According to everything I’ve read/know about handguns, the preferred method of handgun carry under combat circumstances (when not constrained by need to conceal, being in a vehicle, etc.) is OWB, on the hip or perhaps thigh.
However, are there circumstances in which carrying in a shoulder or chest mounted holster would be justified? For instance, if one was doing a lot of work/spending lots of time in a vehicle (in a combat situation), I’ve been told by some that carrying the handgun on the chest can be advantageous. In my layman’s experimentation with my Glock and hip holster, I have found that drawing while seated in a vehicle can be difficult (especially as a lefty). I can’t think of when a shoulder holster would be helpful, but are there circumstances where it would?
Thanks, and excuse my ignorance if there are obvious reasons I’m overlooking.
I don’t dig it because you’re muzzle sweeping everybody on your offhand side when you draw which violates the most basic of weapon safety precedures.
Why are you worried about this?
If you drive around in a flight suit, you might go with the shoulder holster.
While in service, I wore mine on my strong side thigh. The primary reason for this is because that’s what kind of holster I had. I never gave a shit where it resided as the 92 I was issued was better used as a bludgeoning weapon than a handgun.
The extra rounds saved by constant stovepiping were a miracle of government efficiency and added valuable weight to the palm size Model 92 flail.
I’ll admit by giving the following reply, I’m donning the tin foil hat…
Hypothetically, if TSHTF and mundane daily activities become dangerous, I’d want to be armed effectively as much as possible. I didn’t grant credence to shoulder/front-of-torso carry, I’m just wondering if it’d be a viable choice if, say, I was bugging out in the truck, or more likely doing any of the various mundane tasks in my rural locale which are made easier with a vehicle (transport livestock, haul firewood, mend fences, haul out large game, etc.).
Aside from some extreme circumstance such as a long-term collapse, would I ever need that immediate of access to my handgun when in my truck? Nah, probably not. I’m asking this more academically than anything else.
and @magic_salad, safety seems like a very good argument against it.
Thanks for all the replies.
While I primarily run a belt mounted offset drop holster set up (NOT a thigh rig), I do have the option to move my holster to an armor mount as seen below. This is primarily for vehicle operations or when I am rappelling. I also know that many K9 handlers like to have the sidearm armor mounted as it causes less issues with the dogs leads.
I mount my pistol in this orientation when connected to my armor. I do not like the pistol mounted high on the chest in a horizontal orientation. I will also note that I have since moved away from the Blackhawk connect system in favor of the G Code connect system.
What does that rig weigh?! :eek:
That is a pretty hefty loadout. What exactly do you do that you need such a complex rig?
Full kit with rifle and sidearm from helmet to boots and I am about 60 lbs heavier. I have 2 other loadouts also. One for deploying with the bolt rifle and another light loadout, for certain operations or for bush tactics which can be a soft carrier only with option of adding on a plate carrier, or plate carrier only. It is much lighter and more streamline than the full kit.
I have dropped one rifle and one pistol mag from the carrier pictured above and use a drop leg option for adding 2 m4 mags or gas mask as needed. I use a pretty standard loadout, 3 M4 mags, 3 pistol mags, Flashbang, radio, knife, flashlight. The heft comes from the Paraclete carrier, soft panels, front and rear MSA rifle plates, horse collar, bicep and groin protection. I do not run the battle belt pictured with this carrier. I use a simple contractor style belt with pistol, dump pouch and cuff carrier. The set up is heavier than I prefer overall, but nothing I can’t deal with for my purposes. It is a required set up as provided by employer.
Must be tough on the back, knees, and hips lugging that around all day.
Don’t know if it applies to your situation, but a lot of the top covers in my team had chest mounted pistols, for ease of access. A hip/thigh mounted handgun is problematic to draw properly when the waist is below the turret ring.
They were manning either a .50 cal, a GMG (HK 40mm grenade launcher) or a 7.62 machine gun when in the turret. Their HK416 was secured in a weapons bracket on the turret. With the pistol mounted on the chest, they had easy access to a weapon in case a threat emerged at close range, and they could not engage with the main armament due to limitations in gun depression range.
If we planned to go into urban terrain, we would sometimes switch to rifles, in order to be able to engage targets close to our vehicles, and secured the main armament in the primary sector of fire.
Some of our drivers also chose to have the pistol chest mounted, to make the draw easier, as well as reducing bulk while seated.
I believe he doesn’t have lug it around all day, as he’s LE, not military.
Take a training class, stop overthinking things.
Must be tough on the back, knees, and hips lugging that around all day.
60 pounds of gear isn’t that bad when rifle, pistol, ammo, uniform helmet etc is included in that total.
Add a pack weighing 20-30 pounds, and some fire and maneuver and things start getting interesting.
No doubt, but I bet he has some long days in that rig. At least it’s well distributed weight.
Will I know you are familiar with a lot of guys that do my job. One of the big differences in many units is that most are part time whereas we are a full time 24/7/365 day unit with no other collateral assignments. So our guys spend 2 days per week dedicated to training, one day range and one day tactics in full kit. In addition to normal search warrants / call outs I would say we average about 20- 25 hours or so per week in full kit. As mentioned we do have lighter load outs for other assignments. I have been in full kit for 40 hours straight through and it is not a great experience.
Over the years I have gone away from drop legs and sub loads that put too much stress on the lower back. Vest mounting as much as possible and wearing it properly is key to a balanced load out. I will say that after 12 or so years doing this on a full time basis the lower back and knees take gas doesn’t get any easier at 45 and health and fitness is key but you already know that. 
That narrows you down to a fairly small # of units 
You’re tough as woodpecker lips sir. I hope you are also doing accessory work for balanced strength, pre hab work, stretching, etc to help reduce wear and increase operational longevity so you can stay in the game and do with less pain.
You aren’t kidding. The shrinking number of full time units is scary with budget crunches and all. We are feeling like a dying breed. The downside and this is no knock against the part time guys who often give a lot of their own time and money to do the job, is that it is painfully obvious to see a part time team vs a full time team in how they operate and interact as teams and a unit as a whole. I train a lot of guys and it is easy to pick out full timers and part timers. Time to devote to training cannot be replaced or made up for.
You’re tough as woodpecker lips sir. I hope you are also doing accessory work for balanced strength, pre hab work, stretching, etc to help reduce wear and increase operational longevity so you can stay in the game and do with less pain.
I am trying. As an old time competitive powerlifter for around 20 years, I have had more than my fair share of injuries and going under the knife and I am lucky to still be around. I definitely cannot afford another major setback at my age / point in my career. I try to train smarter these days, but it is hard to keep it in check especially when you are constantly around a whole heard of young bucks.
The places that becomes the most obvious I see is at SWAT competitions, such as CT SWAT Challenge, SWAT Roundup, etc . As one might expect, the full time teams tend to be at the top consistently. If LA, or Dallas, etc show up, you know they will be at the top if not win.
As you say, the guys not on full time teams give too much of their own time and $$$ to it, but they do it anyway and I have a lot of respect for those guys. If people really understood the vast differences between tac LE (vs what they see on TV, etc) they’d sh*%.
Doing more functional style training? Mobility work? Pre hab work? Past 40, warm up for 5 on the treadmill then go lift some heavy weights does not work out so well as you know. :dance3:
This article is supposed to be published in a major LE publication shortly if interested:
Improving the Physical Preparedness and Operational longevity of the SWAT Operator.