Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Holster for backpacking

Hey, long time lurker, first time poster - at least in this forum.

The son of a friend of mine wants to carry a Glock .45 (unsure of model except it's the full size double stack) somewhat unobtrusively while he is backpacking the Idaho back country. He carries a full size cargo pack with large waist belt and so far any shoulder holster or belt holster he tried gets in the way of the pack straps. He had rigged up some kind of strap arrangement on the pack strap for a modified high crossdraw carry but one day he slipped and fell on muddy terrain and hadn't gone on too much further before realizing his pistol had fallen out.

Seems a good drop leg holster might work, that's what comes up a lot on google searches but I don't think he wants to get all tactical about it. He just needs to carry it securely and while not totally concealed at least not look like he's headed off to a combat zone.

I figured to post here and see what you guys use or might be able to suggest.

Hill people gear kit bag. If he's not going to carry anything else with it I recommend the Runners Kit Bag as it is a little slimmer.

https://hillpeoplegear.com/Products/CategoryID/1/ProductID/2

Wilderness Safepacker

http://www.thewilderness.com/safepacker-concealment-holster/

Thanks - I've passed these suggestions on to my friend.

Kit bag for the win. It took me a while to come around but when I finally got one I was instantly sold. It is useful for so much more than backpacking. It has become my favorite piece of gear.

I'll vote for the full sized kit bag. I can carry a 1911, some survival gear, and all the lures I need for fishing with room to spare. It isn't nearly as bulky as you would think.

I am interested in this as well, but the kit bag wont work for 2 reasons....first, i carry in grizz country and this doesnt seem to quick to deploy without fumbling with a zipper. Secondly, that is where my binoc harness goes that has my rangefinder, wind powder, etc. I need something for the belt.

To answer #1, if you leave the top corner of the pistol compartment unzipped for an inch or two, its designed to rip open easily without having to unzip, and it works. Second, it has multiple compartments and can accommodate a pistol and binoculars. The other benefit of a chest pack is, when you take your backpack off, you still have your pistol with you; not so with anything that attaches to the pack belt. If that doesn't work, go for the Safepacker. Very unobtrusive.

^this. It is very fast with a small amount of practice. Binos may be harder to solve unless you use a smaller pair.

I have the "heavy recon" kit bag, and can get 10X42 ultravids and rangefinder in the front compartment along with a few smaller items.

Can carry a 4" 629 or a 329PD in the other side, although with all that crap, the cylinder isn't terribly comfortable on the sternum. An auto fixes that problem.

I use an Uncle Mikes fanny pack for my Glock 36 in .45 ACP. It carries above and rests on top of the waist strap on my backpack. Works well for me.

This conversation has been discussed on just about every hunting forum out there. And everybody has their ideal setup. I am looking for something that I can carry my mountain guns in and also be able to use my S4 Gear with my Swarovski 12x50 binos. My pack waist strap do not allow me to use a belt holster and I have looked at chest holsters which is the direction I really want to go, but without buying one and trying it out I don't know if real world experience will show that it works.

I couldn't agree more...

I use/carry mine all the time. Hiking, fishing, biking, anything outdoors. Very comfortable and practical. Once you get a few miles in it you forget it's there.

The HPG bag would be a good choice.

I'm using El Paso Saddlery 1942 Tanker holsters for a couple of guns ... one for a 4-5/8" Ruger Super Blackhawk and another for the 4" S&W 329PD. Also have a Diamond-D guide holster for my Ruger Bisley .454. All are good. However, I don't think I could use them with a binoc harness so there's a choice to be made.

Tom

The zipper is a non-issue. You never touch the zipper, just grab the corner and pull.

Can't help on the bino harness.

I have the same issue, and have nothing but trial, error, and an idea for a fix.

Admittedly, a fix would be easier save for two requirements — must draw from right hip and must use a holster with the Safariland ALS type security design. Why? It’s what I’m used to. It will also keep the AZ horror show brush from ripping the pistol out.

A pistol is worth zero to a backpacker if it can’t be on point RFN. Right—another word—Now. I can do this only with the above gear. I don’t want a chest rig because 99% of the time pack straps, including chest strap, and binocs are already there. Too much clutter.

It sort of works to remove a pack belt buckle and mount the holster there. But it often digs into the upper thigh. So the idea is to sew a nylon strap around the right side of the padded portion of the belt. If that fails, maybe I’ll get a holster for each pack and just sew the damned thing where I want it. Pricey, I know.

It would take so much training to make another mounting system equivalent that I’m just gonna dance with her that brung me.

Some packs allow a few options. My Granite Gear pack has webbing on the outside of the waist belt that is compatible with MOLLE so if you've got a MOLLE holster option, that might work.

What I'd really like to see is a shoulder holster body that attaches to the pack straps via grim-loc or similar connectors so it becomes part of the pack. I haven't found anyone making quite the right rig yet.

I wear a harness on my 10-40 Zeiss all the time. PUt my EP Tanker on with the glock 20 in it first, rotate it a bit to the side and put the binoc harness on. Its not perfect but I've been doing it for going on 3 years now, and thats generally speaking a minimum of 15 weekends a year, 2 weeks full in the fall, and a few other trips trailing deer with our dog a year.

I don't want anything that stays on the pack ever again. Just not a good feeling.

FWIW

Tactical Holster

Blackhawk Tactical Holsters

I don't carry a sidearm when I'm carrying a rifle. But when I return to get the meat, I don't want to carry the rifle but I do want to carry a full size backpack. A tactical holster doesn't get in the way of the hip belt. If a bear is molesting my meat, I can deal with it.

BTW I didn't buy one of these expensive tactical holsters. I made my own out of parts and pieces, straps and buckles, that I had hanging around.

KC

You're a better man than I, gunga din.

Maybe I should have phrased that differently.

Kit bag attaches to the lifter straps with grim-loc's

I don't think they offer a kit bag for a 7-1/2 inch barreled revolver. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Tom

Ahh yes, the dreaded Minnesota Grizzly Bear! Always an ever present issue eh!

Funny how someone "Knows" something won't work, when they don't own it, and have never tried it...



I wear an HPG Kit Bag fairly regularly while hunting BG, and carry various handguns ranging from a 5" N Frame .44 Magnum, to a Glock 21 .45 ACP, with no issues.

With a modicum of practice, and proper setup, a reasonably quick presentation of a handgun is pretty simple.

Have him look at a Safariland ALS paddle holster. Solid retention with a really nice thumb release.

Put the paddle on the pack waist strap, mine has some molle webbing sewn on it that the holster just grabs onto.

When you drop your pack, slip the paddle over your belt.

Great holster, IMO

The ALS system kicks azz. I likey.

I saw this on another site. I don't think anyone posted it yet. I Do not own it, but it allows for binocular and handgun chest carry.
https://fhfgear.com/collections/tactical/products/kydex%C2%AE-holster-by-razco-gear

https://www.diamonddcustomleather.com/collections/holsters/products/guides-choice-chest-holster


The guides choice is a well made, very versatile holster. I carry a Super Blackhawk while bowhunting, along with a daypack, and binos on a harness. Its always right there, if needed. I've had mine for at least 6 years now.

The guides choice for me too. When I was looking for something to carry while wearing a backpack, it is what I settled on, and with no regrets. If the zipper packs work for someone, go for it. For me, whether it is just in my head, or what...I don't want to have to run the risk of a zipper catching or missing my grab at a strap. Some of the places I go I too can see myself needing access RFN.

When we hunted out of a base camp it was situated at the base of where a creek drainage split the mountain . Depending on where you hunted that day, one way to get back to camp was hit the drainage, drop down to the creek and follow it down . As you got lower you would run into where the beavers were making dams and quite a bit of willows/alders. It was thick but cattle and game usually had a trail through it.

One night my pard came down that trail (most nights that hunt) and bumped into a bear. He never saw the bear, but figured it was only 15 or 20 feet away when it started popping it's teeth and roaring. He said it blew away through about fifty feet of that thicket before it stopped and started popping and growling again, then it crashed off up the other side.

Bryan is a fairly accomplished pistol shot, did pretty good at Bianchi cup and shoots IDPA regular like.

He told me that night back at camp that if he had his pistol in his hand he probably wouldn't have had time to raise it if the bear had charged him and that it covered that first fifty or so feet so fast that he doubts he could have drawn in the time it took to realize what was happening.

We're getting older and carry for varied reasons (another thread maybe) but not cause we think we might stop a charge. Having the gun, fak, fire starter, on me when I drop the day pack is nice though. My system I can do that with the Kit bag or not. Kit bag works well though.

This is sort of what I’ve been looking for to pair with my AGC bingo pack. I’d prefer it was integrated behind the bino compartment rather than suspended below.