Paul Gomez
Member In Memoriam
For those who have not read my earlier report, it is available on the NTI website .
It is my understanding that Blackhawk is looking into the issues that I spoke of and, as more information becomes available and I have the opportunity to work with newer versions of the holster, I will share that information with you.
Well, after my earlier experiences with the Blackhawk Serpa holster, I did not have very high expectations concerning the latest modification to the design.
However, this weekend, at the Polite Society Tactical Conference [at Tom Givens excellant facility, www.RangeMaster.com], I had the opportunity to work with a current production Blackhawk Serpa concealed carry holster during a weapon retention & disarms class taught by William Aprill. Following the two hour course, William and I asked for volunteers to further test the holster.
We had five vols who were given instructions to attempt to get my holstered pistol. The only 'rules' were No Striking & No Choking. The idea was to have several different people attempt to rip the gun &/or holster off of my body. The Blackhawk Serpa was mounted to my five year old 1.75-inch wide Wilderness CSM belt [the one with the polymer insert].
Once the first volunteer grasped the holstered gun, we began. He jerked, shoved and bulldogged me around until he tired and then was replaced by the next volunteer and so on until all five guys had the chance to attempt to break the holster. This event lasted between three and five minutes [it is difficult to accurately track time when being bounced around Elvis Presley's racket ball court].
After this evolution, William Aprill lifted me out of a chair and off the ground three times, by the holstered handgun.
The holster did not separate from the belt plate. The belt plate shifted from its straight drop orientation into its muzzle rearward/ FBI rake during an attempt by one of the guys to perform one of my favorite techniques in which the grabber gets ahold of the muzzle end of the holster and the butt of the gun and literally screws it off of the belt.
I freely admit that I let the volunteers go much longer and harder than was reasonable. The test was definitely weighted against the holster and the holster performed extremely admirably.
While the issues with the Serpa lock still exist, I am very impressed with the improved mounting plate and larger screws. At this point, I have no issues with the non-Serpa lock variants of the Blackhawk CQC holster.
Attached is a picture of the backface after the aforementioned activities. You may be able to make out the slight scratches from where the leftmost screw and bottom screw shifted down and right.
It is my understanding that Blackhawk is looking into the issues that I spoke of and, as more information becomes available and I have the opportunity to work with newer versions of the holster, I will share that information with you.
Well, after my earlier experiences with the Blackhawk Serpa holster, I did not have very high expectations concerning the latest modification to the design.
However, this weekend, at the Polite Society Tactical Conference [at Tom Givens excellant facility, www.RangeMaster.com], I had the opportunity to work with a current production Blackhawk Serpa concealed carry holster during a weapon retention & disarms class taught by William Aprill. Following the two hour course, William and I asked for volunteers to further test the holster.
We had five vols who were given instructions to attempt to get my holstered pistol. The only 'rules' were No Striking & No Choking. The idea was to have several different people attempt to rip the gun &/or holster off of my body. The Blackhawk Serpa was mounted to my five year old 1.75-inch wide Wilderness CSM belt [the one with the polymer insert].
Once the first volunteer grasped the holstered gun, we began. He jerked, shoved and bulldogged me around until he tired and then was replaced by the next volunteer and so on until all five guys had the chance to attempt to break the holster. This event lasted between three and five minutes [it is difficult to accurately track time when being bounced around Elvis Presley's racket ball court].
After this evolution, William Aprill lifted me out of a chair and off the ground three times, by the holstered handgun.
The holster did not separate from the belt plate. The belt plate shifted from its straight drop orientation into its muzzle rearward/ FBI rake during an attempt by one of the guys to perform one of my favorite techniques in which the grabber gets ahold of the muzzle end of the holster and the butt of the gun and literally screws it off of the belt.
I freely admit that I let the volunteers go much longer and harder than was reasonable. The test was definitely weighted against the holster and the holster performed extremely admirably.
While the issues with the Serpa lock still exist, I am very impressed with the improved mounting plate and larger screws. At this point, I have no issues with the non-Serpa lock variants of the Blackhawk CQC holster.
Attached is a picture of the backface after the aforementioned activities. You may be able to make out the slight scratches from where the leftmost screw and bottom screw shifted down and right.
