My day-to-day carry guns are twofold. When I’m at work, and have to not be obviously armed, I carry a Smith 642 snubbie in an ankle holster under my khakis. Better than nothing.
When I can wear whatever i want, I usually carry a Glock 17. If I’m running errands, shopping, at the post office, visiting friends, etc, etc, I am going to be, most likely, toting the G17. My holster of choice is a DeSantis that I picked up brand new many years back and have given a tremendous amount of ‘character’ (read:wear and tear). Its a holster that says “I’ve seen things, man.” Its pretty scuffed and battered. But it works fine.
The problem is, about fifty percent of the time it is dark. And while my G17 has a nice set of night sights on it, when lighting is a bit dim its nice to have a weapon-mounted light. However, carrying a pistol with a weapon mounted light is always a bit annoying because you have to get a holster specifically made to accommodate such a protuberance. But, as the world increasingly gets weird, I am taking my personal safety more seriously than before. So…time to get a holster that will accommodate a light.
I like leather, and my two main go-to guys for gunleather are Galco and DeSantis. Finding a holster/light combo compatible holster is dizzying. You have, generally, two sizes of Glock frame – the 9/40 and 10/45. (Discounting the smaller Glocks.) For weapon-mounted lights you’ve got at least…at least…a dozen variations. So, in theory, thats at least 24 possible combinations that may require a unique holster to fit them. But, where there is a will, there is a way.
And, like all new leather holsters, it needs a little elbow grease here and there to loosen it up a little. But it seems like a decent enough product.
More importantly, it adds a bit of advantage in my favor, I believe, by giving me the option of having a way to illuminate a target. And, of course, i can also simply not use the light if I don’t feel the need…but at least its there to give me an option I might not otherwise have.
I know that there is a contingent of people who feel that weapon lights are ridiculous because all they do is telegraph your location to the lurking bad guy. I can see the argument, but I can also see arguments in the other direction. As I said, at least this way I have the option as I deem the situation warrants.
The holster, by the way, is a DeSantis “The Tac-Lite” Belt Holster For Glock 9/40 With Streamlight Right Hand Leather Tan 117TAW8Z0 [FC-792695319375]
One more thing to cross off my list….
how do you like that olight CZ?…i have a few small edc olights, tested one of their weapon lights…thinking of getting their lep weapon light…currently carrying a surefire x300 on my g17
https://www.commanderzero.com/?p=9762
There’s a reason why just about everyone in law enforcement carries a weapon light. Just plain smart to have.
Very cool. I hope it works well for you.
The gun light is good gear. How can you hit what you can’t see? Looks like you made good choices.
I have an Olight Valkyrie Mini 2 on my Glock 45 and I like it.
Not as powerful as the full size Valkyrie but with a much smaller profile that doesn’t stick out in front of the barrel.
I bought a custom Kydex holster made in Florida for it. The first time it shipped, Ebay canceled the order bacause they thought it violated their policy of shipping weapons and weapons parts overseas… It’s piece of plastic dude! I could use the holster on an airsoft gun for what you know.
Thanks from Italy,
Daniele
Following. It is a natural progression, for those true acolytes gun carrying people, (not those chuds in stretchy pants carrying single stack, or who will only carry a diminutive comfy gun when box store waddling about) to evolve their equipment as products available advances. It is now a point of reference, with today’s advanced weapon mounted lights available, and the pervasive spiciness literally everywhere on planet earth, that if you have to whip it out, without a light on it ready to roll for dark / night ops, your are just a poser., and probably N.G.M.I. I had worked decades of nightshifts and have a decent grasp of human nocturnal happenings, one needs sidearm and as well, long gun weapon lights, because that election voting is not tactically helpful.
Light ’em up with illumination, and firepower, so as to stay frosty out there.
I have that same holster for my G19 and TLR-1.
Oh the “lights give away your position” argument. Inherently comes from dudes with zero meaningful relevant experiences. Also context is a thing.
Like first and foremost in the continental US the odds of shooting the wrong person in the dark are way higher than the odds of getting shot because you shine a light on something. Especially in the area of home defense there is almost a 1-1 overlap between tragedies where someone shoots the wrong person and failure to clearly identify the potential target with a white light. Secondly if I have a white light on a gun I can always make the choice to NOT use it. However the opposite is not true.
Guns that are going to be used for searching should have white lights on them. Police duty guns and dedicated home defense guns tend to fall into this category.
For a concealed carry type handgun I am ambivalent about lights. Joe CCW isn’t a cop and shouldn’t be searching dark alleys. Most CCW handgun scenarios are pretty darn clear cut. The robber/ assaulter has to see you and be close enough to rob/ assault you.
That said the only real downside to having a light on a CCW gun is size/ weight. Mostly for AIWB or general IWB it’s a thing. However for a guy carrying in a duty type OWB leather holster it’s not so much an issue.
Ankle .38’s. One strategy is to move a J frame between an ankle while seated at work/ etc and a pocket while walking around. The pocket could be in a pair of pants or a coat.
As to the topic of good ole j frames a .38 snubby is a fine option for someone who is living a normal fairly low threat life and just doesn’t want to get robbed/ assaulted.
I am one of the old guys that I guess cannot change. I don’t like lights on weapons. I always carry a Surefire flashlight on me just like my pocketknife unless I am in bed, then on the bedside table. If I think I need my carry pistol at night, I should already have my Surefire out. I am not a special operator, just a regular guy. Not due to the light giving me away to a bad guy, but nearly all cases what I light up is not something I want to shoot. Pointing a gun just to use the light just does not fit my need. In the stress of that moment I don’t want to have a A/D and shoot someone/something I care about.
No such change as an accidental discharge! When someone has a negligent discharge, then they violated at least one of the Cardinal rules of firearms safety. Finger off the trigger until on target ready to fire. If you shoot someone who should have not been shot, I can show where you violated not one, but a minimum of two Cardinal rules of firearms safety. These rules apply both on and off the range, no exceptions!!!
Unless youre Alec Baldwin.
Glad to see no one is bashing the WMLs, So far! We own every bullet that leaves the barrel, and it is just sound tactics to be able to identify friend or foe. I am a firm believer in WMLs and Dots. However, I am also an advocate of always having an additional second light not attached to a weapon on your person.
CZ, care to share your preferences on ankle holsters for the work carry setup? I find that many times it’s even more of a challenge to find a quality ankle holster that does what I need it to do, than to find the correct combination of sidearm holster.
https://youtu.be/RdM2q2Oqn-A?si=mEWtt3-jgrJikNhM
Been very pleased with the DeSantis 044. Ive discovered that the trick to being comfortable and effective in carrying a pistol with an ankle holster is to use the lightest weight gun you feel comfortable with. My lightweight alloy 642 is a breeze to carry…barely aware its there. An all steel gun like a Ruger SP101, on the other hand, would be quite a different story.
Pics here https://www.commanderzero.com/?p=7077
Find a good holster maker and have one made to your needs. A close friend of mine is one such person and I have several holsters he’s made for me. I believe off the shelf holsters all share the same issue: they are built to make a profit and appeal to a wide audience, so they are pretty good but are lacking in order to meet the profit/appeal metrics.
Like you choice of carry gun. It’s my favorite as well.
Why did you pick an ankle holster over a pocket holster for work?
My pockets are already full of other EDC crap.
Those advocating swapping guns around from ankle to pocket while at work, etc, probably haven’t really attempted this, or actually given a lot of thought to the subject. Ankle carry is normally for two reasons: really low profile carry, or as a backup.
If you are going to stuff a gun into a pocket, it NEEDS a holster in there, or a specially made pocket just for that purpose. If you don’t know this, you haven’t worked the problem enough.
You will get surprised some day while in the process of switching locations, or you will waste time grabbing for a gun that is not where you think it is.
For most people, in most places, if you have room for a well concealed pocket carry gun, it should probably be in that pocket.
That WML is NOT to be used for searching, but only for confirming your target. You must have a separate hand held light for searching. The main problem with using two lights? If the balloon goes up, most people will forget to drop the handheld light so they can get two hands on the gun, so they handicap themselves.
Most shooters don’t practice much single hand shooting, so your hit probability goes to shit. Virtually everything in the support hand needs to hit the ground when it’s time to shoot (babies excepted), but almost no one practices this. Flashlights, phones, radios, pens, notebooks, tools, etc, are commonly seen in gunfight videos taking up space in that support hand. None of it is doing you any good RIGHT THEN.
BTW, for those who chuckled when they read “(babies excepted)”, there is a video on the ASP channel with an off duty cop holding a small child in one arm while engaging a couple robbers in a store in South America. At some point his wife runs over and grabs the kid away from him. He won the fight. He had to, as any off duty cops are typically killed if discovered during a robbery.