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Recommendations for a high-retention holster for a Walter P22 and overalls

freedomdepartment

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Joined
Apr 16, 2010
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Location
Franklin & Vance Counties, N.C., ,
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Hi all - would appreciate your advice on a good OC holster for my Walter P22.

My biggest concern is retention. I don't want somebody - especially someone experienced, like a repeat felon out on parole - to be able to come up from behind me and get my gun. It has got to be literally impossible for the gun to come out of the holster short of ME intentionally drawing it.

Thus, the holster itself must also have excellent retention in regard to it not being able to be pulled - gun and all - off of my clothes.

I wear Carhartt bib overalls all 365 days a year, so it can't be something that requires a belt.

Thanks!
 

open4years

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Oct 6, 2008
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Valdosta, Georgia, USA
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I'll share what I feel is the best retention holster: A Blawkhawk Serpa Level 2. As for looks and durability, I like their carbon fiber version. Having said that, they very little Walther compatible holsters.

I want one for my Walther PPS. Request that they make one for your Walther. They told they keep up with all requests and then make a decision at the next board meetings.

I'm sure someone makes one for your Walther. Try a google search with ", retention holster" after "Walther" and your model.

Or maybe someone else here has a holster to recommend.
 

freedomdepartment

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Joined
Apr 16, 2010
Messages
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Franklin & Vance Counties, N.C., ,
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open4years wrote:
I'll share what I feel is the best retention holster: A Blawkhawk Serpa Level 2.

I had heard good things about Serpas, but then I saw this thread which made me very greatly concerned about their reliability and effectiveness: http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum62/41355.html

Also, what is the difference between Level 2 and Level 3?

Also, how would a Serpa work with overalls? My current holster is a Bulldog fabric thing with a thumb-snap, which I got with my Walter P22 when I bought it at one of my local gun stores (Patriot Shooting Sports in Youngsville, NC). It it designed for use with a belt, and thus fails miserably on my overalls (imagine trying to put a belt clip on the lip of a pocket...all one has to do is pull upwards, and the holster and gun come off with no effort. Not exactly what I call "retention". Also, a thumb-snap isn't enough...anyone trying to grab my gun from behind can operate that little joke in a split-second.

If only there was some sort of holster that had fingerprint recognition, and would not release your gun until you put your finger on the sensor. Like one of those handprint-operated gun safes.
 

Dreamer

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Sep 23, 2009
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Grennsboro NC
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I wear overalls a lot too, and short of wearing a belt over my overalls, I can't think of any secure way to wear an OC holster with overalls.

When I wear overalls and feel I need to carry, I carry my Walther P22 in a Blackhawk pocket holster. (Blackhawk part# 40PP04BK) If its concealed and in your front pocket, then the physical retention capabilities of the holster are sort of a non-issue...

Finding a holster of ANY type that fits the Walther P22 is a tricky exercise. Almost NOBODY makes a holster that is marketed as a fit for the Walther. However, I have found several leather and nylon rigs that are labeled as being compatible with the Glock 26 and 27 (ultra-compact 9mm or .40) will fit the Walther perfectly. Even the cutout for the front of the trigger guard is a near-perfect fit on my Bianchi 59 Special Agent leather paddle holster. But a paddle holster is pretty useless with overalls, so that's why I got the Blackhawk Pocket Holster.

So If you wear overalls and carry, I'd suggest get a good pocket holster and a concealed carry permit. That's the only practical, secure, and safe method of carry I can really come up with, unless you want to wear a "duty belt" or "instructors belt" type rig...

As for the Serpas, they are pretty useless with overalls because they require a belt. But I wear a Serpa CQC every day, and have been doing so for over a year, and have nothing but glowing praise for it. The Sportster line is a little cheaply made, but the CQC and "Duty" line are excellent holsters with rock-solid retention, ultra-smooth and fast draw, (and in my experience) flawless functionality. Plus they look REALLY cool in a modern sort of way. They are not as "classy" looking as a good leather rig, but they seem to look more "official" to non-carriers, and so I think that's one reason why I don't get hassled about OC as much as some folks in NC seem to get...
 

freedomdepartment

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Joined
Apr 16, 2010
Messages
14
Location
Franklin & Vance Counties, N.C., ,
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Dreamer wrote:
I wear overalls a lot too, and short of wearing a belt over my overalls, I can't think of any secure way to wear an OC holster with overalls.

When I wear overalls and feel I need to carry, I carry my Walther P22 in a Blackhawk pocket holster. (Blackhawk part# 40PP04BK) If its concealed and in your front pocket, then the physical retention capabilities of the holster are sort of a non-issue...

Finding a holster of ANY type that fits the Walther P22 is a tricky exercise. Almost NOBODY makes a holster that is marketed as a fit for the Walther. However, I have found several leather and nylon rigs that are labeled as being compatible with the Glock 26 and 27 (ultra-compact 9mm or .40) will fit the Walther perfectly. Even the cutout for the front of the trigger guard is a near-perfect fit on my Bianchi 59 Special Agent leather paddle holster. But a paddle holster is pretty useless with overalls, so that's why I got the Blackhawk Pocket Holster.

So If you wear overalls and carry, I'd suggest get a good pocket holster and a concealed carry permit. That's the only practical, secure, and safe method of carry I can really come up with, unless you want to wear a "duty belt" or "instructors belt" type rig...

As for the Serpas, they are pretty useless with overalls because they require a belt. But I wear a Serpa CQC every day, and have been doing so for over a year, and have nothing but glowing praise for it. The Sportster line is a little cheaply made, but the CQC and "Duty" line are excellent holsters with rock-solid retention, ultra-smooth and fast draw, (and in my experience) flawless functionality. Plus they look REALLY cool in a modern sort of way. They are not as "classy" looking as a good leather rig, but they seem to look more "official" to non-carriers, and so I think that's one reason why I don't get hassled about OC as much as some folks in NC seem to get...

Well it sounds like the Blackhawk pocket holster my be the way to go for me.

How is the retention on it, both in regards to it retaining the gun, and it retaining itself (bad grammar) to your overalls?

How does it work? It attaches to the upper lip of the pocket and hangs inside? Perhaps you have a photo of yours in action you'd be willing to post? Is printing an issue? How easy would it be for someone to come up from behind you and grab?

I realize that I'm asking a lot of a holster here, and I know that if I were to wear pants, I'd be opening up a lot more options for myself, but overalls are all I own, all I've ever owned, and all I ever plan to own; they're what I wear at home, at work, to church, they're what I'd wear to court or a White House state dinner. It's an absolutely non-negotiable issue with me, so I've just got to find a way to make this work. Unfortuntely, I don't know of any gun shops near me with an extensive line of holsters I can try out (my two gun shops both carry a basic line of nylon belt-clip holsters, and that's it). So hopefully a pocket holster will work for me once I save up the money to go get my CCW. Too bad there's no effective way to OC with overalls though. Short of some sort of over-the-shoulder duct-tape harness making me look like the redneck Chewbacca. That would be "Chawbacca", right? :D
 

Dreamer

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Grennsboro NC
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The Blackhawk pocket holster works well for me. I use it with overalls, jeans, and Dockers.

It holds the Walther securely, but it's an open top holster--it has no "active" retention straps or anything. But it completely covers the trigger, most of the slide, and the safety levers. It is tight enough that if you hold the pistol by the butt in mid air the holster won't come off, but it draws smoothly and quickly.

It is covered on the outside with a sort of rubberized coating, so it's sort of "grippy" without being "sticky" It tends to stay in my pocket pretty well when I draw, and generally stays in my pocket where I put it. It doesn't move around much, and doesn't ride up or fall over.

It's not really a great holster for everyday carry for a main firearm, but it works well for occasional use. IT would be great as a concealed BUG holster. But for everyday carry, I prefer a full-sized, OCed pistol anyway. I don't know that I'd want to rely on a Walther P22 as a main self-defense piece--it's a great plinker, and a good BUG, and would probably be good for snakes or rats, but I don't know if I'd want to rely on it as a primary defensive firearm. But that's just my opinion.

If you are comfortable carrying a .22LR as a primary weapon, then use what you're comfortable with. It's better than nothing at all! And truth be told, if you pulled that out to defend against a "Bad Guy", the statistics show that most of the time you won't even have to pull the trigger anyway--the mere sight of an armed "victim" is enough to send most BG's on their way.

When I'm in my shop, I sometimes have the Walther in my pocket if I'm wearing overalls. But my trusty .45 is never far away--usually tucked safely out of sight in one of the drawers of my workbench. And if the .45 isn't close at hand, it's safe in some othe rpart of the house. Truth be told, if someone tried to attack me in the garage, I'd most likely try to beat feet into the house (they are attached), and take up an "entrenched" defensive position with my 12ga Mossberg 500, and hope they just went away.

Then again, if I was in the workshop, I've got a LOT of "field expedient" weapons close at hand--power tools, garden tools, LOTS of lumber, all sorts of hazardous chemicals. Someone would have to be completely insane to try and mess with me in my own workshop. Between the VERY sharp chisels and Japanese back saws, the hardwood dimensional lumber, and the various solvents, strippers, and printing press equipment, I really wouldn't need a firearm to deter an attacker in most situations... :shock:

When my stepdaughter was living here last year (she's 24 and in school), we used to do a drill where I'd just shout out, where ever she was standing, that she needed to defend herself. She had to have something in her hands without taking a step, or get to a secure position without crossing my path. After a few months, she knew where ALL the appropriate items in the house were for self-defense (a well-appointed kitchen is a HEAVILY armed place!) Sometimes she would get this look on her face like "WTF" because I'd let her get somewhere where there wasn't anything obvious, and then we'd sort of look around together, and find something. Potted plants, canisters of salt or cayanne pepper, iron skillets, garden rakes, car keys--most houses are FULL of "field expedient" defensive devices. I'd even do it sometimes when we were out shopping, in the parking lot, or getting into our out of our vehicles somewhere.

She would get annoyed with it at first, but after a while, she was actually surprising me with her resourcefulness. I think that we both rest a LOT easier now, knowing that she can be VERY resourceful when it comes to self-defense--whether she's armed or not. And she's not armed now, because she's living in Baltimore MD. (which was the main reason I started this little training exercise in the first place).

But I will admit it took a LONG time to convince her that she should NEVER wear her iPod when she was out alone. I think what finally got her to listen to me on that was there was a girl at her school who was assaulted in a dark parking lot on campus walking to her car who was listening to her iPod and not paying attention. I taught her some physical moves too, for breaking holds, opening distances, and inflicting "defensive persuasion" to an attacker that was bigger than her. I have no doubt that if anyone is ever foolish enough to mess with her, she will be like the proverbial cornered cat. And I'm very proud of her for that.

She's smart, crafty, VERY aware of her surroundings, and although she's a very small woman (about 5'2", and 100lbs) she knows a lot of "tricks". I think we both feel a LOT safer with her living in Baltimore now that we know she knows how to carry herself, and has the proper mindset for "not being a victim".

So this whole rambling discourse is to make the point that although we all REALLY enjoy owning nice firearms, and we train with them as often as we can, and get the best holsters and ammo we can afford, there are going to be times when we just don't have use of them for any number of reasons. And for THOSE times, we need to be sure our "situational awareness" is working on 2 levels:

1) knowing our surroundings, and being watchful for shady characters, AND
2) knowing what to do if we can't get to a firearm in the event of a life-threatening attack.

I'm a BIG fan of "field-expedient" or "improvised" defensive tools. And if you keep your eyes open and think outside the box, the world is FULL of them, even when you are away from home. You'd be surprised at how effective a deterrent a fist full of keys to the face, or a handful of sand and gravel from a parking lot (when thrown in the eyes of a BG), can be...

We need to remember that there are people out there (especially women) who just don't feel comfortable carrying a firearm all the time (or maybe they live in a place where they cant legally carry). But there is no reason that someone like that--who isn't armed like we are--can't be "armed" in other ways. I respect other people's choice to carry--or NOT.

Much like a firearm, a properly "tuned" brain can be a terribly effective deterrent against a BG. But a poorly maintained brain is about as useful as a rusty Jennings .25 with 20-year-old ammo.

The best defensive weapon that ANYONE has is the one between their ears. Let's never forget that. :celebrate
 
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