i have had many leather holsters for the 1911, and none have worked. well i need to restate that. any leather holster that has a thumb break will deactivate your thumb safety. its the way that the holster is made and i have had holsters from every major holster maker. i have carried a 1911 since th3 1990, first when hunting with my grandpa, then my dad, then when i was 13 i used one to kill weasels and rats in the barn and outside or chicken coop, i know the 1911, so my opinion is well my own. my grandpa, and his brother used and carried 1911's in WW2 and i have my grandpa' 1911 that he used when going ashore as a combat engineer, but i digress.... 1911 leather concealed carry hip rigs all have the same flaw, they tend to deactivate the safety. especially the pancake type. i have had holsters from every company so far mentioned in this thread, none worked 100% of the time, and all if they had a thumb break deactivated the thumb safety. this happens when the thumb safety rides along the slide of the gun and when full secured the leather will with the thumb snap will touch the thumb safety. when you move around, sit, stand, get into or out of a car, the 1911 will move a small amount in the holster, maybe not when the holster is brand new, but when it get a little broken in. that small amount of movement will rub the thumb safety and click it off. this has been a headache for me for years! it may not do it all the time but it will happen. my initial response was to either leave the thumb snap unsnapped, which defeated the purpose of a L2 holster, or cut away some of the leather to try to keep the thumb safety from deactivateing. neither worked 100% of the time. here is were i will tell you what has worked for me! 1. the SERPA works, however it will ruin the finnish of your 1911 or any gun you carry in it for any length of time, i'll take heat for that i am sure but i don't care. its true. the second reason i don't use my serpa anymore is because the finger safety seems to stick on it every now and then, i even had one replaced a few years ago due to that. now don't lose hope just yet! their is a holster that will work and solves all of the problems above! i have one and will show it to you! in person if you'd like because it works! it does not damage the finnish because it has a leather lining, is a level 2 holster is useable as a concealment holster or a open carry holster! it even looks great! comes in several finnishes, mate black, gloss black, and my favorite carbon fiber. is made by a really great holster company Safariland. and you can have for 44$ with free next day overnight shipping. the model number is 6377-56-651, thats the one for a 1911 with light rails, 6377-53-651 is for a 1911 without light rails. those are both belt holsters, there is also a paddle option available if you prefer to use it that way. the retailer is
www.opticsplanet.net but i urge you very strongly that you will like this a lot, i do and bought one for my dad and he loves it, although it took some time because he dosen't like fact its "plastic" he dosen't use the leather holster he has anymore. so if you would like to talk about it i'll leave my phone number for you, just say you are Savage from detroit when i pick up, or if you leave a message. 1-586-404-2082 but trust me this is the best 1911 holster out there as of now. if you were at the marrysville picnic i had it then, i was with sprinklerguy and my name is shaun i had a grey ARMY shirt on. well i hope i have given you some help and saved your hundreds of dollars on holsters. but feel free to contact me maybe we can do coffee or maybe a lunch someplace! shaun