except for the gun fitting tightly in the holster, i do not use any form of retention when i carry for personal defense. how about you guys?

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s&w 500 magnum, "sweeeet"!!!

concealed, no.
Open, level two holster.

A thumb break on a concealed carry holster is kinda silly. Hell, they're kinda silly on an open carry holster. A guy can disarm you just as quick with a TB model as he can an OT model.

The only true snatch "resistant" holster (NO holster is completely snatch proof) is one that has some type of internal device. Like the Safariland model 295 or 070. A thumb break is a false sense of security. If you think a thumb break is gonna slow down an attacker, guess again.

For the record, I carry a Glock 22 in a Galco "Combat Master" on duty.

Yeah...I know. I work for an agency that is very laid back. I work for a small 2 year college campus. We are a bona-fide police department (not security) but we just don't have the **** that the local PD has.

When I know I am going to be very active, ie: walking around the woods over rock and logs, or bending down a lot I prefer a thumb break, maybe it's just me, but I would hate to have a nice gun fall out of the holster. I can pull it as fast with or with the thumb break.

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Dom

No. I cut them off the holster I have with it.

No..I like to keep my thumbs soft and supple.

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

Mine mostly have thumb breaks to keep the gun from falling out accidently.

Nope, not on a holster used for defensive purposes.

I am, at times, very active , and prefer the security of an OWB Thumb Break type holster. Not too worried about BG snatching, just about dropping weapon.
IWB, open top only.
Don't forget a good Gunbelt!

Mrwildroot

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NO GUNS, NO PEACE, NO SAFETY!

When I was first hired as an LEO, we were issued Don Hume Jordan holsters with the safety strap. Later, we transitioned to Safariland 229, a mid-rise thumb break. The thumb break, or any other kind of retention device, is not to prevent a gun grab, but to hold the gun in the holster as you are moving around, i.e., getting in and out of a patrol car, bending over to pick up something, etc.
Today, when I working around my ranch, I have a holster with either a strap or thumb break, depending on what gun I'm carrying. Again, just to keep from loosing the gun. Most of my CCW is pocket or IWB carry with a J-frame, so I'm not as concerned about retention as I'm not doing the things that would cause the gun to come out of the holster unexpectedly.

I prefer OWB holsters with retention (not on my IWB holsters, though). As others have said, it can help to prevent grabs, but it's mostly just for added security when moving around.

For this extra retention, I prefer thumbreaks to the "button/lever" style of retention both because it's what I'm used to, as well as the fact that thumbreaks do not have a mechanical component that can be jammed with dirt or debris. (The first time you get a rock stuck in your Serpa mechanism, rendering your weapon unable to be drawn, you might feel the same way as me. )

In the end, as with most things involving guns and holsters, it comes down to personal preference. I agree that extra retention may be a bit redundant for the majority of concealed carriers. If you're okay with an open-top holster, and that works for you, great.

No retention devices on holsters (seven of them) for 642. That even includes the upside down shoulder holster.

Conversely, all of my 9mm holsters have snap straps. I prefer them for the 9mm as it's a bit "top heavy" whilst holstered.

Be safe.

I prefer a thumb-break safety strap when I can get one on a good holster, but I have quite a few good holsters without them. They are NOT all necessarily good enough for crawling around on the ground.

For me, the safety strap is not about a weapon snatch. My primary defense against that is concealment, my secondary is my right elbow, my tertiary is distance, and after that it's up to me and my second weapon, or various retention techniques.

I don't lead a very rough-and-tumble life, so my holster needs appear to me to be a bit different from what a policeman or a soldier, or even some outdoorsmen, might require.

I'm not against them, but no thumb breaks for me. For the sake of uniformity, I have no intention of ever buying a holster with them.

No plain and simple.

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Srigs

I have used both and prefer no retention just seems smoother and faster to me.But it all boils down to what you like..I think i have gone through 1/2 dozen different types and mods on holsters, you just havta find what works for you.

Yes on thumb break, as I go in the woods and it adds a bit of that 'secure' feeling. I've never had a handgun fall out of such a rig even in rough scrambling and various outdoorsy activities.

A couple years ago I got a tremendous bargain on a really nice tight fitting N frame holster with no strap. The gun fit VERY well in a well made leather rig. So well, it is a major effort to put the gun INTO the holster, along with resulting finish wear on the blue frame.

It is even a greater effort to get the gun OUT, and certainly not in any kind of smooth, effortless or timely fashion.

Different uses have different options in my personal use.

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Dum vivimus Vivamas

Some agencies require a positive means of retention for holsters used by their officers, and some specify a thumb-break style.

Some users simply feel more comfortable with the added security provided by a thumb-break.

Being comfortable and confident in ones' personal defense gear is a big plus. Maximizing ones' confidence is important, as the mental state is one of the keys to survival in a defensive situation.

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Life of the party until 8:00PM

For concealed carry, never, except on the vary rare occasions when I carry in a shoulder rig while driving a long distance. For open carry hunting rigs, I usually use a rig with a retention strap or flap, but not always.

For CC, I use a tuckable IWB almost exclusively. My daily wear requires a tucked shirt. No strap or thumbbreak on my IWB.

My two OWB's (one for tromping thru the woods and one used as a duty holster) both have thumb break retention straps.

At the range and during unloaded draw practice at home, I practice with both styles.

I guess i never thought of a thumb break as snatch protection, only as a mechanism to keep the gun in the holster when engaged in strenuous activity. It is gun protection and retention, not gun-grab protection to me.

Concealed, no way. Every second counts if needed. Field carry yes.

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V/R
Roger / SG

After 38 years of carrying both ways I do not find the TB to be slower. Having been thrown to the ground, hit by a car, wrestling with BG's that don't warrant shooting and being in traffic accidents I believe in the TB.

Nuff Said .............................xtra protection never hurts !!!!!!!!!!!

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gunnut2u
(Tim)

Thumb break only with my 1911 platform that's carried in Condition 1. Just my preference.

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Memory of Randy Freas-Rimfired

I bought an EPS "Double Agent" holster for my Mod. 66 only because the hammer is bobbed. It's a sort of Askins type holster. That's the only holster I own without a thumb break and I sort of regret getting it. I just can't get to hold the guy tight enough for me. I should have got something with some type of snap arrangement behind the trigger guard. I prefer a thumb break.

You can't shoot everyone you have to tussle with and I'd rather not have my gun falling out of the holster while I'm fighting some guy.

No on concealed holsters, yes on my shoulder rig and N frame open carry holster... and my 1911 open carry is a Bianchi Carrylok.


Jim

I want my gun to stay in the holster even if I'm rolling down a hill, so I prefer the thumbreak. With plenty of practice it should not slow down the draw and I try to wear all holsters at the same height, angle, and location on the belt so my reflexes are pretty much the same on every draw regardless of gun or holster. I like everything strong side, outside the waistband, and with a slight forward cant and never use cross draw, Mexican carry, or shoulder holster for defensive handguns. Hunting and plinking guns are another story and backup guns are for the front strong-side pocket.

Early in my carear, off duty, I used "Mexican Carry". Once the GW Davis and Milt Sparks IWB Summer Special holsters came out I have used them 100%.
I am wearing one now...

They are unique in that you can "open up" the top of the holster for a faster draw, or "pinch it down" for greater retention.

For duty use I always used a thumb break holster, whether carrying a 44 Mag S&W, a 1911, a S&W 45 ACP revolver, or a Glock 17.

I always carried the holster unsnapped....

I knew when I was about to have to "fight" a suspect, and always had time to snap the thumb break...

Or when I was about to do some "aerobatic stuff"...

When making entries, carrying a long gun of some kind, both of my handgusn were snapped in... See "aerobatic stuff" above...

I still always practiced my draw with the holster snapped...

I learned this system from Bill Jordan, personally...

Always worked for me.

When in the field I use a thumb snap holster and keep the snap fastened.

retains the gun when you run........

All of the holsters I regularly use are IWBs with no separate retention mechanism, save one pocket holster. I don't open carry except hunting every year or two, when I carry a 6" 29-2 in a Hunter belt holster with a safety strap.