Obviously a shoulder holster doesn't work for concealment in the hot summer.

But in general, what's the thoughts on shoulder holsters, especially for heavier guys.

So plusses I see are
I suspect they'd work well for the wide wasted
work well while seated/driving
Pants stay up
easier to take a crap while wearing (speculation)

Negatives I see are:
drawing, sweeps people potentially to your side
at best a 3-season choice if concealment is important

However, I am very ignorant on the subject.  Thoughts?

Edit to add:  Shoulder holsters seem more expensive on the surface, but the few I've looked at seem to include a holster AND a mag pouch (usually a double) AND the shoulder rig itself, so an honest price compare would be vs a holster, plus magpouch, plus belt.

Shoulder holsters are on the decline b/c most ranges won't let you practice w/ 'em - and it seems hardly anyone wears suits anymore.

They certainly are a good choice for some people and situations. In my previous job I used a shoulder holster because most of my time was driving and sitting in a pickup. That job was jeans and a carhart attire so was perfect for a shoulder holster. Your pluses are spot on. In reality a double mag pouch is perfect because it balances out the rig across your shoulders making it more comfortable. If you get a good rig And get it adjusted correctly they work well.
Also, you can usually get another separate “holster” reasonably to accommodate a different gun for more options.
I still use mine a lot in the fall and winter just because it’s so comfortable.

you're right in your ideas. the way you're supposed to carry a gun in a shoulder holster to hide it gets the gun damn near into your arm pit. Not low enough to be replaced by a crossdraw, like you'd see in the movies.

I wear mine rarely. Even on long road trips I don't, because I don't have one for the guns I carry all the time. The one I have is for a steel detective revolver, and I carry it that way because it's how my grandpa carried that exact gun. It's always been a secondary after I got charged by a dog, went for it, and forgot I had buttoned up my shirt because it was windy. Thankfully yelled the dog off but it was a reminder to check, train, and practice with your shit.

I will wear it more this winter if I'm wearing a coat, but otherwise it's rare that I prefer it.

I like them but you gotta dress around them for sure.

I use an old cammie top as a light jacket if its to warm for a warmer flannel. Sometimes ill wear one i cut the sleeves off with a wife beater but its pretty trashy

Its also nice to add some firepower to my belt gun if i feel i might need it.

I've got this one from Highnoon

I might wear it a couple times a yr, thought I'd use it more, glad I didn't spend huge $$ on it.

The one thing I found a shoulder holster useful for was flying armed on an airplane.

I had one of the Galco's with vertical holster (not the Miami Vice model).  Trying to sit in an airline seat was bad enough without a gun on your hip.

Since I can't do that any more, I don't really have a use for one.

I have a galco miami classic for riding a motorcycle it's the greatest thing ever IMO 14 hr day on the bike and you never feel it.......

Like everyone says though it's for certain situations / you have to dress for it.

They're great for cars that have zero clearance between the seat and center console.

They actually don't work well for "heavier guys"- you have to be able to reach across your chest and grab the gun which as stevie said, needs to be essentially up under your armpit when properly adjusted (horizontal style holster obviously).  Don Johnson wore his low on Miami Vice but the horizontal style should be tucked up fairly high or it'll flop around; even with the tie down it'll move around.  Properly worn, the gun and mag pouch won't flop around.  You'll need some sort of cover garment to hide the straps assembly or it prints; in warmer weather you'll want something like a dark colored shirt with some sort of pattern that'll break up the outlines of the straps such as the camo jacket mentioned or a Hawaiian shirt (that'll apparently get you funny looks these days).  You will probably need to adjust it over the course of the year if you wear it over heavier clothes.  Ideally, you'll add either snaps or Velcro to your overshirt so that you can just yank it open if you need to.  

They work well for anything that require sitting such as driving or sitting at a desk band they also work well for folks with back problems as long as they can twist to draw/reholster the gun.  The harness puts the weight of the gun and mag on your shoulders and you can wear your belt looser which seems to help a lot of folks with lower back problems.  They are not as stealthy as most folks think, especially when compared to something like a good IWB/appendix holster and you need to be aware of it when bending or anytime the cover garment can get moved aside such as wind (hence the snaps/Velcro).  

That said, yeah, I like 'em for some applications, primarily driving or when wearing waders or just carrying a full sized gun with two full sized mags.  It's nice to have a full sized gun and extra mags along with a Surefire clipped to it hanging on a chair by the bed where you can grab it all if needed.  No, I never worried about muzzle sweeping anyone including myself but you do need to practice, practice, practice with them and always look at the holster and control it with your off-hand when reholstering.  A cheap shoulder holster such as one of the Uncle Mike's will quickly sour you on them for anything other than hunting/fishing.

Yea, what he said.

They are the best choice in a few circumstances.
They aren't imo good for an "only holster" option but I use one a few times per month, they are a great "additional" option.
Jump up on/off a forklift 87 times, throw chokers on iron & pipe, drag small >20' sticks of iron around, take the trash to the dumpster 100 yards away wearing sweats, the Killer Dog wakes you up at 3am 'cause coyotes are in the yard, sitting in the 2 person chair playing footsie with the Wife/Chic and watching Gunsmoke, lots of odd situations where they are the better option.

My range is on my property so I don't care what public ranges allow

I wear one mostly in winter driving in a car. Open canvas work shirt and a jacket. Getting to where I dont like wearing anything on my belt.

I've used shoulder rigs for quite a long time now, and I have nothing to add. You are dead on, especially about the bathroom bit. Get yourself a Galco Miami Classic or similar for your gun of choice, spend a week adjusting it as you feel the need, and then you will know if it's right for you. I spend most of my day seated, so a shoulder rig makes a lot of sense.

I had this holster briefly but ended up sending it back.  The rig itself was OK (not great and not terrible) but it didn't work for the gun I wanted to use in it.

I have a Sig P239 in .357 and figured this holster would be a great choice with the thin gun, but after investing almost four hours of my life trying to make it work, I finally gave up and returned it.  

The website leads you to believe these are made for the gun you select, but it's more like a set of modular components where one-size-fits-many.  

The holster part was good, except for the thumb break- it took some serious contortions to release it.  They put it on the side against your body, and human thumbs just don't have a lot of range-of-motion in that direction.  I could not release the break quickly or smoothly.

The rigging was fair.  It seemed way too thick and stiff for the size/weight gun I was using.  When you open the box the holster system is NOT assembled as shown on the website, it's a bunch of straps and holster/mag pouch that you have to assemble.  You set the rigging up by using plastic "keepers" to hold the straps while you sort out the fit; the problem is the keepers don't really fit the straps, so you end up exerting tremendous force on thin plastic parts trying to get them over two thicknesses of leatherette.  The other problem is the two square plastic pieces that form the pivot for the straps, it snags on the material of the overshirt or jacket and sticks out.  

Attached File

NOTE in this picture the strap material looks soft and flexible; it isn't.  

The magazine holster was pretty much a one-size-fits-very-many.  My thin light P239 single stack mags got lost in them, and even with the tension screws smoked down they were rattling around.  High Noon sent me another one but it was the same thing, just the rubber grommets had been cut thinner.  Ultimately you end up with three thicknesses of leatherette around the mags- the back and front of the mag holder, and the snap flap that holds them in.  Just a few minutes of wear and it felt like I was losing circulation in my right arm.  

The overall fit was a tough nut to crack, at least for me.  The directions they included were poor, with poor hand drawings.  When you start the setup, you're presented with four straps which have a different number of holes in one pair compared to the other.  Do the straps with more holes go in front or back?  Trial and error is the only way to find out, as the directions and drawings leave this critical information out.  As mentioned, the plastic keepers you use to hold the straps in place while you set it up don't really fit, and trying to force them over the ends of the straps causes the lamination to separate and fold over.  Speaking of the laminated leather material, it will separate wherever the straps are bent, causing a bubble.  Getting the right fit is a frustrating experience.  They tell you the pivot thing needs to be centered between your shoulder blades, but getting there is tough, and keeping it there is almost impossible.  I'd make adjustments (more drama with the plastic keepers), try it on, seems ok, then when I move my arms the whole rig shifts and now the pivot part is way over on one side and the magazine holder or gun is either too high or too low.  Repeat that a few dozen times and bad words may come to mind, or out your mouth...

EDIT to add: I paid the extra for the belt tie-downs on each side.  These are the same material laminated leather-ish straps with various snaps and things to attach the magazine holder on one side, and the holster on the other side, to your belt.  You're on your own for figuring them out- the directions don't really address them.  When I called customer service initially, they told me the holster system doesn't really work without them, and that I should get them.  I had them, and they help a little, but if they're necessary then they should come with the holster, not be an additional $30 charge.

Some caveats:  I'm 5'8" medium build, so maybe this design just wasn't going to work for me.  I have a Galco Jackass rig and although similar, I have had none of the problems that I had with  the High Noon.  Maybe I was expecting too much; my thought was that this relatively light single-stack pistol would easily disappear behind an overshirt or light jacket, but the Under Armor holster is sort of a jack-of-all-trades holster, and most guns are bigger and heavier than the P239.  I considered paying the difference and getting the more expensive model, but noticed on the picture they use the same pivot arrangement on that one, and it's a terrible design in my opinion.

High Noon customer service was great about trying to help me through the issues, and in the end gave me an RMA number and refund.  I paid the shipping for the experience of trying it out.  I have other High Noon holsters and they're excellent!  

I think there is a market for a new shoulder holster design using modern materials and designed for some of the smaller and lighter pistols we have available, like the Sig P365 or the Ruger LCP.  I doubt the return on investment is good enough to get any of the holster makers to put up the time and money though.  In my case with the P239, I didn't need the thickness of the laminated leather-ish material, something thinner and wider would be a better fit for that gun.  Shoulder holsters are traditionally made from leather (good ones) and nylon webbing (cheap ones), but there are some better materials available now, so maybe it's time for holster makers to keep up.

Well don't give up on all of them.
This "Bodyguard" by Lou Alessi was like magic, even with the P7M13 + 2 mags.

Damn, beat to it.

I have an Alessi Bodyguard for my P239 (.40) and it is a great setup, especially for Winter carry or road trips. The shoulder harness can still print in a suit as already mentioned, but the Alessi is much lower profile than many of the other options like the Galcos

Kirkpatrick

Bumping this thread as I'm now considering a shoulder holster.  This would be only for cooler/winter weather carry when I can wear a jacket/coat/fleece outer layer.  I love my larger guns, but I tend to get sciatic flare-ups opposite of my holster side from having my belt cinched up.  Summer isn't much of an issue as I carry a smaller, lighter gun (XDS).

I'm looking at some of the Galcos and Alien Gears.  I like the Alien Gear lineup as they have a lot of gun options to choose from, and are a little bit less expensive...but are they any good? What do you guys think of them? The High Noon one in this thread also caught my eye, and I certainly appreciate that thorough review that went along with it.

I'm about 6' tall and 190ish lbs.  I'd definitely prefer to stay with my double-action choices going this route, so I've been planning to use either my Beretta 92 Compact, PX4 Sub, or Sig 229 Legion.  Price is definitely a concern these days.  

ETA:  I just did some "testing" by holding some of my guns up under my armpit to see how the muzzle and butt print on a light sweatjacket.  I think I'll probably end up going with something for the PX4 or Glock, even though I wanted to stay DA.  The 92 and 229 just seemed a bit big, and felt the muzzle would probably print a bit.  Bummer as they're my typical "go to" choices.

Try wearing suspenders.  One of my former bosses had back problems from breaking his back when he was younger and when it would act up he'd wear suspenders so he didn't have to snug his belt.  He used a shoulder holster to carry a Colt Commander or 4" K frame at times.

Interesting, hadn't considered that. Thanks for the suggestion!

A lot of people go down that rat hole.  Most climb right back out.  It works in certain situations but not as many as you might think.  This is also one area where you need to go big or go home.  Expect to spend some serious coin on a usable shoulder rig.

Yeah, looks like that ($$$).  I also expect that, if I climb back out, I probably wouldn't be able to resell it with a less popular gun model like the PX4sc.  Not sure what I'll do.

Would a stiff gun belt make a difference?  I just use my regular flimsy leather belt and cinch it down a bit.  Maybe that would help with sciatic issues?

If you have to cinch your belt so tight it smokes, then you need a better belt.  No gun belt should be flimsy or floppy, stiffer is better.

Check out crossbreed seconds https://www.crossbreed-seconds.com/ click on Belts and see if they have a blem in stock for your size.  It's doubtful you'll find the blem and it's a great way to test out a real gun belt for $20 to $40.

Awesome, thanks for that link!

I ordered the Ares Tactical one when I made detective and it probably lasted 2months before breaking, leather is probably the better choice

The Miami classic has been around for close to 50 years. There is a good reason for that. It works, and is simply the best shoulder rig you can get. Its expensive, but it will also outlast you.

I wear one when riding my motorcycle and sometimes if I am wearing a suit, depending on where I am going and for what reason.

I replace just the holster section, as I changed from a sig229 to a glock. The original straps and mag pouch are still soft and comfortable, going on 15 years old.

I have another Miami Classic my brother used for a S&W 4506 back in the late 80's and early 90's. He gave it to me when I started in LE in the late 90's and I carried a 1006 and a 1066 in it for years. I still have it and its still in excellent condition.

Buy once, cry once. The galco Miami Classic is the only way to go.

I'm also looking at the Alien Gear.  I have a Miami Classic but it doesn't work with a Red Dot or a light...