:: Bersa Talk ::

Thought that it would be fun to address this. Since 99% of holsters seem to made for men, most women spend a fortune on a women's holster online or are able to adapt a guy's holster for their use. Some even carry in purses. What other issues have you noticed yourself (if you're a girl), or what issues have you noticed with your wife or girlfriend? What have you done to combat them?

I started with a purse holster but found that paddle holsters are quite comfortable for me since the paddle rests again the upper leg, so curves don't get in the way. How about you?

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This is a multicultural home. I have Argentinian guns, Brazilian guns, Russian guns, Yugoslavian guns...

kimigirl:

What other issues have you noticed yourself (if you're a girl), or what issues have you noticed with your wife or girlfriend? What have you done to combat them?

Kimigirl

First I am not a girl and never played one on TV but if I may chime in...Maybe Nate at ubgholsters.com has dealt with this issue.  He has stated that he has done some custom holsters, so maybe the might be able to help you.

What type of gun are you trying to conceal?

kingalls:

kimigirl:

What other issues have you noticed yourself (if you're a girl), or what issues have you noticed with your wife or girlfriend? What have you done to combat them?

Kimigirl

First I am not a girl and never played one on TV but if I may chime in...Maybe Nate at ubgholsters.com has dealt with this issue.  He has stated that he has done some custom holsters, so maybe the might be able to help you.

What type of gun are you trying to conceal?

My Taurus is my normal carry however I don't need help with holsters. I have one that fits comfortably. This thread was mainly to discuss what women have gotten that has or hasn't worked for them.

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This is a multicultural home. I have Argentinian guns, Brazilian guns, Russian guns, Yugoslavian guns...

Can the ladies of the forum get this thread going? I'll take a shot at it...

I obtained my CCW (PA calls it a LTCF - License To Carry Firearms) yesterday and being that I've never experienced the joys of trying to conceal a gun on my body before, I'm curious to know if any of you ladies could possibly share your opinion on holsters, or how you're carrying and/or concealing your firearm?

So far I've spent about $70 or so on 3 different holsters: an Uncle Mike's Sidekick holster (just for the range), a Fobus paddle holster and a Gunmate IWB. The Gunmate holster is ok, but the gun ends up riding a little too high on my waist and really isn't all that concealed. I haven't been able to find a holster locally that has any cant to it, just to try it out and see if that might make concealing my gun a little easier, so I'm wondering what you all think about cant too. Cant, no cant and if yes to cant then what degree of cant? I'm thinking cant would be good, but then again, maybe not. Trust when I say that I'd like nothing more than to get one of the UBG holsters that everyone here raves about, but before I do that I'd like to find out what's working for other women and what isn't.

Jennifer

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I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand. -- Susan B. Anthony, July 1871

Depends on how yo dress and what you want to conceal. my X (she a X this week ) carries her KT with the clip on it. Because of its size and weight she can hide near any where.on her body that she can clip.

The Thunder now would be another story. In her dress clothes no way except ankle maybe. Or a suit coat in a shoulder holster.  Our/her store not that fancey

As for cant again this personal most makers do 15 degrees I like more say 20 on my 1911's . By turning foward you make grip less noticeable But it also puts you hand and wrist while drawing in a harder position to draw.

Smaller pistols like Thunder PPK/S Kel Tec should be ok at O cant .

 

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Bersa Thunder,
PPK/S,
1990 Colt Mustang,
380 Kel Tec
380's Rule

"Just say "Lay A Way"

"WWJBD" What Would James Bond Do?

"Hokey religions and plastic glocks are no match for a good 1911 at your side, kid."

Kimgirl really?

There is a differance in holsters for men and women?

I know a few ladys that carry, one has a Dan Wession 357 on a belt holster on her right hip. My aunt  Kathy has a PM9 in a cross drawl rig off left hip and my mom uses a Bersa Thunder 380 in a front pocet holster.

I would think thier really is not a differance in holsters but in dress between men and women. When one decided tp carry one must address his / her clothing choices. Me for example, I use to wear a size L now a XL is all I buy because it helps not to print by having the extra room.

I would even go a step farther and say that I would think with all the clothing styles that women have over men it would be easer for a women to pack then a male. Women have so many options and accessorys such as blazers, sweaters, vest and so on.

So Kimgirl, educate me and tell me what a womens needs in a holster? How could a holster be designed to be more Lady friendly.

I read in another post you posted about a lack of womens needs being addressed on womens issues and I agree. I think you said there used to be a magizine dedicated to just women CCW issues but was no longer being produced. That saddens me, I do feel more needs done for the women in this lifestyle. But as a male I don't know what those issues are or how to address them.

I wonder if anyone has ever started a web site for women that pack?

Perhaps I am a sexest here but as a NRA instructor, I am reaching out to the female community and my price for basic pistol  reflexs that

Males $50.00 for the course, plus ammo and range

Females $15.00 for the course, plus ammo and range

Couples $ 60.00 for the course, plus ammo and range 

Kids with adults $00.00, plus ammo and range

 

   

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richh56:

I am not kimigirl, but I am a girl. Like colagrrl, I have spent more money than I should on holsters to find one or more that suits my needs. There is no difference between holsters for women and men, because we have the same holsters available to us that you guys do. The problem is that most men (I think) carry IWB, but most of us girls cannot do that because our sheds are generally not big enough to cover up the handle, so to speak.

My personal choice is a shoulder rig with a horizontal mount holster, but if I carry my pistol under my arm, my body is not as wide as the pistol, so you can still see it, so I have adjusted the holster so that it is positioned across my stomach, so that my pistol is flat against my stomach. I can easily reach it with any type of shirt or button up blouse on, but if I were to wear a dress, I would have to hike it up over stomach to get my weapon, so I do not wear dresses, and will not until I have developed a suitable method of carry while wearing a dress.

While shopping for a holster, the biggest difficulty that I faced was having to bring the darn things home to try on.......Would have been nice to try them on in the store.

There is more to it than that, but I will spare you for now...............

Americangirl01

 

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"We cannot solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Albert Einstein

Americagirl,

I still don't see the differance here yet (well except the dress issue)

Trust me when I tell you that I have a box of un-liked holsters in the closet that I thought would be good but once home and tried I hated.

I am not a big person. I am 5 ft 8 in at 180 and I also find that my handle will stick out. I hate and refuse to use a IWB holster (tender skin)  :). 

90% of the time I use a Galco leather jack slide on right hip OWB. Bersa Thunder carry size. If that is not an option do to style of cloths then a uncle mikes pocket holster size # 4 for bersa thunder 380 size handgun.

 Anything larger I am almost forced to use a leather left hip cross drawl rig to hide pistol better.

I like a slight pitch design my self, a lean forward handle angle versas straight up design like the houston holster for bersa thunder 380.

 

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Memberships:
NRA Life Member
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Moose Club International active Member
Pheasants Forever Member
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Bersa Talk. Com active Member
Izaak Walton League of America
Black River Game Club

richh56,

Thanks for the tips. You and I are the same height, but I am 25 or so lbs less, so maybe I can use in the future.

Body size and shape seem to be more of a factor than alot of people realize when trying to fit a pistol to a holster and a body.

Americangirl01

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"We cannot solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Albert Einstein

Actually there is quite a difference in holsters that are made specifically for women as opposed to the holsters more readily available that are made for a guy. It really depends on what shape you are. If you are a curvy female, you'll experience problems with hip holsters, as the gun will dig into your side. If you are a slight female, the shoulder holster won't work because the gun will be larger than you are. I have ran into both of these problems. Even the little Bersa sticks out from my rib cage and is quite visible.
The holsters made specifically for women are expensive but  they are made with a woman's more curvy hip in mind.

Rich,
The magazine was put out by the NRA. It was called Women's Outlook. It's one of the things that originally attracted me to the NRA because there are so few publications addressing women's needs specifically. I don't mind 1st Freedom, its a good magazine too, but I miss WO.

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This is a multicultural home. I have Argentinian guns, Brazilian guns, Russian guns, Yugoslavian guns...

Also, the gun store I go to will let you try the holsters on ahead of time. If the store you go to won't allow that, you may want to spend your money elsewhere.

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This is a multicultural home. I have Argentinian guns, Brazilian guns, Russian guns, Yugoslavian guns...

Kimigirl,

 

I never know there was a differance in holsters, Thank you for pointing that out to me. seems logical

Thats to bad about the womens mag, I see a need here for that.

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Memberships:
NRA Life Member
NRA Certified Instructor
NRA Membership Recruiter
OFCC active Member
Moose Club International active Member
Pheasants Forever Member
Woods and Water Member
Bersa Talk. Com active Member
Izaak Walton League of America
Black River Game Club

Hopefully, this thread can be resurrected after over a year of rest.  Now that The Missus (my wife) has her own Bersa 380cc and has filed for her CCLicense, she's trying to figure out how/where to carry it.

What seems best so far would be a special purpose purse (worn in front with strap over right side of neck and under left arm).  In addition to a normal top opening, it would have a separate pocket on the back with a right-hand side opening so she could walk through a potentially dangerous area with her right hand on the pistol grip, ready to pull the it out the side of the purse's "pocket" if need be.  Unlike carrying inside a "normal" (top opening only) purse, if the BG ripped her special cc purse away from her body, he'd be looking down the barrel of the 380cc that'd already be in her hand.

Has anyone seen such a purse online?  Our local GS's say they've never seen one, and eBay doesn't show any currently.

Or is there a better way to go (holsters that don't depend on what she's wearing)?  Because it might matter for those with suggestions, she's 5'5" and is still pretty close to a size 8 at age 62 (yeah, I'm a lucky guy . . . ). 

Thanks in advance,

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M D "Doc" Nugent - carcentric.com

I would never recommend carrying a gun in a purse that is not firmly attached to your body. Too much room for error. I usually use a belt bag when i cannot pocket carry. sometimes IWB with my revolver. you can also clip the iwb holster to your front pocket and carry in your pocket if you wear a big ole tshirt. this is my favorite way to carry as pistol is ready to draw and very comfortable.
hope this helps,
Toni

You can check out the Lady Fist holster line from FIST Holsters.  They're one of the few makers out there that are trying to address some of the differences between the male and female form when it comes to holsters.  Oh, I am not affilitated with them in any way and have never ordered from them so I don't have any idea if their stuff is good or how their customer service is, but others have said very good things about them.

Typically women tend to have a shorter torso and wear their pants higher than men.  This means that the height the pistol needs to clear the holster should be reduced.  You can see that on the Lady Fist holsters where they have dropped the front to reduce the draw height.  Due to the holster riding high on the waist and the particular body proportions of most women it also seems to work better if the amount of forward cant is reduced so that the draw is more straight up.  I've tried drawing from my UBG Regulator, which has a good forward cant, with my pants pulled up all the way to my waist and it is rather difficult, the shoulder just doesn't work well in that position.

Also someone mentioned the curvy nature of women's hips causing the butt of the gun to dig into their side.  If you look at the holsters pictured on the linked page the belt attachment points are spread farther apart and they often have a curved relief cut out between the attach points and the main body of the holster.  This allows the holster to have a little offset from the body so the pistol rides more straight up and down while the belt slots are solidly attached to the belt.

These are some of the things I've found as I research different holster designs for my gf.

Bronson (I'm using my physical therapy education more making holsters than I ever did in clinic )

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"Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late." T. Sowell.
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Bersa Thunder .380
Browning HiPower
Kahr CW40
Kel-Tec P-32
Ruger Mark I
Ruger GP100