Flashbang
I’m not a fan of the Flashbang bra holster. Granted, I can’t wear one and I’m not the target audience but the thing looks like a problem waiting to happen. The issue I have is the same that I have with shoulder holsters: you very likely have to sweep others and yourself when drawing and firing.
Unlike shoulder holsters, when you grab this one, you may well be pointing it at your chest. In a high stress situation where it’s our body’s tendency to constrict muscles, this doesn’t seem like a good idea.
I bring this up because the NRA store had an NRA model of the holster for sale.
June 5th, 2012 at 10:06 am
I think that whole “sweeping yourself” thing is a limited risk. It’s right up there with having something break inside the gun and having it fire on it’s own: infinitesimally small risk. Sure, you might not want to wear a shoulder holster in competition, because you’ll end up sweeping yourself thousands of times over the course of a few years, and that could conceivably, maybe, possibly be a problem for one or two people somewhere, but people tend to do two things with their arms when they panic: cover their face by crossing them, or if they’re falling or holding something, stab their arms straight out like they’re punching it. People don’t grab, clench, unsnap, pull, and then reflexively clench again.
People shoot themselves with holsters that don’t have trigger guards, or with holsters that force your finger onto the trigger, as an effect of PULLING the gun from it’s holder, not as a fear reflex. If the trigger is covered, it’s simply a matter of training to keep you from shooting yourself, which you can honestly do with ANY kind of holster if you can’t keep your shit together under stress. If this is something you can’t manage, carry a gun with a manual safety, or do more risky, adrenaline inducing stuff so you can develop a modicum of control under stress, or don’t carry at all. Most people who shoot themselves do it when they are not feeling any level of fear at all.
June 5th, 2012 at 10:09 am
Maybe. But i don’t think the FB is a good choice for a newb.
June 5th, 2012 at 10:17 am
My wife gave two of these holsters a try. She was enthusiastic about them. A local gun shop was going to carry them based on her feedback.
She has given them both a big thumbs down. The gun shop will not be carrying the FB holsters.
June 5th, 2012 at 10:24 am
The main reason I suggest my lady friends stay away from a holster like that is simple: That’s an area where people are VERY Likely to be looking. You think printing is bad, imagine it in an area people are almost guaranteed to look at.
June 5th, 2012 at 1:41 pm
After seeing the videos and reading reviews I don’t think the perceived safety issue is an issue at all.
What is an issue is that most women apparently don’t wear the correct size bra in the first place. Those things are engineered for a purpose, putting a holster between the underwires and the body changes the fit and support and destroys the engineering principles at work.
It’d be like carrying a gun on a hiking trip shoved under one shoulder strap and expecting the loaded pack to ride correctly and comfortably, except all day every day.
June 5th, 2012 at 1:48 pm
Sweeping yourself is not a low risk thing. I’ve seen two self inflicted GSW’s from bad holser design over the years. The closest to a fatality was a inner thigh wound from an appendix location plastic holster that didn’t cover the trigger guard (back in the ’80’s). The other an IWB holster that because of the person’s rear geometry and belt location shot a small trough in their ass.
June 5th, 2012 at 2:23 pm
Looks to me, if she had and unintentional discharge on the draw it would hit her about the radial artery. Pulling the shirt out swings the upper arm out. Not a good way to start a gun fight.
June 5th, 2012 at 10:49 pm
If this is the difference between her carrying, or not carrying, then I say it’s worth the risk.
“The perfect is the enemy of the good.”
Yep, so the rig ain’t perfect. But it could be the difference between armed and unarmed.
The answer lies in the additional training repetitions necessary to effect the heightened caution and sense of awareness of all the safety (or lack thereof) factors inherent in the system.
Women have to adapt to a wider variety of body factors than most of us guys, and that’s compounded by an even more bewildering array of wardrobe choices, restrictions or considerations.
If the Flash Bang keeps her from going out unarmed, in an outfit that allows for no other solution, than it’s OK in my book.
Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX