Concealed Carry with a Shoulder Holster

Deryck Poole of Echo-5 Training Group follows up on an article he wrote for PDN on motorcycle concealed carry. Several readers asked Deryck about wearing a shoulder gun holster when riding a motorcycle.

Deryck is wearing a shoulder holster and the gun in it has a rear-facing muzzle. He goes through the proper drawstroke and presentation from this holster.

The Mechanics of Presentation

When drawing from a shoulder gun holster (or any holster), make sure not to cover part of your body, or if you must, make it as minimal as possible. And you definitely don’t want to point the gun at innocent bystanders while drawing.

As you break the retention on the shoulder holster, rotate your hip and bring the gun straight out. When the gun comes out of the holster, it’s pointed at the ground and just behind the foot. The support-side arm is above the gun. Bring the gun around to the front of your body into Position SUL, from which you can extend the gun onto the threat or stay in SUL or the high compressed ready position in the event that you don’t need to fire the gun at that instant.

Cover Garment

You’ll be wearing a vest or jacket when riding a motorcycle and it will be snapped or zipped up. The very first step in presentation is to open the cover garment enough so you can reach in and grasp the gun. After opening the zipper or snaps, use the support hand to pull that side of the garment away so you can easily reach the gun. Be sure to include these movements during your practice sessions.

Reholstering

This needs to be done as safely as possible too, not covering your or anybody else’s body. Open the cover garment all the way, grab hold the retention strap of the shoulder gun holster, get your arm out of the way, bring the gun back around to the holster, muzzle up, and slide the gun into place. When the gun is reholstered, reach up and reattach the retention strap. You’ll need both hands for that.