I'm still looking for a good way to carry a handgun when hiking. I haven't found a holster that works well with the various packs that I own and use. I was wondering about something like this from blackhawk:

http://www.blackhawk.com/product/Special-Operations-Holster,792,119.htm

Can anyone here speak to using a holster like this with a pack? Is it comfortable, or a pain in the arse (and leg)?

I was issued something very similar. It was not popular gear because although it was very flexible in how attached or set up, it was impossible to quickly draw the weapon consistently. If we set it up for faster deployment the damn thing would dump the pistol during short runs. Leg holsters are ok but most of our guys liked to move the holster onto the vest if we were staying in body armor. The leg holster puts weight where you're swinging it, it drags your handgun through all sorts of crap, it's pretty bulky with multiple straps to put on and it wears holes in your pants. Most of us bought serpas because it secures the weapon and it allows a quick deployment BUT it makes some noise when walking and they are not cheap. With the quick detach kit or an extra hip holster, you can move the handgun between chest or hip holster and the leg. Also serpas are for duty guns which are too light for bear protection.

Look at the Kifaru Koala. They have a lifter kit that attaches to your pack straps, or works in stand alone config. www.kifaru.net

I've had moderate luck with a very lightweight pistol in a high ride (thigh more than leg) mount. Not discreet at all, and not completely satisfactory.

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That's why I came up with the design that resulted in the Kifaru Koala. If you're looking for something lighter and lower profile than the Koala, you can also check out my own offering here. We're currently sold out, but should have more in stock this month.
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That thing looks hella bulky to me. I carry a Ruger NSBH in 44 mag 4 5/8" when I hike and do backpack trips when i;m not carrying a rifle. I tried carrying it in a tactical holster strapped to my leg but it fell apart one me after about 6 months of use. Now I just carry it in a small leather holster on my belt.

This is me taking off on a three day/two night backpack circuit hunt/fishing trip. I'm loaded with camp and gear for both myself and my tracking dog, as well as a pack flyrod and wading staff using a J105. That's a full house short barrel 44 magnum revolver holstered on the right hip. As you can see, it is well fit and unobstructive. Notice how I keep my lower half clean and free of added gear. I'll often need to bushwack through snarly underbrush and I like to keep my lower half streamlined. In addition, I'll often need to ford many mountain streams and will often wade. I can easily strip down to my skivvies and wade to nearly waist deep while keeping all my gear above the water line. On this trip, I fished the crossings for my noon and evening meals.

I've used many variations of tactical holsters for professional use, but I'm not a fan of these for backpack hunting and fishing. I've had little touble maintaining some sort of waist or chest rig with my various packs. I've even mounted a holser within the frame of my pack frame meat hauler that is reached along the side between the pack frame and back. You work it kinda like a small of the back holser.

Good Luck!

I like your comfortable rifle handle.

I sometimes use a Dana Designs "Dry Rib". I believe this accessory is now made and sold by Marmot. It is sort of a triangular-shaped zippered pocket with nylon straps and buckles that attaches to your shoulder straps. Once attached, the pocket slings across your chest/abdomen, with the weight being supported by your shoulder straps.

It will NOT hold a handgun securely. The pocket itself is secure, but the gun will have enough room to wallow around in the pocket and the trigger will be covered by only a layer of pack cloth. If your handgun will allow, it may be beneficial to place it into a decent holster first, and then place the whole rig into the Dry Rib. This is definitely not a "I need it now!" type of solution.

It used to come in both a small and large size. It may now only be one size, but I'm not sure. Also, I believe it comes in a right-hand and left-hand version. The "Wet Rib" is similar, but it has an extra pocket for a water bottle.

Here is a link for illustration:

Dry Rib

Get yourself a Scandium S&W .357 revolver, and a leather pocket holster and a pair of hiking pants with a cargo pocket. Stick the holstered revolver in the cargo pocket, or almost anywhere (waist pocket on the pack, etc). It works for me, but ah, shoot .38 ammo in that pistol.....trust me.
Don

I've had the scandium .44, the 329pd. I don't think I could hike with a gun in my pocket. I hike long distances, with a lot of vertical feet thrown in. Having a 2+ pound weight in there sounds like no fun.

I also have bino on my chest 100% of the time.

The Dry Rib may work even with bins on your chest. It sort of rides a little to one side and just under the ribcage.

The ONLY reasons for those holsters, is to put the sidearm below the level of body armor.

Otherwise, they suck.

I have that one (329) too, and agree, it would be too much in a pocket.
Don

For an all purpose (hiking, bicycling, fishing etc), carry system that accepts any "normal" sized handgun, take a look at the Hill People Kit Bag.
Kit Bag

It's the predecessor to the Kifaru Koala. It's MUCH slimmer/trimmer than the Koala, which is exactly how I want a chest rig for carrying a pistol and enough gear on me. The Koala is much larger in comparison, and although I LOVE Kifaru products, I don't want their Tailgunner on my chest. I own two Tailgunners BTW.

If the user puts on the Kit Bag first, it can be worn in conjunction with backpacks, and remain on the wearer while the backpack is taken on and off during the day. The Kit Bag also comes with load-bearing accessory straps that tie into the shoulder straps on whatever backpack the wearing is using. Pretty slick.

An another advantage to the Kit Bag is that it's new (so is the Koala), and as such, it doesn't scream GUN if worn in public-------------kinda like when fanny packs were first worn backwards 25yrs ago.

Anyway, take a look. It's good stuff. And yes, I am friends with the company owners, but I gladly shelled out my own dollars for my copy. When other colors are released, I'll do it again.

Agreed. Ironically, most of the LEOs I've seen running leg holsters have them much lower than they really need too. They actually do a slight side bend during the draw stroke!

I've got an old school Uncles Mikes "tactical" holster that truly is a more of a drop holster than a leg holster. It's very light weight, with minimal retention technology, and still rides pretty high. It's built for a G17/22, but I've yet to play with it. For a drop holster it'd be the closest to useful I've seen for backpacking.

Bingo!

I have tried them and don't like them one bit. Not exactly quickly accessible and has a tendency to allow mags to be dumped out of automatics.

For hunting and backpacking, I went with an on the chest rig, the Chesty Puller. http://www.simplyrugged.com/chesty-puller-conversion-system/

Doesn't interfere with pack shoulder straps or belt, and it is right there in case you need it.

As mentioned belt drop stinks, the apparent weight is about double what it actually is and the weapon is never in the exact same spot so the draw stroke is horribly inconsistent. The only way to make them work is to wear it with tighter pants, it seemed to work ok for me in jeans but going to baggy cargo pants allowed it to flop all over the place. My preferance now is to carry a sidearm in a cross draw attached to my pack. Im kind of retentive in the field and do not take my pack off unless Im digging something out of it. I would never drop my pack to make a final stalk or walk away from it for any reason until Im back in a base camp so the idea of my pistol being to far away is not an issue.

In regard to pistols in general I no longer carry one if I already have a rifle. If I need to make a second load out for meat or I have already tagged out I will drop the rifle and put on the pistol but other than that it is secured at the main camp.

Years ago when I was into backcountry hiking I had Idaho Leather make me a crossdraw holster from a fairly stiff leather, it was made to sit at about a 45 degree angle, for the pack I was using it gave me good access to the pistol and while no carry method is completely out of the way when hiking this worked for me. As with all things in life it was a compromise between portability and accessability.

drover

What kind or kinds of handguns are you going to carry in this rig?

El Paso Saddlery 1942 Tanker holster.It fits forward of the pack straps. Also works well for flyfishing in waders while in bear country because it is not buried under your arm like the conventional Uncle Mikes shoulder holster.

+1 on the EPS Tanker. I've got two of 'em, and they're top shelf.

Unless I'm wearing plates, my pistol is on my belt even with body armor. Drop holsters suck azz!

Survival Sheath Systems
Chest holster: