Holsters is another hot topic on the HK bulletin boards, and again it is the Tactical which is subject to much debate mainly because of finding a holster that can accommodate the extended threaded barrel and the high profile of the sights.  At close to $1,000 for this very desirable piece, finding a good holster is not easy since there are so few in circulation to make it worthwhile for manufacturers to invest in a Tactical mold.  

My quest for a holster started with the Tactical for range use but since then it has expanded to holsters suitable for CCW use with my USP Compacts.  Read on............. 

Holster Considerations:

Let me start off by saying that holsters is very much a personal preference and what works for me may not necessarily good for you.   There is so much to consider when choosing a holster; material (leather, Kydex etc), use (competition, duty or CCW), where you wear it, cant - I could go on.  For people that want a good insight into learning about holster selection I cannot recommend more strongly  http://home.earthlink.net/~spwenger/spwhlstr.html  which is one of several articles by  Stephen P. Wenger who really knows his stuff.

The Tactical Solution:

In my quest for a holster to fit my Tactical (my first holster of any kind) I finally came across this chap Jerry Haugen out of Bismarck, North Dakota who is an ex-cop and now makes fine leather holsters and accessories.  Jerry himself had bought a USP 45 Tactical and so it was natural he had a holster for this model and he designed his Model # 52 Pro-Carry shown right which I bought along with a matching belt, and twin/single magazine carriers.  Jerry can be reached at http://webhost.btigate.com/~gunlethr/index.html

I might add that Jerry has a third party to manage his website and it does not fully depict the options available.  Basically, if he has the mold he will make any holster for that gun.  He is very customer focused and prompt at returning/answering emails.

As I said before holster selection is a simple business and many factors come into play.  The Pro-Carry is a damn good holster and it suits the Tactical extremely well, but the Tactical isn't exactly your first choice for CCW as I found out from first hand experience attending the SIG Arms Academy for CCW training (more on that later).  However, this rig makes for a fine range or competition holster.

The SIG Arms Academy Experience:

Last May I attended the Academy for 5 days of CCW training and it was an eye opener.  I am in the process of writing a full review so look out for the link in the near future.

At the start of the course I was sporting my Tactical/Pro-Carry rig feeling very macho and there was no question to my competent marksmanship with this gun but after two days it was not fit for purpose.  Make no mistake, the Tactical is a fine offensive weapon but in the context of CCW it presents several disadvantages as I found out first hand:

Overall, the compact was far more suited to the CCW environment and after I changed out other course members commented that my shooting actually improved.  Since the course I bought another USP Compact in .357 SIG caliber which is my designated CCW piece.

When I changed out to the USP 40 C I used my Haugen # 11 Deep Cover SOB rig (shown on the right).  Again a great holster if you wear it Small of Back as designed but as I found out on the course that this high level of concealment compromises a smooth fast draw and driving a car is a nightmare.

I wore it slightly to the rear on my dominant side and the combination on the whole worked fairly well but it still presented a couple of problems for me:

My Perfect CCW Rig:

With the experience of hindsight I was better informed as to what would work for me in terms of a functional CCW rig.  

Despite the problems I had with the Pro-Carry and Deep Cover holsters it was not question of quality but rather a matter of application and choosing a rig specific to my requirements.  Again I turned to Jerry and his #28 Equalizer II was the perfect answer (see left) with my newly acquired USP357C.

OK - I know I have a gut so no comments please (wife refers to it as my "liquid grain storage facility")!  Although SIG recommends wearing the holster on the side I still prefer slightly to the rear as it provides better concealment.

  • The rig rides lower than the deep cover so the gun is more balanced on the belt and wears close to the body minimizing risk of a foot print.  

  • The tight fit is aided by the position of the forward belt hole.

  • The Equalizer II has no cant resulting in the butt positioned more horizontally which is extremely comfortable.  Model #5 Equalizer I - is the same holster but with the FBI cant.

  • The front of the holster is cut low so that it only requires a 3" draw for the muzzle to clear the holster and this offsets the lack of cant.  It took me only a couple of minutes practice to achieve a clean fast draw.

  • The inside of the holster has a shield that not only provides comfort but acts as a guide for reholstering.  With this rig my reholstering problems disappeared.

  • The top outside of the holster is reinforced with a second layer of leather which strengthens the holster and eliminates any tendency for the holster to collapse when the gun is drawn.