two schools of thought on how to deal with a belt-holstered firearm while using a toilet:

    *Leave it in the holster and fasten your belt around your shins/knees; and
    *Drop trou, unholster, and set the firearm on the bundle between your feet.

    I generally try to do the former, and end up doing the latter.

    Reply
  4. Kristophr

    The problem is that pistols tend to fall out of holsters while you are sitting on the toilet, and end up on the floor behind the toilet, or even worse, falling out while you put your pants back on.

    There may not be a good solution here.

    Reply
    1. wizardpc

      Get a better holster? If yours is that loose, it’s time for a replacement.

      I have a Raven for my Glock 23. Three years later, I can still turn it completely upside down and the weapon stays in place.

      Reply
      1. HSR47

        Not all holsters have positive retention at all times.

        Most hybrid leather/kydex holsters, such as the Crossbreed Supertuck, have effectively ZERO retention on their own, instead relying on being sandwiched between the user’s body and his belt.

        Sure I have other holsters, but none do what the Crossbreed does. I don’t have a clean job where I sit behind a desk in a nice little climate controlled office every day; I work outdoors almost exclusively, and as such, I need a holster that not only conceals well, but is DURABLE, and COMFORTABLE. Of late, my three primary holsters have been my CBST, my Bianchi 82, and a Raven Phantom. Of these, only the Raven and the Crossbreed are concealable enough, but the all kydex nature of the Raven makes it much less comfortable, and it also leads me to heavily question it’s durability.

        So I’m basically left with a choice: Either I carry in a holster that’s retains the pistol when I’m not wearing it (but isn’t comfortable, and is likely not durable enough for my use), or I carry in a holster that only retains the pistol when I’m wearing it (and IS comfortable, and has PROVEN to be durable enough for my purposes).

        Like EVERYTHING in life, it’s a compromise. We are human, and life is not without risk; certainly we should work to MINIMIZE risks, but they cannot be eliminated entirely, and we need to recognize this.

        Reply
  5. Kirk

    I have to unholster my firearm to unload the groceries,

    There is something seriously wrong with your holster or the way you wear it, then.

    Reply

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