Paddle Holsters

jimmyj · #1 02-13-2025, 01:27 AM

Users of Paddle Holsters:
What are the Pros and Cons of this style of holster ?

sbrmike · #2 02-13-2025, 01:53 AM

I have used quality (Galco) paddle holsters for years. The pros are you can easily and quickly attach and detach the holster with gun installed in seconds from belt or waist band of trousers. They fit so well you wouldn't know you were wearing one, i.e. the paddle doesn't dig in or get in the way. I used on S&W J and K frames. No cons in my experience. I guess the con would be not very concealable, but I never used mine for concealed carry.

stansdds · #3 02-13-2025, 08:48 AM

Pro: Easier to put on and take off than a holster that has belt slots.
Con: Sticks the handgun further out from the body than a pancake style holster.

turnerriver · #4 02-13-2025, 09:21 AM

S. D. Myres Barton’s Special paddle holster first appeared in their 1938 catalog.

Regards,

VaTom · #5 02-13-2025, 09:29 AM

As stated above. It took me several tries before finding one I preferred. The smaller the paddle the better for me. Have been using the Wild Bills Fusion paddle for about 15+ years. First while working with a Glock 23 and then during retirement with my S&W shield. Leather holster, plastic paddle. Rides high for good concealment and you can adjust the angle.

BE Mike · #6 02-13-2025, 10:55 AM

In my experience, the better ones are too hard to take off. The poorer ones come out with the gun when drawing it.

WardenRoss · #7 02-13-2025, 10:59 AM

If you have a job where you are in and out of areas where you must remove/secure your weapon, they make life easier.

Like detention facilities, etc.

Some paddles don't fit well over thick leather gun belts. Galco's paddle is my favorite and most comfortable.

,

THE PILGRIM · #8 02-13-2025, 11:07 AM

Only have one.
They are handy to put on and take off.
Here’s my 640 ready to go!

Sixgun100 · #9 02-13-2025, 11:13 AM

Wore a Galco Speed Paddle with a Colt Detective Special for years when mostly sitting behind a desk. Worked very well!

Denverd0n · #10 02-13-2025, 11:23 AM

Have a couple. Like others have said, easy on and off, harder to conceal.

I also have a Galco holster that snaps onto the belt. A little harder to put on and off than a paddle, but definitely conceals the gun better.

Buzzzer · #11 02-13-2025, 12:04 PM

Another vote for Galco here. I use a Kydex paddle for my Shield 45 and love it. Comfortable, easily removed, stays put when drawing. They don't make that style anymore though, last I looked. I never could get a paddle to work with revolvers, it sticks the firearm out way too far...

Onomea · #12 02-13-2025, 01:00 PM

I have a couple of kydex paddle holsters by Rounded Gear for my Sigs P320 and P365. They are secure, comfortable, and, once you become familiar with it, easy on and off. I like them for the range. I do think a good pancake conceals better.

Baxter6551 · #13 02-13-2025, 01:02 PM

The Kramer MSP paddle has my vote. Has a retention strap which is removable if you don’t want to use. You can also order as just a paddle with no strap. Pricy and takes a while to get it but definitely worth it in my opinion. Easy on and off. It does not conceal as well as a belt scabbard however.

greenrunner · #14 02-13-2025, 01:45 PM

For a couple of decades I wore a gun to and from work but locked it up while in the office. I tried numerous paddle holsters but the only ones I found concealable were the Safariland 5181/518 type holsters, which are fairly hi-rise. Naturally Safariland terminated that model.

I tried the others mentioned above (Kramer MSP, Galco, etc.) but I could not wear them under a sportcoat without obvious printing..

DenverdOn is right -- I eventually switched to the snap-on type scabbard.

chief38 · #15 02-13-2025, 04:35 PM

I tried them once and did not care for them. They are a little bulkier than I like and they are a little less comfortable than I'd like. Yes, they are easily taken off and put back on, but in reality how many times a day to you do that? It takes me all of 2 seconds to slip a belt through 2 holster loops - so I truly don't know why people bother with the paddle.

Papa Lee · #16 02-13-2025, 05:36 PM

Thanks John, (Turnerriver) for posting that S.D. Myres Barton page because it almost certainly confirmed that this holster pictured is an S.D. Myres maker, as I had suspected.

sigp220.45 · #17 02-14-2025, 12:42 AM

I used the Safariland 518 for my Sig 220 for years. Great design - I liked to pop it off when I was desk bound for a while.

My Task Force partner was 6’6” and 275 - a product of the worst New Orleans housing projects. He carried his NOPD issued Beretta Model 92 in an awful nylon contraption that he just stuck in his waistband - no belt clip or anything. He had killed 2 guys in separate gunfights so it seemed to work alright for him. One day that thing gave up the ghost and split all the way open. He was looking at it in the car and I said - you should try one like this and handed him the 518 for my 220. In my head, I meant: Hey buddy, get yourself an appropriately sized one for your big fat Beretta. In his head he heard: Thanks for scaring the shizz out of everyone we meet, have this holster, Big Fella.

He took that 518 in one hand and that wide-body Beretta in the other and shoved it in. He actually grunted a little, which was the first manifestation of physical effort I had heard from him including during some Biblical beatdowns. He stopped, looked at the strap, and shoved again. He snapped the snap, said thanks brother, and put it on. He was still using it when I transferred out.

He’s my best pal to this day so I’m glad it worked for him.

Smoke · #18 02-14-2025, 02:10 AM

This is the only paddle holster I have any experience with. It's Safariland 578. I don't know that it's a concealed carry holster but it is a good, stout holster.

The only issue I have with it is, as somebody up thread said, it's hard to get on and off your belt because it hooks to the bottom of your BELT

ETA I've lost pretty close to 60 lb since I got that holster and I find that it's much easier to get on and off my belt now

w.r.gun · #19 03-15-2025, 07:38 PM

Why would you want to your gun off?

Smoke · #20 03-20-2025, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by w.r.gun

Why would you want to your gun off?

If that was addressed to me,

This is purely hypothetical, because it is a federal crime to even have a firearm in your vehicle on VA property.

But if I hypothetically went to an appointment at my local VA, not that I would carry a gun but I certainly wouldn't want to take it into the building. A paddle holster is much easier to take off in your car before walking into the VA. Not that I would know because of course I'd never carry a gun at the VA

I've also noticed and this is probably fairly accurate, if you ever watch Blue Bloods Danny frequently takes his holster and gun off at his desk and puts it in his desk drawer.