Holster Safety Rules Every Concealed Carrier Should Follow

In our experience, most negligent discharges involving a carried handgun happen during holstering or unholstering, and most of those trace back to the holster or the way it was used: something in the trigger guard, a holster that collapsed, a muzzle pointed at the carrier’s own body, or speed where there should have been none. These are the holster rules we enforce on every range line we run, and the ones we want you following at home. They are not complicated; they are the ones people stop following once the holster feels familiar.

This page is part of our holster series, built around how to choose a concealed carry holster; the full set is listed in the concealed carry holster guide. It assumes you already live by the four universal firearm safety rules; everything below is those rules applied to the holster.

The holster itself

Rule 1: The trigger guard is covered, completely and rigidly

With the gun holstered, nothing can touch the trigger. Not a fingertip, not a fold of fabric, not a key. The holster body must cover the entire trigger guard, front to back, with material stiff enough that pressing on the outside does not reach the trigger. Check this on every holster you own, including the one in the nightstand, by holstering an unloaded gun and pressing hard on the holster over the trigger with your thumb. If you can move the trigger, that holster goes in the trash.

Open-front holsters, clip-on “trigger guard only” minimal holsters that leave the trigger partly exposed, and any holster whose mouth has softened to the point that it can fold inward all fail this rule.

Rule 2: No soft, collapsing or universal-fit holsters for carry

The nylon pouch that came with the gun, the soft suede IWB holster from the display rack, the “one size fits most” clip holster: these are storage sleeves, not carry holsters. They collapse when the gun comes out, which forces you to pry the mouth open with your support hand — now your hand is next to the muzzle — or to push the gun in blind against resistance, which is exactly how material ends up in the trigger guard. They also do not hold the gun in one position, so your draw changes every time.

A carry holster is rigid, molded to your exact gun, and its mouth stays open with nothing in it. Kydex does this by nature; good leather does it when new and properly maintained; hybrids do it as long as the backing is intact. Our page on Kydex vs leather vs hybrid holsters covers how each material holds up.

Re-holstering

Rule 3: Look the gun into the holster

There is a persistent idea that a serious carrier should be able to re-holster without looking, eyes on the threat. That skill exists in law enforcement training because an officer may need to holster while handcuffing or controlling a subject, and even there it is taught as slow, deliberate and done only when the situation forces it. For a concealed carrier, the situation almost never forces it. If the threat is gone, you have time to look. If the threat is not gone, you should not be holstering.

So: finger straight along the frame, support hand clears all clothing from the holster mouth and then moves away, look at the holster, insert the gun slowly, feel it seat. If anything resists, stop and take the gun back out. Nobody is timing your re-holster.

Rule 4: Nothing but the gun goes into the holster

The specific things we have seen enter a holster during re-holstering, in class and in the incidents we have reviewed:

• The tail of an untucked shirt, swept back for the draw and not held clear for the re-holster.
• Jacket drawstrings and toggles. A drawstring with a plastic toggle on the end is the perfect size to fall into a trigger guard and the perfect shape to press a trigger as the gun seats.
• A fold of the holster’s own material, in soft or worn holsters.
• The trigger finger, usually when the carrier is rushing or has a habit of resting the finger on the trigger guard rather than high on the frame.
• Keys and a phone, in pocket carry without a pocket holster.

Before you re-holster, the support hand sweeps the holster mouth and holds everything clear. Then it leaves. Then the gun goes in while you watch.

Rule 5: Appendix carry is held to a higher standard

At 3 or 4 o’clock, a mistake during re-holstering sends a round into the ground next to your foot. At 1 or 2 o’clock, the same mistake sends it into your thigh, near the femoral artery, or into the groin. Appendix carry is not banned on our range, but it comes with extra requirements: a rigid holster, a wedge that angles the muzzle away from the body, a slight backward lean when holstering, and a re-holster that is slower than anyone thinks necessary. The draw also has to come straight up and clear the body before the muzzle rotates toward the target. We walk through all of it in the appendix carry guide.

Practice and storage

Rule 6: Dry-fire holster work is done like live fire

Dry practice from the holster is the best way to build a safe draw, and it is where bad habits form if you treat it casually. The routine we teach:

1. Unload the gun. Magazine out, slide locked back, look and feel the chamber. Say “clear” out loud.
2. Move every round of ammunition — loaded magazines included — to another room. Not the other side of the table. Another room.
3. Pick a safe backstop that would stop a round if you were wrong: a brick wall, a body-armor panel, a full bookcase. Never an interior wall with a bedroom behind it.
4. Run the drill. Draw, present, press, re-holster slowly, looking. Every re-holster follows every rule above, even though the gun is empty.
5. Set a fixed number of repetitions and stop when you reach it. Most dry-fire accidents happen when someone reloads the gun and then decides to do “one more.”
6. When finished, say out loud that practice is over, reload the gun deliberately, and put it away or holster it for carry. Do not touch it again that session.

The drills themselves are in drawing from concealment practice drills.

Rule 7: A holstered gun off your body is a stored gun

A holster is not a safe. When the gun comes off your belt at home, it goes into a locked container or a quick-access safe, in the holster if you like, but locked. Not the nightstand, not the top of the dresser, not the console of the truck. In our classes we meet a lot of parents and grandparents, and the honest ones admit the holstered gun has been sitting on a shelf “where the kids can’t reach.” Children climb, children watch where you put things, and visiting children have no training at all. Teenagers are more curious than toddlers and far more capable. The same goes for guests, repair workers and anyone else who walks through the house. Our firearm safety page covers storage in more depth.

When you take the holster off, do it with the gun in it and put the whole unit away. Taking a loaded gun out of a holster and setting it down is an unnecessary handling step, and unnecessary handling is where accidents live.

Rule 8: Retention gets tested, not assumed

With an unloaded gun, holster it, turn the holster upside down and shake. Then wear it and bend, squat and jog. The gun stays put or the holster gets adjusted or replaced. Do this when the holster is new, after any change to the retention screw, and every few months. A loose holster drops a gun in a parking lot or in a store aisle, and now a loaded firearm is on the floor in public. The full procedure and what the retention levels mean are in holster retention levels explained.

Patterns behind the negligent discharges we have seen

We are not going to invent cases or quote statistics. What follows is the set of patterns that repeat across the incidents we have witnessed on ranges, reviewed in training or heard about directly from students over twenty years. Almost every one fits one of these:

• Speed on the re-holster. The shooter finished the drill and put the gun away like it was a race. Fabric or finger in the guard. The holster was usually fine; the habit was not.
• Collapsed holster mouth. Soft leather or nylon, gun forced in blind. The material folded in and pressed the trigger.
• Clothing in the guard. Drawstring, shirt tail or jacket hem. Often in cold weather, when there are more layers.
• Adjusting the holster with a loaded gun in it. Reaching inside the waistband to move a holster, hand on the grip, finger finds the trigger.
• Handling the gun unnecessarily. Taking it out of the holster to show someone, to put it in a bag, to move it between the car and the house. Every unnecessary draw is another chance to break a rule.
• Dry fire that was not actually dry. Reloaded the gun, got interrupted, came back and pressed the trigger. Ammunition was in the room.

None of these require a bad holster, but a good holster, used slowly and looked into, removes most of them.

Bottom line

Rigid holster, full trigger-guard coverage, nothing in the guard but the gun, look it in, slow down at appendix, dry-fire like it is live, and lock it up when it is off your body. These rules are simple and they get broken by experienced people who stopped paying attention, not by beginners. Every one of our classes includes holster work with an instructor watching; if you want that set of eyes on your draw, register for a class and bring your carry rig.

Frequently asked questions

Should you look at the holster when reholstering?

Yes. Re-holstering without looking is a trained skill for uniformed officers who may need to keep their eyes on a subject, and even they are taught to do it slowly. A concealed carrier is almost never in that situation and should look the gun into the holster every time.

Why are soft holsters unsafe?

A soft fabric or worn leather holster collapses after the draw, so re-holstering requires forcing the gun in or using the other hand near the muzzle. Soft material can also fold into the trigger guard and press the trigger.

What causes negligent discharges while holstering?

In the cases we have seen or reviewed, nearly all involve something entering the trigger guard during re-holstering: a finger, a shirt tail, a drawstring, a jacket toggle or a fold of holster material, usually combined with speed.

Is it safe to dry fire from a holster?

Yes, if the gun is verified unloaded, all ammunition is out of the room, you have a safe backstop and you treat re-holstering as seriously as you would with a loaded gun. Dry holster work is the safest way to build the draw.

How should I store a holstered gun at home with kids?

A holstered gun that is not on your body should be in a locked container or quick-access safe, not on a nightstand or a shelf. Holsters are not child-resistant and children find things adults consider hidden.

Can a holster be unsafe for appendix carry but fine on the hip?

Yes. A holster that lets the muzzle angle inward or whose mouth softens may put a round in the floor at 4 o'clock and in your leg at 1 o'clock. Appendix carry requires a rigid holster and a wedge.