I need suggestions for hand gun holster for hunting

[Desk Jockey]

What critters survive being shot with a 9mm?

That there is quite a debate, my friend. I personally would feel reasonably well protected with a 9mm up to a man-sized critter. For brown or black bears I might want more crack.

I am far from an expert, but consensus seems to converge around hard cast lead bullets and 44 magnum or 10 mm being the best and arguably minimal pistol choice for bear defense. There are of folks that think a shotgun or rifle are necessary. There are other folks that think brown and black bears, cats and other critters are well handled by smaller calibers and there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to support them:

Defense Against Bears with Pistols: 97% Success rate, 37 Incidents

Using a pistol to defend against bear attacks seems to be a viable option.

www.ammoland.com

Among the observations I make from that and other articles involving bears and pistols is that the shooters used what gun they had available. Personally, I have never used a handgun for defense against an animal. Closest I have come is shotgunning an alligator that was hissing and snapping at me in a swamp many moons ago. However, I have been in a gunfight a time or two. My limited experience therein suggests two key learnings among others:

1 - bring a gun
2 - bigger guns with more and bigger bullets are my personal and general preference

Stay safe. - DJ

 

[journeyman713]

I hunt bowhunt in Wisconsin too, for years I hunted a remote area near Tomahawk. After too many close encounters with wolves and bears, I started carrying. Came across mountain lion tracks there too. Often times walking in low light, have been followed and harassed by wolves more than a few times. Had one wolf drop into a pounce position in front of me, but thought better of it and ran.

Tried the chest holster, but found it to be in the way.
Been using the thigh holster for a long time now and quite happy with it.

I find my hand naturally falls to the height of the grip at my thigh when walking, I'm confident for a fast reaction if needed with it there.

 

[livin4fishin]

Do you have a light fitted to end of pistol?

No travis, i don't have a light fitted to the end.

 

[journeyman713]

In place of a light, consider the Crimson Trace laser.
The one I use, is pressure sensitive, automatically comes on when holding the grip.

Takes shooting from the hip to a new level!

 

[Beendare]

Im going to carry my Glock 43x this year during bow season. Im in Wisconsin so Ill probably never need it but hey I already own it and its just sitting in the closet anyway and you never know. Im looking for a good fitting holster with a closed off bottom to keep dirt out of the barrel and attaches to molle strapping.I think I want it to soft sided. Id like the gun to be pretty protected. I dont want to worry about it while Im crawling up trees and through the brush. Ive looked on amazon but so many are just a generic fit.

I have the generic fit Kydex $29 holsters I use for my G20sf, G19 and Shield a lot for practicing on just a pants belt.

I pop riveted 2 larger web straps to the holster so it mounts to my pack belt too- dual purpose.

I've dragged mine all over heck. Now when I used to run dogs for hogs I had a full flap holster made for my .44 revolver- a must- as running through the brush would tear at that pistol in a standard holster.

______

 

[Deplorable77]

9mm is plenty of gun if you are competent with it. I am not a fan of the chest holsters, couldn't get any of them to feel right, and was a constant reminder that it was there. I've used the serpa, it works but leave a lot of the gun exposed and the release is too easy to manipulate. I've switched to the Safariland with the drop ubl and couldn't be happier.

Overt or concealed?

43 in 9mm isn’t much for critter protection. On a bino harness or chest rig is a favorite option. I like Kydex. Some companies like Tyr and Crye make holsters that can go on a chest rig.

I like hip carry. Use a safariland holster on a gadget called a UBL that drops it below the belt line to clear my pack hip belt.

 

[TraderMike]

Does anyone have any experience with this one from Alien Gear?

Alien Gear Cloak Chest Holster

Best Chest Holster | Over 500+ Guns Available | Alien Gear Holsters

aliengearholsters.com

 

[Jeremy_D]

Ended up ordering the alien gear Sahoeshift molle holster. Chest holster just seemed like to much with my bino chest strap pack chest strap all ready there.

 

[StuckoYota99]

Ended up ordering the alien gear Sahoeshift molle holster. Chest holster just seemed like to much with my bino chest strap pack chest strap all ready there.

I run one on my pack belt with a medium belt pouch over it. It does stick out a bit. I'm carrying an hk P30 9mm for hikes then will swap over to an xde 45 when hunting. Both loaded with buffalo bore rounds.

 

[Ctitus25]

I picked up an Ivory holster last year and it's great. The guys at EXO worked with Ivory to make it and it attaches to both belt and molly, plus is closed ended.

Ivory Holsters | Custom Kydex Holsters Hand Crafted in the U.S.A.

Welcome to Ivory Holsters, your solution for Custom Kydex Holsters. All kydex holsters are hand built to ensure the highest level of quality and comfort.

www.ivoryholsters.com

 

[darcytribe]

Those ivory pack belt holsters look nice. Anyone know if they attach well to the new mystery ranch pack belt?

 

[CohoKiller]

Another vote for sure, for a Gunfighters Inc, Kenai chest rig.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

I run a glock g20 10mm with a veridian X5L light/green laser. I had a custom holster made from molding kydex to my exact set up. I fasten it to my belt pouch and works perfect.

 

[Tyglick]

I carry a Springfield 10mm. Ivory holster gets my vote.

 

[Jeremy_D]

I run one on my pack belt with a medium belt pouch over it. It does stick out a bit. I'm carrying an hk P30 9mm for hikes then will swap over to an xde 45 when hunting. Both loaded with buffalo bore rounds.

Finally got it. I agree it does stick out a bit. The release button took a little getting used to but Im good to do now. Im really happy the barrel is covered so junk cant get in. Over all Im happy with it

 

[jncarleton]

I use the raven concealment trigger guard and it works great for IWB or in a bag.


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[Bsevans5]

I know this is an old thread, but this is something I'm looking for. I had an XDM I didn't care a ton for, so I carried that while hunting. I had an IWB kydex holster that I slipped in between the strapping of my waist belt. I sold the pistol last year. I have another one I plan to carry while hunting, but trying to decide if there is a better way to carry it. I like the security of some of the chest rigs recommended here, but as some have stated, worry about the bulkiness...especially while archery hunting. The holsters that connect to bino harnesses seem like they would add a lot of weight to the harness that isn't necessarily designed to carry that much. I don't want a leg drop, that would get in the way of some of the crawling around I do. For those of you with experience, am I overthinking the bulkiness? Should I go with something that straps on my pack waist belt? Obviously the down side to that is if I take my pack off for any reason, the pistol isn't on my person anymore.

 

[carsonkeys]

If you're wearing a bino harness you may not need to buy anything. I slip my (unchambered) 43 in the back mesh pocket of my Marsupial Gear Bino harness. You'll only run into retention issues if you bend completely over at the waist, and even then it's only a maybe. No experience with other brands.

Like others have mentioned, the Kenai chest rig is great and I use it for a G20 in grizz country. Though, if I can get away with it, I strongly prefer a 43 in the bino pouch.