G20 lover here as well.
Mine rides in a Blackhawk Serpa. Tons of mounting options for the Serpa.
I know you said you didn't like the Serpa release.... I know what you mean I'm a thumb break guy as well. But honestly the Serpa's plethora of mounting options won me over. IMO speed of draw is not an issue when it comes to a woods carry gun. But if Blackhawk makes one in a thumb break model...GREAT!
I will say this, for woods carry I prefer a pistol be carried crossdraw for the simple fact that strong side interferes w/ my rifle carry. I hate it when my rifle scope and pistol start attempting to mate behind my back. I paid good $$'s for both and I don't like seeing the scratches of such mating.
One solution that I use is to carry the pistol crossdraw on my pant belt and let the hip belt for my pack slide down, above & behind the pistol.
Another solution that I've tried is a shoulder rig.... that didn't feel comfortable.
I've even given thought to a chest rig like an Alaska Guide Gear holster, but my bino's reside there.
Next was the chest pack, again bino's go there.
The only method I haven't tried is the drop leg mount, and I avoided that simply because I wasn't sure how I felt about the swinging mass vs calorie expenditure & having something velcro'ed around my leg. Maybe others can weight in here.
Crossdraw on the pant belt seems to work best for me.
Whichever route you go, I'm confident you'll come up w/ a solution.
Hunt'nFish
PS: I have toyed with an UL Ti 38 snub mounted on the shoulder pad, but have put out the $$'s to try it.
I will say this, I packed my ol'mans little UL 38 on water run w/ the stock a couple years back and it slipped right in my pocket and I forgot it was there. I'm sure it would slip right into a small belt pouch just as easily.
