Vote for BlackHawk Serpa

[doc watson]

Boss, has decreed that I have to use a security holster at work, got the Serpa Lock from Blackhawk, have been working to get used to it. Has one of the most secure paddles I have ever seen, also comes with belt loop attachment as well. Got one for My M21 and 1911, very light secrue holster and fast, somewhat concealable, Mr. "Blackhawk" did his homework on this one.

[steve2267]

There are reports of some people apparently shooting themselves in the leg during unholstering. I believe it involved their index finger getting inside the trigger guard during the draw; related to how you have to push on the button to release the sidearm from the holster.

I have no personal experience with the holster.

Is this possible in your view? Be careful!

[JMusic]

I believe one of our moderators has had some experience with these holsters. If this is the holster I am thinking of his experience has been negative too. Nothing that cannot be fixed but I believe a pin has worked loose in his class in more than one instance. This results in not being able to draw the weapon. I believe the pin is located in the release mechanism and loctite has been the fix.


Jim

[Brownie]

Both Steve and Jim have heard the same things I have about the BH Serpa.

I'm more concerned with the lock not releasing the gun [ what a thought after all the training and practice to get the gun operational in the least amount of time when necessary:confused: ]

I have one for the xd45 tactical and I won't use it. It's relegated to the holster draw permanently. Anyone know someone who wants one of these cheap?;)

[Guantes]

I have no experience with them, but I have some video of, I believe Todd Jarret (sp) using his competition rig, a level two Serpa and a level three Serpa. From his comp rig to the level three, he only lost a tenth. He seemed to have no trouble with them at all. Now whether he gets off the shelf rigs or custom, who knows.

[DocH]

I've noticed several of the County P.D. investigators have bought them for their G22's and 23's. The only one I've talked to about it likes his,however I know they havn't used them 'for real" so I don't know how that might turn out in a fast or panic situation.

[doc watson]

Have not experienced these problems, when I draw, no matter the holster the finger stays straight and does not go onto the trigger until the weapon is moving toward the target. That is the way that I teach it as well, one of my officers has been using his for almost two years, smooth and fast. I am still working with it, to make sure that I don't bobble, however with any "security" holster you have to balance your need for speed and the need for secruity i.e. working in close in crowds. Will keep you all posted as to progress or problems I encounter. Stay safe!

[Gunslinger808]

I've been very happy with mine, I use one for my 1911s and another for the SIG P229.
I carried the SIG in it for Two years before I retired and had no negative issues.
One thing, as with any other piece of equipment that your life may depend on, function checks are important.
I see too many people lavish attention on their weapons and ignore ancillary gear such as holsters, slings, and mag holder, only to have them fail at the time they're most needed.
But then again, I do a walk around on my vehicle before every drive so maybe it's just me.

[JMusic]

Problem I here about them comes from a high capacity shooting session around 1000 to 1500 rounds. What I hear is the pins back out in the locking mechanism after repeated use. Locktite seems to be the cure. I have not seen an exploded diagram of them so I so don't know what to recommend to repair. One thing that could be done is to get some wicking type locktite and apply to all mechanisms that have pins.

Jim

[Rob Pincus]

We've had great luck with them at Valhalla.. with many thousands of rounds through them, including several loaners to CFS students shooting 1200+ rounds in two days.

[7677]

Rob,
I wish I could give the Blackhawk Serpa holster such a glowing report but I can't because one out of five made it through our last two week instructor class. The first one wouldn't release the weapon and the officer fixed it later that day so I have no clue what went wrong with it or what the problem was however the other three all had the same problem with the pin that holds the release lever in place working out. When the pin worked out, the release level fell off making it hard to release the weapon. The holster that didn't fail I fixed so the pin would not work out like the other three did.

A call to Blackhawk regarding this problem revealed that they had fixed this problem in future holsters. Now, only time will tell and we'll see how the newer ones hold up this year.

[Rob Pincus]

I'm glad to hear that they were direct about fixing the problem... which means that they probably have (or have had) a known issue. These things often happen with one run of a product (or model thereof).

For example, the outstanding M&P9mm was followed by Smith's less than perfect M&P45, one of the first large runs of which had a problem in the whole in the slide which the inertial safety moves in.. the result was some people saying it was a great gun and others saying it had a worse trigger than the Sigma (I was one of the latter until the problem was identified!).

FWIW, Blackhawk responded quickly when it was identified that the SERPA doesn't play well with Glocks that have LaserMax guide rods. New models are supposed to have a channel that alleviates the dangerous problem that existed with earlier models and I believe both companies have put out warnings.

This is a testament to another value of training: figure out if your gear works.

-RJP

[jem375]

I bought one for my XD45ACP and it works great and no reason to think it won't keep working the way it should.

[7677]

My only piece of advice for people that use this holster is to check the pin that holds the release level in place and make sure it is not working loose. Most of our problems happened after the weapon retention class and IMHO they should have drilled the hole from the top instead of the bottom.

[Rob Pincus]

Hello all... I wanted to share an experience from a range ove here in Switzerland yesterday. I do 90% of my teaching on indoor ranges at Valhalla, so this was the first time I saw this problem:

While doing some unorthodox shooting position stuff on a mulch covered range (typical Swiss military range), a student got a chuck of mulch stuck in his SERPA which made reholstering very difficult. I noticed the problem from the far end of the range, but between the distance and the language barrier, he jammed the gun into the holster before I got his attention. The pistol was then stuck in the holster and required tool-attention to get released without just yanking on it, which would've been the risky-field-expedient solution. We removed the mag and worked the slide to clear the chamber and then set about getting the gun out safely.

There were about 7 or 8 SERPAs in the class and the guys spent a lot of time on the ground... this was the only problem.

-RJP

[JMusic]

I have mixed emotions on retention holsters. I had to use some of the real sorry stuff that came out in the late 60's early-mid 70's. Mostly clamshell type that you had to twist to get out. I know of a man killed with one of those in a fight. Bar fight of course and the patroleman was knocked down his partner knocked out. One of the assailants tried to take the pistol out of the holster and couldn't. What he did next was amasing he ripped the whole holster off of the Sam Brown belt then shot both patrolman with it.

I have a couple Bianchi model 82's that I like quit a bit. The other day while walking the woods I tried to release my holster to shoot my 1911. The pistol wouldn't come out. After looking closely a twig had wedged into the release mechanism and caused the holster to fail. Probably more lives saved with the use of the retention holster than lives lost through the failure of said holsters. But anytime you complicate your gear you add another devise to your technique that can cause and intervertant failure.

Jim

[Sgt443]

This is a timely post. We just finished a basic firearms class (40 hours/1300 rounds) and I was admiring the lone Serpa in the class. FWIW this holster functioned perfectly throughout the class.

I was impressed with the, apparent, speed of this holster and, while I only tried one take away, it appeared to be at least as secure as my issued Safarland SLS.

I may beseech the Commander to allow me a T&E on duty.

Lonnie

[Guantes]

Maybe I'm old fashion, but I always thought that weapon retention was my job. The holster was just a place to store the gun until I needed it.

[Sgt443]

Maybe I'm old fashion, but I always thought that weapon retention was my job. The holster was just a place to store the gun until I needed it.
Why Guantes, that smacks of accepting personal responsibility for your safety and the community's! :rolleyes: Works for me!

At least at my agency the firearms guys all agree there can be too much security. Level II is as high as we recommend.

Lonnie

[Guantes]

Thanks Sarge.

I think a lot of it has to do with your perspective. Some look at a holster to retain the weapon while you fight with the bg for control. I look at from the perspective that it only has to retain the weapon, with my help, long enough for me to get out my BUG. Then it becomes irrelelvant.

[Sgt443]

I have to agree with that. I become, somewhat, disillusioned with retention "tests" where the gun is pulled/tugged/yanked etc without me entering the fight. While it may prove the holster's security it often comes with the cost of slowing the draw.

I think I'd like my contribution to weapon retention to be recognized and have the benefit of faster access to the weapon when I need it.

Lonnie