Academy Holster

[CAL]

In the academy we train with Glock 17s (the 9mm for those that don't know). They will issue holsters if you need but that entails checking them in/out each day which would mean taking my duty belt apart to put the holster on and repeating the process to take it off. In short, a royal pain in the ass. I'm not going to carry a 9mm on duty and I don't want to deal with the aggravation of the "rental" process, so I decided to buy my own. What really pisses me off about this decision is that I figured I should train as I fight (use the same type of holster that I will use (purchase) once I get on with an agency so that meant I had to spend way more money on the holster than I wanted to). The one upside is that I'll at least be able to see if I like the holster before I buy the one for duty use. I decided to go with the Blackhawk Serpa Level III for duty - I'm curious to find out how much the thumb "switch" in combination with the button release is going to affect my draw. My thinking is that like most things, it's all about practice.

By the way, I'll have a lightly used Blackhawk Serpa Level III that fits the Glock 17 for sale cheap in about 8 weeks if anyone is interested. :mrgreen:

[Broke Hoss]

No offense, but between this & the 5 keeper thing I aint real impressed with your academy's rules. [rolleyes] But I do think you'll like the Blackhawk rig. I went to 1 when I changed out the rest of my gear. In my opinion, it really is a KISS system. If you get a proper grip all the releases/locks are right there. I transitioned from an old Safariland, who make good holsters too. I practiced with mine for over 2 weeks solid (drove my wife nuts) before I actually started carrying it. And I still make some practice draws everynight before getting in the car. They're mostly just clearing holster/getting the muscile memory set.

[DD78]

You'd think they would sign it out to you and then require turn in at the end. Either that or, since I presume you cannot legally carry w/o a permit until you graduate, have you store your weapons at the academy.

[CAL]

You'd think they would sign it out to you and then require turn in at the end. Either that or, since I presume you cannot legally carry w/o a permit until you graduate, have you store your weapons at the academy.
The weapons are issued from the range (the academy has partnered with a civilian range). There's a lot of things that don't make sense to me. The business mind in me sees a LOT of things that could make the academy more efficient/better.

[Feet]

I have the basic Serpa for my 1911 when I go to training.
Safariland for duty. My former supervisor has a Serpa with the thumb retention and he seems to like it.

[CAL]

My holster came in today. I've been playing with it using my Glock 19. I think I dig it - the level III is easier to manipulate than I thought it would be.