Blackhawk T Series Duty Holster

[Tokarev]

Let me start out by saying I like Safariland duty gear usually and never liked the SERPA! I've been rolling with a 6280 rotating hood back when a bunch of my coworkers were slugging it out with Don Hume thumb breaks. Now there's some quality leather gear... I think I made a better holster in leather shop class in junior high.

Anyway, my agency is switching from the HK P2000 to the Glock. Part of the rollout is a new holster which is a version of the Safariland ALS. I used an ALS with the HK and liked it well enough. The release nub works okay once you figure out you just sort of lay your thumb on it instead of trying to flick it down like some sort of momentary power switch.

With that said, the shape of the Glock grip in relation to the Safariland nub is different and I find myself having a hard time establishing my shooting grip and being able to release the nub. Practice makes perfect but it didn't seem to help much in this case. Rather than continue on with the Safariland I figured I'd give a Blackhawk T Series a try.



The T Series is similar in design to the aforementioned SERPA! but it uses a thumb latch instead of a trigger finger latch. In this particular holster's case, the thumb latch retracts a plastic finger inside the holster that extends out behind the light. When the internal finger is extended it blocks the light (and pistol) from being lifted up out of the holster. Pressing in on the thumb latch retracts the finger and releases the light so the gun can be drawn.

The thumb latch is a little lower than I like since I shoot with high thumbs. But the mechanics to release the thumb latch and draw the pistol are pretty intuitive so it shouldn't take too long to get comfortable with it.




The rear of the slide is covered by a rotating hood that's spring-loaded and pops forward when the thumb latch is pressed. The hood has to be physically rotated back into place when reholstering but the pistol is retained by the finger when the gun is placed back in the holster.

A couple complaints at this point. I don't like the jacket slot belt loop. It is too low. I'll probably buy a mid-ride loop and use that instead. I also wonder about the open bottom of the holster. I like open bottom holsters that allow dirt and trash (candy wrappers, cigarette butts, to fall out. But the T takes this to an extreme and I can see the weapon light getting scratched or cracked due to the wide open design of this holster.

Who's using one of these? Any general issues or comments?

[Lon]

This past week I ran a T Series in a Court Officer Basic Pistol class I taught. I am always on the lookout for additional duty holsters since sometimes Safariland can be problematic to find in a timely manner. Our local LE rep at Vances had one and left it for us to T&E. While I don’t think it is as good as an ALS, so far I would describe it as useable, but not optimal.

[Tackleberry40sw]

Please forgive the thread drift. All my experience is with Safariland. Does anyone have comparison experience between the Blackhawk T holsters and Alien Gear Rapid Force Duty Holsters? Being that both holsters would be secondary choices to the Safariland ALS holsters, I am curious if anyone has time on both and can give compare/contrast data.

[Tokarev]

Please forgive the thread drift. All my experience is with Safariland. Does anyone have comparison experience between the Blackhawk T holsters and Alien Gear Rapid Force Duty Holsters? Being that both holsters would be secondary choices to the Safariland ALS holsters, I am curious if anyone has time on both and can give compare/contrast data.

I also wonder about the Alien Gear. It has been on the market for awhile but I've seen nothing on it.

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[Lon]

I have requested an Alien Gear to T&E. If it ever gets here I’ll post up a review.

[Magsz]

I just went to a T-series holster for several reasons. Keep in mind that the observations I will detail are based off of dry fire and ONE week of duty use.

First, the reasons or things that I dont like about my safariland holster.

1. The excessive cant is retarded. I totally respect Bill Rogers and appreciate everything hes done but I grew up NEVER carrying behind the hip. I've been carrying appendix and strong side via competition holsters and OWB holsters since I decided to start carrying a gun. Cant on a duty holster for me is absolutely a no go and no manner of positioning the gun on the hip alleviates this or makes it more ergonomic for me.

2. The outward cant from the UBL is also horrid. I'm not a huge fat rolling sack of shit that needs an outboard cant in order to reach my gun. I find this to be totally unnecessary and a pain in the dick because the holster beats the shit out of my seat belt and in car printer assembly.

3. The UBL has SUCH a weird shape to it and within hours of putting my duty belt on, the bottom of the UBL juts right into the side of my hip and begins to cause considerable pain. This is further exacerbated by getting in and out of the car and having my seat belt and printer putting pressure on the holster, further digging it into my hip. Additionally, our computer setups in the car are the least ergonomic setups known to man. I have to twist myself and brace myself against the drivers side door with my left foot in order to type on the computer. Awesome...

4. The mid ride UBL Is too high for me. The low ride UBL is too low for me.

5. This is a big whatever but i'm just putting it out there. The suede lining on the safariland holsters holds moisture and i've gotten my gun stuck in there where it requires considerable force in order to draw it. Not cool. Additionally, ive found that safariland holsters beat the SHIT out of firearms. Not a huge concern since my gun is issued to me but i'm literally wearing a trench into the top of my slide to the point where i'm wondering if i'm going to wear through the melonite coating. My gun develops considerable rust (Florida).

6. I always think about the 7TS holster that i'm now issued cracking at some point. Its definitely a thing and I roll around enough with people where Its something I worry about.

All in all Safariland is an EXCELLENT producer of an EXCELLENT product.

On to the Blackhawk.

Likes:

1. The ride height is very goldilocks for me. Its perfect. This is entirely subjective though.

2. I immediately noticed that my hip pain was gone. IMMEDIATE tangible difference. I was elated.

3. Straight drop ride height is fantastic.

4. Release mechanism is intuitive as hell and requires very little retraining. I will say that right now when I draw its still conscious but its so intuitive that its easy. I drew my firearm to respond to an alarm call this past week and my first response was to thumb down the ALS. Thankfully, this was not a "hot" call and it made no difference but buyer beware. Get in a shit ton of dry reps prior to use.

5. The holster is REALLY slick. I dont know if this is a byproduct of how new it is but the interior kind of feels like you're inserting a pistol into jello. I mean this in a good way. There is very little space between the gun and the holster so the pistol feels very secure as it slides into its recess. There is still enough space for debris to pass by the gun so no worries there.

Things I dont like:

1. There's no X300 option. I had to switch to a TLR1 which is not the end of the world but ive never liked the mounting mechanism, especially on .40 cal Glocks.

2. Its new and I'm naturally distrustful of new shit. Typical cop.

3. The actual belt slide itself is kind of long. I have a 36 inch waist and I find that it doesnt really curve very much. Maybe it was made for a larger average? Still, even though it doesnt curve all that much, its still very comfy and it only takes up a tiny bit more space on the belt than a UBL.

4. This is a big one. Is this thing really a level 3 holster? That hood seems...awfully fragile and mostly useless as it springs out of the way when you hit a thumb switch. I find it hard to believe its a third retention mechanism since its connected to the secondary retention mechanism, ie the thumb release. At least on the Safariland, you have to move the bale out of the way in order to activate/deactivate the ALS.

5. This is an even bigger one. Given how intuitive it is for the user to extract their pistol, I have MAJOR concerns about the average cop using this when it comes to gun grab scenarios. It seems REALLY easy to defeat but this is purely theoretical as I have yet to test it in this capacity.

All in all i'm a fan but further use and testing will be required to determine if i will stick with it. As it stands right now, from a mere comfort standpoint, this thing has won me over.

[Tokarev]

4. This is a big one. Is this thing really a level 3 holster? That hood seems...awfully fragile and mostly useless as it springs out of the way when you hit a thumb switch. I find it hard to believe its a third retention mechanism since its connected to the secondary retention mechanism, ie the thumb release. At least on the Safariland, you have to move the bale out of the way in order to activate/deactivate the ALS.

5. This is an even bigger one. Given how intuitive it is for the user to extract their pistol, I have MAJOR concerns about the average cop using this when it comes to gun grab scenarios. It seems REALLY easy to defeat but this is purely theoretical as I have yet to test it in this capacity.

The spring-loaded hood could sit a little closer to the end of the slide. As it is now it seems to serve more as rear sight protection rather than a retention device.



The thumb latch deal is somewhat protected by the design of the holster but it probably could be a little smaller or different shape to help with retention. At least the latch re-engages when the thumb latch is released.




Something else that may ultimately be a retention issue as well; the holster latches onto the light and not the pistol. This means that the pistol itself has little internal contact inside the holster and can be rocked back and forth quite a bit. I guess that doesn't really change how the holster operates but it does seem a little disappointing.


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[TheNewbie]

Does the holster protect access to the trigger, or can you pull it like on an ALS light bearing holster? Before the 7ts, it was very easy to reaching into the holster and pull the trigger of a gun with a light on it. I’ve heard the 7ts helps with this issue.

[Tokarev]

Does the holster protect access to the trigger, or can you pull it like on an ALS light bearing holster? Before the 7ts, it was very easy to reaching into the holster and pull the trigger of a gun with a light on it. I’ve heard the 7ts helps with this issue.

No way that I can see to access the trigger on a holstered Glock. At least not with normal-sized fingers.

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[Magsz]

No way that I can see to access the trigger on a holstered Glock. At least not with normal-sized fingers.

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I second this. I will also take this one step further and say that I really like the relief cut under the trigger guard. Plenty of clearance so the holster will not rub you on the draw.

Tokarev, one more thing that I wanted to add. You mentioned the way in which the gun can move in the holster as being a possible detriment because it locks on the light. I forgot to add this to my list of likes and dislikes with the holsters.

On k9 tracks with my Safariland holsters, when I have to step up the pace and run or jog, my 22 bounces around inside of my holster like a damned set of cymbals. Its SO freaking loud that I feel like I sound like a charging herd of buffalo. The T series holster is silent in this regard and all you really hear are assorted janks and jingles from my duty belt that are relatively silent. I actually really dig the way the T series retains the pistol.

Does anyone have any experience with the leg strap attachment? It looks really well designed and its something id like to try.