How to safely carry a revolver with hammer in a chest pack

[Jesse Jaymes]

Dale Fricke makes kydex trigger "guards" that cover the trigger and trigger housing. Not certain if they are tight enough to prevent the trigger from moving and cocking a revolver?

My wife has really struggle with many handguns and finding comfort, accuracy and confidence. She's found all those.....in a S&W 617 4".

We had a VERY close encounter with a rattlesnake at our place last summer. I was just inches from being struck right in our garden. Was pretty traumatic for her. I made her retrieve the handgun and shoot the snake (CCI shot shells). Loading a 10 round cylinder with 2-3 rounds of shotshells followed by 7 rounds of HP really gives her confidence.

She actually wears her Hill People Gear chest pack very often. I would like to swap out her G19 for the SW 617. She wants to also. So I am inclined not to fight it.

Not sure I am a fan of a revolver with an exposed hammer knocking around in a chest pack though. I could index it on an empty chamber I am sure. Just a lot of "moving parts". She's really taken to the revolver for just those same reasons....minimal moving parts...."Pull the trigger"

 

[EastHumboldt]

IMO it’s gotta be in a holster, and the holster must cover the trigger and strap down the hammer. Does anybody make a chest pack with a holster, or a holster designed for a chest pack?

 

[Dennis]

Diamond D Leather might fit your needs? Take a look at the Guides Choice leather chest holster which has a hammer strap to prevent hammer from being cocked.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Any decent holster,a revolver isn’t going to just go off.
It will be fine in a hpg kit bag.

 

[jkoehle1]

A DA revolver (with the proper safety setup) is miles ahead of any striker fired handgun in my opinion for safety.

Its pretty tough to imagine pulling the hammer back on something snagged.

 

[Golt199]

You can absolutely do this safely. Trigger guard + hammer on empty chamber + good pack discipline = a solid setup. Let her run what she's confident with. The fact that she's willing to carry it and she's comfortable with it is 90% of the battle. Now go shoot that rattlesnake if it comes back, and tell your wife she's got good taste in wheelguns.

 

[Golt199]

You can absolutely do this safely. Trigger guard + hammer on empty chamber + good pack discipline = a solid setup. Let her run what she's confident with. The fact that she's willing to carry it and she's comfortable with it is 90% of the battle. Now go shoot that rattlesnake if it comes back, and tell your wife she's got good taste in wheelguns.

 

[StupidLightweight]

Don't overthink it. A revolver in a chest pack is about as safe as you can get. I'd be more concerned with the exposed hammer snagging during a draw than I would about it going off unintentionally.

 

[Chris in TN]

Diamond D Leather might fit your needs? Take a look at the Guides Choice leather chest holster which has a hammer strap to prevent hammer from being cocked.

I have one of these. It's an incredibly well built holster and I enjoy it. To be clear, the handgun mine is fitted for is way more than I'd ever tote on a western hunt, but when I do carry it around home, I enjoy it.

 

[Choupique]

Guides Choice leather chest holster which has a hammer strap to prevent hammer from being cocked.

I have one of these. Excellent rig. There's no conceivable way the gun could accidentally cock or fire.

That said, I'd absolutely carry one in a hill people chest rig. Just toss the gun in there (with nothing else) and head out. No way it could cock or fire inside there without drastic intentional effort to make it do so.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

What's a "Proper safety set up" for a DA revolver?

I run all sorts of rigs. I own a Diamond D. But I am not her.

She is comfortable with the HPG kit bag. It's no longer a "chore" to get her to carry it. She's a woman. Any deviation isn't going to "take" and get into her Battle Rhythm.

And she carries a Leatherman, Headlamp, Lighter, Chapstick, piss tickets and wolf snare knippers in the pack. She has her system dialed. Not moving from it.

In reality I was gifted a beat up Glaco that fits it with hammer strap. None of this system will be quick draw. She will have time to figure it out.

I simply don't like an exposed hammer revolver tumbling around in a chest pack. I really don't even like me flagging her with any firearm in my pack when we walk. I've had this beat into my head professionally for nearly 30 years. It's hard to NOT be safe

 

[Choupique]

don't like an exposed hammer revolver tumbling around in a chest pack

I have a couple hill people chest rigs and none of them have enough room for the pistols I've put in them (Glock 17 and 26, P265) to flop around at all.

I use a trigger guard holster tied off to the inside of the bag, so the trigger is covered and I can still rip the gun out, holster stays attached to the bag. Maybe try that - any kydex holster made for that gun, drill a hole in the end, and tie it to the inside the bag. That way even if it was to get cocked in there (I don't see how it could) the trigger would be covered, and making it go off would require breaking the sear or hammer notch. It would take a highly unlikely sequence of individually highly unlikely events to have an AD like that.

I get the concern about not flagging anybody. I stayed away from striker fired guns for decades because of that and still have specific criteria around them before I will carry one with a round chambered. A double action revolver inside a hill people chest rig is damned safe. You can always cut the hammer spur off for additional security if she doesn't care about shooting single action.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

^^ same. That is the Fricke kydex trigger guard I was speaking of originally. Doesn't seem to be made for revolvers.

I didn't fully think through that if I got the trigger covered in Kydex trigger guard holster....in the rare event it was cocked.....the trigger would be covered and about as safe as could be from being depressed. That helps