Both the FBI slant and strong side straight draw hip holsters are the most common and comfortable methods of carrying a handgun, whether one chooses inside-the-waistband carry or the more traditional outside-the-waist band carry.
The hand gun is worn at 3 or 4 o’clock for right hand carry or 8 or 9 o’clock for left hand carry, assuming that the navel is at 12 o’clock.
Today there are a lot of holsters made for strong side carry for both those who want to carry concealed and for those who prefer to wear the handgun outside-the-waistband on a belt or attached to the pants by a paddle or clip.
The FBI slant typically positions the handgun with the grip slanted forward about 10 to 20 degrees, with 15 degrees being preferred by many, which makes drawing the handgun easier and smoother.
The handgun is also easier to conceal with the grip slanted forward and resting close to the body in well-made holsters. Even quality outside-the-waistband FBI slant holsters conceal the handgun well, as long as a garment such as a suit coat or loose shirt is covering it.
When choosing a strong side straight draw or FBI slant holster, make sure you can re-holster the handgun with one hand whether you choose in-the-waistband carry or outside-the-waistband carry.
Another advantage of a strong side holster, whether straight draw or FBI slant design, is the ability to protect the handgun from being snatched due to the fact that it rides between the arm and elbow.
Both strong side straight draw and FBI slant holsters come in three heights:
1. High ride, where the grip of the handgun rests against the ribs just above the elbow when the arm is hanging straight down.
2. Mid ride, where the grip rides below the elbow and above the waist.
3. Low ride, where the grip rides at about waist level or a little lower.
I’m not sure how popular high ride holsters are, because most people seem to have trouble drawing from a holster where the handgun grip is just below the armpit. Women who have short torsos and high hips find it very difficult to draw from high ride holsters comfortably.
Mid-ride holsters are extremely comfortable for most men and some women to draw their handguns smoothly and quickly.
Several manufacturers make low ride holsters much more comfortable for women to draw their handguns, but it is difficult to conceal the firearm and doesn’t come in an “in-the-waistband” holster.
Women should make sure the holsters they choose will be comfortable and that they can draw their handgun smoothly before leaving the store. So take your handgun with you or borrow one like it at the gun shop and see if the holster is comfortable to wear and allows you to draw smoothly.
When teaching people to draw from a strong side straight draw or FBI slant holster, it is common practice to teach them that they need to start by drawing slow and smoothly. Eventually, a common phrase, “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast,” will make sense to them, and they master the technique in a short period of time.
There are problems teaching the draw in three stages as the hand comes down on the handgun. It is better to teach a smooth fluid draw that makes maximum use of momentum:
1. The hand comes down with the knife edge of the heel of the palm sliding through the opening of a jacket or unbuttoned shirt.
2. The hand comes down, grasps the pistol in a proper hold, the index finger still pointing forward. The muzzle is at about 45 degrees to the ground as the hand goes past the torso.
3. The gun hand continues it’s forward thrust, and is met by the support hand that comes in from the side, not from the front of the gun.
4. At any point after the support hand is firmly in place and the gun is extended toward the target, the extended index finger of the firing hand may slide onto the trigger, but not before the decision to shoot has been made.
The advantages of this method of draw is that the line of movement is straight and direct toward the target, and carry is comfortable for most people and allows for discreet concealed carry beneath an unbuttoned coat or shirt. If the shooter is wearing the gun and holster under a loose unbuttoned shirt, then the support hand must pull the shirt up and out of the way of the draw and then meet the gun hand from the side of the gun.
Although strong side hip carry in either straight draw or FBI slant carry are the most comfortable, quickest and smoothest carry methods to draw from, this position of the holster is difficult to draw from a sitting position, particularly in an automobile where the seat belt covers the holstered pistol. However, strong side hip holsters should not be particularly uncomfortable when sitting.
Smokey Merkley was raised in Idaho and has been hunting since he was 10 years old. He was a member of the faculty of Texas A&M University for 25 years. There he taught orienteering, marksmanship, self-defense, fencing, scuba diving and boxing. He was among the first DPS-certified Texas Concealed Handgun Instructors. He can be contacted at mokeydo41245@hotmail.com.
