Holster Your Handgun Slowly, Not Quickly

[Wendell]

This article addresses a pet peeve of mine: unnecessarily-speedy re-holstering.

Somewhere along the line, it became cool in some circles to re-holster quickly after the shooting was over. Maybe some folks thought this looks snappy and professional. The fact is that the defensive shooter only re-holsters after the threat is gone or neutralized and the world once again looks lovely and peaceful. When this is the case, he has no reason not to re-holster slowly and carefully. A number of the best defensive schools have come to the same conclusion that I have about the source of negligent discharges and are now insisting that their students learn to re-holster slowly. Trust me, this is one survey in which you don't want to be one of the statistics.

<https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2017/11/24/holster-your-handgun-slowly-not-quickly/>

Holster Your Handgun Slowly, Not Quickly
by Sheriff Jim Wilson - Friday, November 24, 2017
<https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2017/11/24/holster-your-handgun-slowly-not-quickly/>

[Poconnor]

Speed reholstering was always a pet peeve of mine too. I also stressed holstering using the same motion as the draw but in reverse. I was trying to get more repetitions for muscle memory. I had too many officers that never practiced on their own. I will admit that I had to speed reholster a few times to go hands on for an arrest; but that’s another topic

[JohnO]

Simply put there has never been a good reason to reholster a handgun quickly.

[HCM]

Simply put there has never been a good reason to reholster a handgun quickly.

As POCONNOR noted, there are some circumstances where LEOs need to re-holster as quickly as possible in order to go hands on with a suspect. Like when your partner is rolling around on the ground fighting with a suspect who is elbowing him....

We don’t teach quick reholstering (just the opposite, in fact) but when the need arises it tends to be self evident.

[blues]

As POCONNOR noted, there are some circumstances where LEOs need to speed reholster in order to go hands on with a suspect.

Yep.

[Poconnor]

Funny thing is, I never practiced speed reholstering. I did spend a lot of time practicing perfect draws and slow reholsting. But whenever I needed to reholster fast it just happened without any drama

[JustOneGun]

Funny thing is, I never practiced speed reholstering. I did spend a lot of time practicing perfect draws and slow reholsting. But whenever I needed to reholster fast it just happened without any drama

One of the things I believe is that we need to holster, "Intentionally" with one procedure. Then if the holstering has to be done fast (rare) we still go through the procedure that is safe.

Many shooters have two different ways of holstering. One when they are on the range (intentional) and one when they are dry firing (done without thought). The dry fire holstering often is without thought, becomes a habit and often is very fast. People do it because, "Well, it's empty." When on the range some people look the pistol into the holster while canting the muzzle away and while seeing the trigger finger outside the holster. Substituting one for the other while under stress and going fast is how bad things can happen.

I suspect many of the problem involving guns (besides ignorance) is doing something intentionally that should be a subconscious act and doing something unconsciously that should be intentional.

[Clusterfrack]

Good article. This is a pet peeve of mine as well. In addition to the misguided practice of forceful, rapid holstering I've seen way too many people holster their gun without looking. I've tried to offer helpful suggestions about slowing down, checking for obstructions, holstering "reluctantly", etc. but more often than not, the reaction is negative and defensive.

In some cases, body type makes looking the gun into the holster difficult, and I would expect even more care to be taken--but that's often not the case. One big guy at a local match blind speed holstered his gun and ND'ed himself through the ass, calf, and foot. I've been using that story when I offer my "you might want to slow down and be more careful when you holster" advice. If that doesn't take, I make sure to be a couple yards away when the dude holsters.

Why is this so difficult?

--And I totally agree with @JustOneGun about holstering during dryfire. We don't sweep ourselves or stare down the muzzle when we dryfire, so why would we holster unsafely?

[Duelist]

I watched an older guy, not used to carrying a holstered gun, blindly searching for the mouth of his holster with the muzzle of his loaded pistol after making ready at a match.

Walked him through better holstering methods immediately after the stage. We (me and the RSO) actually stopped the stage for an impromptu class for every shooter on our squad. He was, at first, slightly offended, but that changed when I explained that he'd been blindly poking the muzzle of a loaded gun at his hip bone, pelvis, and all associated lower body organs and blood vessels.

[MistWolf]

Speed reholstering was always a pet peeve of mine too. I also stressed holstering using the same motion as the draw but in reverse. I was trying to get more repetitions for muscle memory. I had too many officers that never practiced on their own. I will admit that I had to speed reholster a few times to go hands on for an arrest; but that’s another topic

My father always stressed being careful when holstering a handgun. I grew up in a time when all holsters were made of leather and leather softens with age and use. You had to be careful and make certain the mouth of the holster was open and clear before sliding in the pistol.

Poconnor, I was going to ask about going hands-on in an emergency in lieu of shooting. It's the only time I can think of where speed holstering might be needed.