Blackhawk, Serpa Close Quarters Conceal, Gun Holster

This is the 5th or 6th time I've purchased one of these holsters. They are so flexible. I've always ordered the holster that includes the paddle mount as well as the belt loops. I haven't found the paddle mount to be comfortable enough, but I may want that option at some time. Being able to quickly slide the "paddle" behind the waistband and belt and as easily removing it is definitely a great feature. The belt loop mount is also pretty fast to slide on the belt and doesn't put the hard plastic right against your "hip bone". Both mounts allow some flexibility in the how high the holster rides and the opportunity to significantly adjust the cant of the holster. Reversing the cant also allows the holster to be carried in a cross draw position.The retention feature means someone can't draw my pistol without me having something to say about that. The retention release lever is directly in line with the trigger finger, so as the release lever is depressed and the gun lifted the trigger finger naturally falls on the frame just above the trigger guard. There is a cut out on the leading edge of the holster which allows a slightly quicker draw if necessary. This holster and mount is made of very sturdy plastic material and is well designed and well made. It holds the gun close to the waist for concealment. I've purchased several Blackhawk products and found them to be reliable and durable. I will buy another of these holsters when I need one. Update: I've purchased another of these holsters for a new gun, a Springfield Armory Xdm 3.8 Compact in 9mm. First let me say that initially Amazon sent me the wrong sized holster. I immediately made arrangements to return the holster and ordered another in the correct size. The exchange couldn't have been easier. Amazon paid for the return and promptly credited my account for what I paid. As a Prime member the correct holster arrived two days later. When shopping for this holster I found Blackhawk does not list a holster for my gun, so I called Blackhawk and asked if they had a holster that fit the Xdm 3.8 Compact. I was told to order the size 07 and that it would be a little long but is the correct fit for my gun. I found that to be true. I wasn't too happy with the length of the holster, so using my band saw I cut 7/16" off and dressed the cut edges with fine sand paper. I rinsed the dust and sand from the entire holster and dried it before using it. The fit is perfect and I couldn't be happier.

I love this Holster! And its because its passive retention system is so ingenius. If you know anything about proper gun handling/safety you know not to draw or point a gun with ur index finger on the trigger. When doing a proper draw your fingers line up perfectly for a fluid easy press of the trigger guard release button and quickdraw. Practice the movement t though for the most natural and QuickDraw. I hated the holster my company gave me and wanted to give it back right away. When I asked my fellow security officers what holster they preferred to replace theirs with they all recommended I look at a Blackhawk! Serpa holster. This one came with an optional pancake holster attachment which I admit I didn't take the time to figure out how to use As far as I can make out its purpose is to add a few inches of space further from your hip to have a farther out holster in case you're more comfortable having it out from ur side a bit more or you don't want the holster/firearm to be accidentally mistaken for concealed. I have a concealed carry weapons permit so I don't care, plus I feel more comfortable without that extra space. This makes for a holster that you can easily display by tucking ur shirt inside of the holster for open carry but is small enough to pull your shirt over for concealed. However just a shirt will still leave an obvious impression of a concealed gun. For concealed go with a hoofie or other sweater or better yet, an actual coat. This belt will fit comfortably on my regular 1 1/2" dress belt or can be adjusted to fit up to a 3 1/2" thicker duty belt if need be. I use it on my every day jeans belt for concealed carry and on my 2 1/2" duty belt for work and it fits fine one both. All the other officers in my company seem to have switched out their holsters for a serpa. I ended up getting the matte black finish but if I could do it again I'd go with the carbon fiver finish. Looks much cooler to me when I see it on my co-worker's belt. I like that most people who see a holster like this don't understand the passive retention system this holster has. It has no overlapping securing loop. It looks to the average onlooker like nothing has it secured and you could snatch it right from the holster but you don't have to worry about that with this holster. Your firearm snaps into the holster with an audible 'click'. Unless you're pressing the release button while doing it for a quiet holstering. The holster latches onto the trigger guard and will not break if someone tries to snatch hard and quick at the weapon. And once they've do e messed that up, Boy are you gonna let em have it. All in all this one is good on and off the job. Great, sturdy, quality holster.

The Beretta 92FS/M9 fits like a glove. I just need to practice drawing with it. Positive retention. When drawing the pistol with a firm high grip the finger sits on the release button. When the pistol is drawn from the holster the finger is off the trigger restingabove it on the frame of the pistol. Gives Positive retention but still a quick draw when needed. Not the prettiest but is similar to what I had when in the service.

OK let me start by saying I'm far from an expert in handguns or holsters. But I know quality when I see it or touch it. I was using an open top Fobus paddle Holster for my pistol. I have a Taurus 24/7 OSS Tactical pistol in 9mm. The Fobus holster was fine for my initial use & until I learned more about holsters. But a few problems with the Fobus nagged at me. I didn't understand why they bothered until I handled this Blackhawk holster & saw & felt the difference. First there was no retention to the holster. It was all too easy to just reach over & pull my pistol out just standing in front of me. I didn't know this when I bought it as I said earlier I was no real expert in these matters. Secondly it was demonstrated to me just how easy it was to twist out the paddle that held the holster & my gun to hip. Both of these scenarios, demonstrated to me by a state DOT officer, really opened my eyes to the need for a retention holster that at least offered level 2 adjustment (whatever that meant). After careful study & going on the same officer's recommendations I found Blackhawk. Now of course after finding the holster that fit my pistol I immediately went to Amazon to see if I could order it from here. Good news when I saw it was available at a better value than the other online retailers & it was eligible for Prime Shipping as well. A win-win situation all around. I ordered on a Saturday evening & received the package the following Monday. After at first just getting accustomed to the holster & learning how it worked I found it to be exceptionally tight & hard to remove my pistol. But once I learned how to effectively adjust the retention & practiced my draw technique (both are must do as soon as you get a holster like this), I was able to draw & re-holster my pistol without much trouble at all. I tried the included belt paddle on the holster but never got too comfortable with it's placement on my waistline. So I stuck with the belt attachment & it works great. I also like that the pistol rides a little up & off my hip in the holster making it easy to grab the handle of the gun in an almost natural reach to my side motion. The weight of the pistol is also greatly reduced in this holster. It isn't the lightest pistol I've ever used or had in a holster either weighing in at almost 40oz with a loaded magazine (which is how I carry my pistol chambered, cocked, & locked, otherwise what's the point?) so I appreciate the fact that this holster reduces the pull down effect on my jeans. I find the construction of this holster to be superior to the Fobus holster it is replacing for daily carry use (I'll still use the Fobus at the Range during practice). The material it is made of is a soft touch polymer & completely shields the barrel of the pistol which is also a good thing. Another nice side effect is the thin body construction of the holster. This holster allows me to actually wear it with the pistol inside while driving & using a seatbelt in my car. That I couldn't do with the Fobus holster for reasons I don't know why as they seem almost the same size. I find almost no faults with this holster at all in terms of it's construction & packaging or the included instructions. I also learned this holster is made in the USA (Montana) which I'm all for as well. This is my first Blackhawk holster but it will not be my last. Highly recommended for duty, recreational or personal defense. Blackhawk got the endorsement of a law enforcement officer to me so that was enough to convince me of the quality. I'm glad I listened!

26 Year Retired Patrol Sergeant and Firearms Instructor. I have carried the Blackhawk Serpa Holster on duty, well, I guess since they first came out. While on patrol, it served me well and fit my GLOCK 22 perfect. Never had an issue. Saved my butt a few times as well. 😊 So, let's move on to this baby. My wife decided she wanted to start carrying a 38 Taurus Mod 85 UL (Ultra Light) and needed a good holster. I gave her several options, to include this Serpa. I read reviews where some people stated that their weapon didn't fit, however, having had such good luck with the Serpa, I highly recommended it. Well, you can guess due to this review, which holster she opted for. Well, it arrived quickly and I couldn't wait to give it a try. It seemed all at once, my hopes and dreams for her being happy with it were diminished when I inserted the pistol. It didn't fit! What the? Well, after much shaving with a pocket knife where it was sticking and spraying the inside with Gun oil, I managed to make it work. Oh yes....lots of 4 letter words as well. 🙄 Anyway, the more it's used the better it's working. But I have to say, Blackhawk needs to have a look at the flaws and fix the issue. This was a brand new, Matt Black, Taurus Mod 85 UL 38 Spl. You would think it would just fit fine. Anyway, great holster and works well now that I have done some shaving of the inside. If you don't mind the task, you will love the holster. Just be sure to loosen the tension screw all the way, or even remove it. Then after about 10 insertions of the revolver, look and see where the scuff marks are at. Then start shaving away with a sharp pocket knife. Keep trying the fit and don't over do it. Spray oil inside and wipe the excess off. Just keep inserting and removing the revolver until it feels okay. ****PLEASE BE SURE TO DO THIS WITH AN UNLOADED WEAPON. ****

I bought this for my Sarsilmaz SAR 2000ST 9mm, which is a clone of the Tanfoglio Witness small frame, which is a clone of the CZ-75. In spite of the third hand design, it fits the SERPA perfectly. I intend to bolt this to a Kydex plate and use it as an Alaskan type chest holster. The quality appears to be excellent and retention and holstering are perfect. The SERPA has gotten a bad reputation for the locking mechanism jamming with sand and debris in desert conditions, and for accidental discharges when drawing. Since I won't be using the holster in sand storms or in dirty conditions, I don't see a problem with inability to unlock the gun. Simply cleaning the holster occasionally should prevent any problems and a fast swish in a sink of warm water should be all that's needed. The accidental discharge situation appears to be related to two causes........ incorrect use of the lock and use with short trigger guns like the Glock which have short trigger pulls and no safety other then the small lock lever inside the trigger. The problem is when the tip of the index finger is pressed into the lock and the gun is drawn, the finger can intrude into the trigger guard and can press the short and light trigger. Result is a BANG. The correct method of using the SERPA is to press the holster lock with the PAD of the index finger NOT the tip. If the finger is kept straight and not crooked so the tip can press the lock, and the pad is correctly used, even if the finger slips inside the trigger guard the safety lever won't be depressed and the trigger cannot be pulled. So, straight index finger, press the lock with the pad of the finger and there's no chance of an AD.

excellent holster

First Outside the Waistband (OWB) holster that I've considered using, and I'm very impressed with the improvement in comfort and ease of presentation over an Inside the Waistband (IWB) holster. Concealed OWB does require commitment to a casual fashion sense (untucked shirts), but it's the 21st Century and it works for me. Actual holster doesn't look like the picture in the listing, but that's fine. I don't think the exact model was confirmed outright in the listing that I saw, but it's a Blackhawk SERPA CQC holster and it fits the XD-M Elite 3.8 10mm perfectly...UNLESS you have installed a GoGun Gas Pedal takedown lever. The path of the takedown lever when holstering and unholstering the pistol rides directly over one of the mount screw locations, and I don't know if enough material can be removed from the back of the holster to fit the Gas Pedal. I don't think the heat gun method normally recommended for modifying plastic holsters for the Gas Pedal is a good idea here; the retention system is too reliant on the holster geometry staying intact. I might try to mod the holster with a dremel tool when I have more time (and feel lucky), but for now I'll manage with the stock takedown lever in place. (Edit 3/12/25: I used a Dremel tool to cut a trough for the Gas Pedal, and it was a success. The holster had plenty of material for me to remove, enough for the Gas Pedal to fit without compromising retention.) The holster is comfortable, retains well, and facilitates smooth presentation. It is slightly harder to conceal completely than an IWB holster, and I'll have to be more mindful of the gun when stretching, carrying items two handed, or when outdoors in heavy winds. The Stage 2 retention is a huge comfort to me, and I would never consider OWB carry, even if concealed, without it. Overall, it's a good, practical holster at a great price, and I'm glad that I bought it.

I have been wearing this seven days a week on deployment in Mali, Africa for five months and it is doing its job. Fits CAF issued 9mm Browning Hi-Power.

Misleading description. Expensive for something that will never fit.

I purchased this holster used. It was virtually brand new. I saw it for $25 used and decided to take a gamble. Wow! Impressive! It fits my glock 17 as it should. The holster never came with the factory packaging but thats ok. It came with the belt attachment mount. However it was missing the belt adjustment retention slider where you feed the belt through. I guess thats why it was being sold as used. The pancake is nice. It slides right onto your belt or waist band. It is meant to be worn on the side of your waist. Its perfect for my local gun range. I have no issues whatsoever drawing and keeping my finger away from the trigger. I have read several reviews saying that this poses a safety hazard and your finger goes near the trigger. Let me be perfectly clear. Practice your draw. Keep ypur finger straight as you draw and it never goes near the trigger.

This product is excellent. It offers good positive retention, intuitive design allows for quick, smooth draw. I have used Blackhawk for many years and have never had an issue with their products. If you’re going to throw it in a bag with the rest of your gear I recommend you reinsert the spacers that come with the holsters to keep the mouth from getting malformed.

Excellent product - comfortable to wear and holds gun securely. Recess at front also makes it suitable for handgun with red dot sight.