The SERPA holster seems to be one of those pieces of gear that people either love or hate. Some folks swear by it, some at it. In recent years, there has been a lot of negative feedback on the holster, from accidental discharges blamed on the holster to the myriad of firearms instructors that do not allow them in their classes (example 1, example 2, example 3, and you can find many others).
Recently Rob Pincus weighed in on the SERPA, and gave his thoughts on the pros as well as the cons of the SERPA design.
This holster has gotten more attention than any other holster design in recent memory. A lot of people are talking about it…I’ve talked about it before and I’m actually a fan of the SERPA holster.
You can watch the full review here. Watch his review first, and then let me know your thoughts, I’ve actually never tried the SERPA so I have no opinion.
I had one for my Glock. Its a good get by holstet until you can get a good kydex rig I feel.
I have one for my Sig P229. I haven’t run it through any training, but I have practiced drawing with it. If you have proper trigger finger discipline, then it shouldn’t be an issue. Keep your finger straight and use the pad of your finger to engage the release, and your finger will stay straight and out of the trigger guard on the draw. The problem is poor finger discipline and people trying to disengage the retention with the tip of their finger. In this case, the finger is bent and easily slips into the trigger guard on the draw, and that’s when accidents happen. I’m not heavily pro or anti-serpa, I believe it all comes down to fundamental firearms handling and understanding the safety rules. That’s my $.02, anyway.
I don’t know man, if you have to train around the shortcomings of the design, how great can it be?
in this particular case, the shortcomings aren’t on the part of the holster’s design, but rather are the shortcomings of the user’s training. initial training with new gear should ALWAYS be done with an unloaded pistol, and there is a familiarity curve that depends entirely upon the individual when learning new equipment.
I have used and instructed shooters using the Serpa holster. I’m not a fan for the exact reasons mentioned above. Applying pressure with the trigger finger on the release tab, especially under stress and fast draw exercises seems to always leave someone’s finger inside the trigger guard or actually on the trigger prematurely. Maybe not everyone or every time but way too often. There many great kydex rigs that have positive retention without the draw issues on the Serpa. Even their CQC is a better choice in that regard. Dustin had it right.
I’ll just say this: I’ve seen two NDs at matches from people using SERPA holsters while drawing the pistol. Thousands of shooters later, I’ve never seen it happen with conventional holsters, or other retention designs. (BTW, one guy Texas Grebnered his leg, and the other had the round impact just in front of his foot.)
If you have a serpa and you shoot yourself your finger is in the wrong place.
I’ve used serpa for about 8 yrs now and never had any issues or
accidental discharges. All those who have had issues should not have guns. Ive had it in the rain the cold and high speed tac situations. Its all about knowing where your fingers are.
The did a recall on them here in NM, the state troopers kept having ND’s. I’ve got a drop leg for my M&P 45, never had any issues, however, mine is the “redesigned” model. Currently I use a pancake holster and will move over to a Kydex.
This happened in my country:
http://www.aegisteam.cz/blog/k2_nehoda/
I’ve run them a bunch for Glock, 1911, and M&P for work, training, and gun games. I’ve beaten on them and have not had a single failure to retain or release my firearm. I’ve since moved on to other carry systems but have no problem putting a SERPA on if needed.
I’ve never had an issue but I had one student keep complaining her finger would fall into the trigger with it. I couldn’t get her to index a straight trigger finger to save her life. She wound up with a different rig that didn’t integrate active retention.
My personal feeling on the matter is that injuries with the SERPA can all be tied to training issues, whether it is bad instruction, no instruction, or people brain-farting instruction under simulated stress. Unfortunately, the margin of error once shit goes sideways for a person who hasn’t figured out the right way to use one tightens up considerably.
Just my $.02 but my experience with the system is real-world.
If the training issue were the only fatal flaw of the holster, I wouldn’t care so much. Unfortunately there’s also this: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid53246191001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAACnIIBGk~,NZYO3xUDM_E0TWMBUpCe8YivKyjrCCqn&bctid=1155868233001
Overall I think the design is great but it is not without issues. That being said… I replaced mine several years ago when I first found out about the lock up issues they had when debris would get inside the release mechanism. Small pebbles would lock them up and require some serious work to get out. Never encountered any ND issues with it or witnessed any on the range so I can’t speak to that but if they are happening then it sounds like Blackhawk needs to re-think the design.
NDs with them are caused by idiots pushing their booger hooks inside the trigger guard of the weapon. I’ve used mine with a springfield XD40 for 4 years without any issues whatsoever.
I’ve used the Serpa with the 1911, XD, and HK USP.(BTW The USP .45 Will fit in the .40 / 9mm Serpa holster)
No issues with NDs, because the release is located over the frame, about where the slide release pin protrudes on these weapons. I’ve never had one get jammed up, but will look at it a bit differently now that it’s been brought to my attention. But in the years I’ve used these holsters, not once has it made me slip to the trigger because of the release….maybe because of my hand size. Perhaps those with smaller hands may have different experiences.
That dumbass Tex Greener (sp?) Was using one of these when he shot himself. But as stated above if you use correct trigger finger discipline it will keep your finger straight along the side of your gun
I’m a firearms instructor for my Fed agency; we had received a memo about a year ago stating Serpa holsters were no longer authorized at any FLETC (Glynco, Cheltenham and/or Artesia). Personnel within my agency whom had personally purchased Serpas were provided replacement holsters.
I don’t think they are “dangerous” in the sense that they “cause ” negligent discharges, but that video of the one locked up from debris scares the crap out of me. I carried the Serpa level 2 duty for a while, but went back to a Safariland after a while.
I have one and I’ve trained with it. For IPSC (draw under time pressure, hot) I now use a Kydex holster, it’s a hair faster. On the other hand, for CQB matches (time pressure, but chamber empty) I still use the SERPA because I really like the positive retention of it and I like not having to worry about it when moving and transitioning from my AR.
I have never ended up with a finger in the trigger guard when drawing, and my Sig has a heavy enough DA pull. But all the naysayers got to me, and I switched.
There is no design flaw in the holster. There is a proper way to be trained to use it. Respectfully, I think that any instructor who wholesale won’t allow the holster in t heir class is not only taking the easy way out, but they are doing a disservice to their students. Rather than taking the opportunity to fix a training scar, they are saying that they won’t teach someone because of a holster? That is ridiculous. For the record, I’ve used a serpa both on and off duty for over 6 years, and the only two ADs we’ve had were with Safariland holster.
No way is this holster inherently dangerous. this was the first holster i purchased for the first gun i ever owned, and i have worn it daily for over 3 years at this point, on multiple rigs including paddle, belt-slide, and thigh harness, as well as in multiple situations, including while driving, riding a motorcycle, range time, and casual walking (Until recently, I lived in an OC state and carried openly on a regular basis)
From my first use (with an unloaded firearm of course) I noticed that zero thinking was required on my part: simply draw the firearm from the holster as normally prescribed, and all will be well. A proper draw does not require excessive force from the trigger finger, a proper draw does not require canting forward during the draw, and contrary to Mr. Pincus’ review, I have found that rotating the muzzle forward to facilitate punching out is smoother than a robotic two-step straight-up, then out draw, and the speed cut does indeed facilitate that (I have drawn from both the Sportster-w/ speedcut, and from the le/military variant holsters with the tall vertical slide guard, the latter of the two mildly restricted the initial form of my draw)
I wholeheartedly agree with the final ruling of the review, this holster is NOT dangerous, and further add that negligence and improper training has caused the accidental discharges associated with this holster.
I wear one every day, train with it often. Tens of thousands of rounds fired from the draw between the 1911, M&P and Glock 17 and never a problem. It automatically indexes my trigger finger along the frame. Most of my students aren’t even aware of the holster until they see mine so very few bring them to training. Never have seen a single ND caused by the Serpa. Plenty of other causes though.
I personally love the holster. I have one for my Glock and one for my Springfield. I personally know a guy who had an AD and shot himself in the leg. I think if you have proper finger discipline there are no issues.
Never had a problem with my HK Compact .45! Its called trigger discipline!
As a Military Police Officer, I’ve used a variety of holsters in both tactical and law enforcement set ups. I used to swear up and down by the Serpa holsters, that all it took was common sense and safety discipline. However, I was recently introduced to the ALS locking systems from Safariland that use the same trigger well locking method as the Serpa, but the release mechanism is driven my the meat of your thumb during your draw. I did several field test with my Soldoers and we have transitioned to the ALS holsters now.
I have run them on an XD40 and 1911w/rail. I never found the release an issue and only ever saw it as an issues from people who thought you had to push it with the finger tip like a button verses actually dragging your finger pad across it. I found it very intuitive and picked it up quick. I quit using it based on it locking up with debris. If I wanted an off the self active retention system again, I think it would the ALS system by Safariland or a G-Code XST.
Retards use all types of holsters….this is the one they shoot themselves with the most…thats called a clue.
Ugh there is that term ‘accidental discharge’ again accidental implies it couldn’t have been prevented when used properly these holsters are perfectly safe. People however chose not to train properly with them then blame the tool for their own short comings.
We don’t blame the holster or the gun when some tool shoots himself while resholstering because he forgot to take his finger out of the trigger guard (yes it happens people can be dumb).
I am not saying the Serpas are amazing but merely that with proper training they are completely safe. Failure to take accountability for ones actions is far too common these days. Don’t forget if you could have prevented it it’s negligence not an accident.
I used a Serpa holster for my XD when I was doing IDPA competitions. I was told I could use it as long as I didn’t have any safety violations. I had no problem using it during the competions.
one issue I’ve seen is rocks jamming the release button and causing the gun to get stuck. Of course if you dont crawl on the ground this probly wont be an issue
I had one for an XD45. The button lines the finger up to be half way in the trigger guard already. The thing felt like junk in general. I went safariland and haven’t even considered another serpa. I don’t care if others use them. You join team glockleg or in this case serpa leg yourself. No meat off my leg if people want to use a cheap inferior product.