review: Andrews Monarch shoulder holster

[RHenriksen]

http://www.andrewsleather.com/monarch.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Finally broke down and ordered one after admiring the design for the last year or so. What really sold me is the back strap, rather than the gun & mag holder being able to swing forward when leaning over, or when trying to draw.

Received mine 5-6 weeks after the order, and the build quality is very nice. Got it for my Walther PPS & two spare mags. Very comfortable, and the holster was appropriately tight at first - even snapping the retention strap was a struggle, but (the strap) has now broken in nicely.

A couple of challenges:

The draw is a struggle - when my right thumb unsnaps the retention strap as I'm establishing a grip, the thumb also traps the retention strap against the back of the slide, making it a tough pull to get the pistol out of the holster.

If I unsnap the strap, then massage the strap out of the way, and hook my thumb up over the rear sights, then the remainder of the draw is okay. But that seems AWFULLY slow... Any sugggestions?

The design mix-up I ran into is on the mag holder. The length of the retention straps there are correct for the PPS 7 rnd mags, but I wanted to carry two 8 rnd spares, and a 7 round in the pistol. The foot of the 8rnd mags is longer, and the retention strap can't reach around them to snap closed. Also, the feet on the PPS mags are long enough (wide enough?) that the two mag slots need to be spaced further apart to avoid the two mag feet from getting in each others' way.

I called the owner, and he was very gracious about the problem. I'm going to send him the measurements that will be needed to resolve these two things, and he's going to make a replacement & send it out to me.

But all in all, I love this rig!

[flintknapper]

The Andrews is a VERY nice shoulder rig, you made an excellent choice.

The problem you are having drawing your weapon.....is called "strap trapping", it can happen with any holster that has a thumb snap. It is not a design flaw and is easily avoided… BUT you must practice your draw to the point it becomes muscle memory.

I will try to explain the mechanics of releasing the strap and drawing your weapon, but if you need a picture tutorial, let me know… and I will work something up when I get time.

The way to avoid a Strap Trap, is to first use your thumb to “hit” the thumb snap. Do NOT try to wedge your thumb in between the snap and the retaining strap. You need to push/hit the thumb snap directly toward your body (perpendicular to the slide of you PPS) and hold it there.

Your natural inclination will be to close the hand around the weapon, but you NEED to resist this… until you have drawn the weapon 2”-3”… at which time you will have cleared the strap.

So the motion goes something like this:

1. Grasp the grip of your weapon; make sure you have good pressure between the web your hand and your fingers around the front strap. Depending upon the length of the grip, you might only be able to get your two middle fingers around the grip, that is fine.

2. Hit/push the thumb snap directly toward your body and hold it there as you begin to remove the weapon from the holster.

3. Once you have achieved 2”-3” of movement, you can then attain a full grip, or let your thumb ride on top of the thumb safety (if the weapon is so equipped).

I recognize, the method sounds like you would not have good control of the weapon…while supporting it only between the web of the thumb and the fingers, but it is plenty secure.

Practice the above and you will find that you can quickly and smoothly draw from your shoulder rig without Strap Trapping yourself.

One tip: (With weapon unloaded), place the pistol in the holster, but do NOT put the holster on. Hold the pistol and holster in your weak hand (pointed in a safe direction) and slowly go through the mechanics… so you can SEE the how the snap is pushed out of the way.

This will let you get a feel for how far you’ll need to move your weapon before the slide moves the strap out of the way.

After you’ve done it a few times, put your holster on and practice the draw slowly. I can tell you from experience, “smooth is fast”. NEVER try to jerk your weapon from a holster with a retention strap, be smooth and deliberate…and you’ll have no problems.


Flint

[RHenriksen]

Thank you very much :-) I remember the photo sequence you & LT made about avoiding muzzle sweep on the draw, and was tempted to msg you directly about this.

I didn't think it was any design defect unique to the holster - I was guilty of mixing my holster review with some personal learning curve issues...

Typing up that review prodded me to start experimenting on my own: I discovered that if I index the tips of my middle/ring/pinkie fingers on the front of the grip, use more of the tip of my thumb on the tip of the straight portion of the retention closure, and unsnap/push the straight portion far away from the pistol (towards my chest), I can avoid the strap trap (nice expression). The tips of my fingers start to draw the pistol out, and as the back of the slide clears the strap, the pistol comes naturally into my usual grip.

I think about the only variance between the above and what you've described is that I'm not getting pressure on both the front of the grip (with my fingertips) and the back of the grip (with the palm) during the first portion of the draw. But the grip is established before the slide has cleared the holster, so I don't *think* I'm really at risk of bobbling control of the firearm. Doing it this way keeps the web of my hand well out of the way of the strap, reducing the chance of things getting bound up.

[flintknapper]

Thank you very much :-) I remember the photo sequence you & LT made about avoiding muzzle sweep on the draw, and was tempted to msg you directly about this.

I didn't think it was any design defect unique to the holster - I was guilty of mixing my holster review with some personal learning curve issues...

Typing up that review prodded me to start experimenting on my own: I discovered that if I index the tips of my middle/ring/pinkie fingers on the front of the grip, use more of the tip of my thumb on the tip of the straight portion of the retention closure, and unsnap/push the straight portion far away from the pistol (towards my chest), I can avoid the strap trap (nice expression). The tips of my fingers start to draw the pistol out, and as the back of the slide clears the strap, the pistol comes naturally into my usual grip.

I think about the only variance between the above and what you've described is that I'm not getting pressure on both the front of the grip (with my fingertips) and the back of the grip (with the palm) during the first portion of the draw. But the grip is established before the slide has cleared the holster, so I don't *think* I'm really at risk of bobbling control of the firearm. Doing it this way keeps the web of my hand well out of the way of the strap, reducing the chance of things getting bound up.

You've got it!

Good job. Practice slowly until it becomes second nature.

Smooth is fast! Great holster.

[SewTexas]

that is really nice! I'm looking at that Solo! Been looking for a Shoulder Holster...I like that....looks good.

[TexasTransplant]

Very nice. I guess I need to start saving my pennies now!

[RHenriksen]

Funny you mention this - I was wearing it tonight :-)