imported post
Ok, I don't want to beat a dead horse but I feel a need to comment on the Condition 1/2 vs 3 issue further specifically regarding shoulder holsters.
IMO shoulder holsters are an advanced method of carry. For one you are going to sweep something that is not your target when you draw and an inexperienced gun handler is at higher risk in a panic situation of shooting their own arm or something else during the draw from a shoulder holster than from a strong side holster. Also, some shoulder holsters depending on design and fit need 2 hands for a quick draw - 1 to stabilize the holster, 1 to draw the pistol. But there is a greater issue, again IMO, with a condition 3 weapon in a shoulder holster.
I'm going to be a little rudimentary to explain my point and using the manner in which I was taught an "Israeli draw". When you draw from a strong side holster, the pistol comes straight up clearing the holster and as it clears the muzzle is rotated up to point at the target. At that point the pistol is properly gripped one handed with the muzzle pointed at target being held at your side, mid-chest. If you were condition 3, as soon as the pistol is in the position, the weak side hand can grasp the slide and as you push the pistol forward toward the target, that motion can be used to naturally rack the slide, with the completed racking ending with the pistol locked and loaded pointing directly at the target with proper hand position, although there is a delay as the weak side hand comes back forward to the two-handed grip position. In other words, racking the slide when drawing from a strong side holster properly executed is incorporated into the natural, smooth drawing motion and as the Israelis and highly competent gun hand handlers have proved, for a well practiced individual, there is little time lost with this method even in point shooting, the primary disadvantage being that in a close quarters situation, the firearm cannot be fired immediately upon clearing the holster while still tight to the body.
Let's compare this to a condition 3 draw from a shoulder holster. When drawing from a shoulder holster, the handgun must clear the holster and be rotated into a forward position before racking or you must rack as you are sweeping it into a forward position. Either way, because the butt is facing forward to start, the natural drawing motion is mostly opposite that of the racking motion. Even assuming that a shoulder holster draw were as fast as a strong side draw, whereas with a strong side draw the rack begins immediately after the pistol clears the holster, with a shoulder holster draw it does not begin until later in the draw as the weapon is being brought on target. All of this tells me that carrying condition 3 in a shoulder holster is perhaps fatally slower. Adding that to the already existing disadvantages of shoulder carry such as having your arm pinned during the draw in close quarters, it seems a foolhardy proposition to me.
In short, if someone is not experienced and comfortable enough to carry condition 1 or 2 as appropriate for their firearm, or cannot carry condition 1 or 2 such as in Utah w/o a CPL, I think that shoulder holster carry is a bad idea.
