Anyone Have Serpa Holster Experience?

[45Doll 5,877]

I have not. But this caught my attention:

Guns & Ammo Editor Nearly Shoots Himself Proving That Serpas Suck – Bearing Arms

[High Exposure 5,664]

I have a bunch of first hand and personal eyewitness experience - we were issued them when they first came out.

Serpa holsters blow. Not just for the increased possibility of shooting your self but the inferior materials, and bad design, and how easy it is to lock up the retention mechanism so bad it requires a pair of tin snips to cut the holster off the gun.

If you use a Serpa in this day and age of multitudes of affordable quality retention holsters, you are a dope. 

[1LtCAP 4,262]

i use serpas currently for owb carry. so far mine are standing up, although i haven't been rolling around on the ground with mine.

 

 the problem with the serpa isn't the holster any more than a negligent discharge is the gun. the problem arises from people not being well practiced with their equipment. just like with the gun itself. what happens(and i witnessed a guy doing this at a class last sunday....i corrected him and showed him the correct way) is that people bend their finger when pressing the release. if you do that, your finger lands in the trigger guard, and you're most likely goin to the hospital. your finger is supposed to be flat as if it were indexed on the slide. when you press the release with a flattened finger, your finger lands on the slide exactly where it belongs.

i have one owb for my glock....can't remember the brand.....it uses more of a safariland type release, and i like that one too.

[Regular Guy 264]

I was a Deputy Sheriff for 7 years and have some experience with the Serpa Blackhawk.  It was pretty popular when it first came out.  Its light, comfy and appealed to the younger generation of officers and deputies who liked the kydex look better than the old-school leather.  With the gun in the holster, your natural grip put your index finger on the release lever that you depressed to be able to draw the gun from the holster.  You would draw the gun straight up (as apposed to needing to rock it slightly forward first, as with some holsters) and it automatically put the index finger along the frame for a safe draw without unintentionally fingering the trigger.  The problem was with the release lever design.  If the spring behind that release lever came off or something in there broke,  or if debris got in there (there was space or stuff to get down in there) then the gun could not be removed from the holster without cutting the holster off.  Once this was known, our office prohibited us from using them on duty.  I have heard over the years of other Serpa models having the same problem so I haven't used that brand holster ever since.

[High Exposure 5,664]

18 hours ago, 1LtCAP said:

the problem with the serpa isn't the holster any more than a negligent discharge is the gun. the problem arises from people not being well practiced with their equipment. just like with the gun itself. what happens(and i witnessed a guy doing this at a class last sunday....i corrected him and showed him the correct way) is that people bend their finger when pressing the release. if you do that, your finger lands in the trigger guard, and you're most likely goin to the hospital. your finger is supposed to be flat as if it were indexed on the slide. when you press the release with a flattened finger, your finger lands on the slide exactly where it belongs.

Sorry man. This is a garbage argument.

Yes - I agree that you should be well-practiced and confident in your equipment.  However, you shouldn’t have to worry about two different trigger finger movements under stress:
• Finger straight and press straight in to get it out
• Bend your finger and press straight back to fire
That’s bananas!

My non-SERPA holsters (Safariland ALS and ALS/SLS) all:
• Retain the gun more securely than a SERPA
• Allow a faster draw than a SERPA
• Conceal as good or better than a SERPA
• Provide better weapon retention than a SERPA
• Require ZERO input from my trigger finger to remove the weapon from the holster

Seriously, spend the $$ and get better rig.

The other Blackhawk! offerings are decent if you really just hate Safariland.

[High Exposure 5,664]

4 hours ago, Regular Guy said:

  The problem was with the release lever design.  If the spring behind that release lever came off or something in there broke,  or if debris got in there (there was space or stuff to get down in there) then the gun could not be removed from the holster without cutting the holster off.  Once this was known, our office prohibited us from using them on duty.  I have heard over the years of other Serpa models having the same problem so I haven't used that brand holster ever since.

Yup. I have seen snow, sand, mud, and gravel lock them up. I also saw a guy get his seatbelt caught on his gun getting out of the car. As he stepped out there was a loud click as the retention mechanism rocked out of place and that was it. That jammed the holster up worse than anything else I had seen.

The plastic the holster is made from is pretty soft and the screws holding it all together are pretty insignificant. I have seen SERPA holsters ripped right off belts in retention drills.

[maintenanceguy 510]

I don't have a SERPA brand but I have several retention holsters of similar design.  All of mine put my trigger finger right on the side of the frame if I draw from pressing the release button.  I can see how it would be possible to move your finger to have it land on the trigger but not more likely than with any other type of holster.

 

 

[Krdshrk 3,877]

Certain designs/guns put your finger right inside the trigger guard.  Usually I'm indexing straight on to the frame.  I have a couple of SERPAs... However I don't use them anymore except for Airsoft.  I've converted to Safariland ALS or GLS for almost everything OWB.

[ChrisJM981 924]

On 5/27/2023 at 4:38 PM, High Exposure said:

Yup. I have seen snow, sand, mud, and gravel lock them up. I also saw a guy get his seatbelt caught on his gun getting out of the car. As he stepped out there was a loud click as the retention mechanism rocked out of place and that was it. That jammed the holster up worse than anything else I had seen.

The plastic the holster is made from is pretty soft and the screws holding it all together are pretty insignificant. I have seen SERPA holsters ripped right off belts in retention drills.

I used Serpas for competition in USPSA and IDPA. After watching them get filled with sand, dirt, snow, etc I stopped using them. I switched to a Safariland GLS for OWB, and currently use a Crossbreed Rogue for IWB.

The Serpas were sitting in a box and didn't survive the last clean out in April. 

[sgtdave4321 36]

I had one in the early 2000's and then it became an issued holster for me. No one I knew had any issues with the SERPA. That being said, there are many better options now. 

[Malice4you 627]

I got Serpas initially for airsoft, and eventually for a few other real guns. Despite plenty of bumps into trees/doorframes/rocks, rolling on the ground, etc, I never had em lock up or break, nor have I had a finger end up anywhere inside the trigger guard.

As I have transitioned to IWB, they are most commonly used to hold the guns inside my cabinets. If I ever airsoft again, I'd still use em. Eventually they'll be replaced, but the fullsize guns are a low priority to get IWB holsters for.

Apparently I will be like all of you with a box of old unused holsters that will continue to get filled with more and more holsters.

[JackDaWack 2,895]

I liked the concept of the serpas, but with the offerings of safariland and their rock solid performance I have to give them the thumbs up if that the type of holster you are looking for. 

[Old Glock guy 1,127]

I have a Serpa that I have used in classes with no problems, but with so many instructors discouraging their use or outright banning them, I have not used mine in a long time. 

[GrumpyOldRetiree 38]

I have 2 Serpas that I have owned for a long time. I never had any problems with them but I also never gave them rough usage or had to use them in stressful situations. Like 'Old Glock Guy', because they are frowned upon by so many people in the firearms community, I have stopped using them.

[45Doll 5,877]

Some recent Serpa experience.

Guns & Ammo Editor Nearly Shoots Himself Proving That Serpas Suck – Bearing Arms

[Regular Guy 264]

That video captures it perfectly!  There is a name for what happened.  It's called sympathetic muscle reflex.  Most things we grab with our hands are made for us to close all of our fingers around it like a baseball bat, steering wheel, refrigerator handle, door knobs, etc.  Its a motion we are instinctually born with.  One of the Apgar Tests given to newborn babies within the first hour they are born is to see if they firmly grasp an object (typically your finger) when you place it in the palm of their hand. 

While nearly all holsters require you to grip the gun and leave the index finger extended, the Blackhawk Serpa requires you to exercise a fine motor skill of pressing that lever with your finger, which is causing your brain to activate the neuro-muscular connection that it would normally activate (and has been activating your whole life) to completely close your hand.  Under stress of a shot timer or say maybe actually danger, higher levels of adrenaline cause fine motor skills to degrade.  Under stress the fine motor skill needed to operate this holster becomes a gross motor skill as you over apply the pressure.  We all know where the finger naturally lands and it then becomes a dangerous situation.  The other problem is they are too proud and/or too stubborn to recall this holster.