What’s an Avenger Holster?
Among belt holsters worn outside the waistband (OWB), the Avenger style stands out as one of the most popular. It was introduced by Bruce Nelson with his creation of the #1 Professional holster. Later, in collaboration with Col. Charles Askins, a prominent gun writer of the time, John Bianchi included the style into his catalog as the Askins Avenger holster and the Avenger name stuck.
The Avenger style is classified as a wraparound (taco) style. In this style, the leather wraps around the sight line, folding toward the trigger guard. (Occasionally, for scoped hunting handguns, I employ a reverse wraparound technique.)
Pancake holsters, an innovation of Roy Baker, “The Pancake Maker”, consists of two separate pieces of leather layered in a sandwich.
A pancake holster, typically has two slots, one in front and one behind the piece. In contrast, a wraparound holster usually features a belt tunnel or belt loop followed by a trailing slot behind the trigger guard. Pancake holsters conceal the outline of the firearm well, and afford a natural sight channel for the front sight.
Contrary to popular belief, the length of the firearm’s barrel is not the primary factor limiting concealability. Instead, it’s the butt of the piece that tends to print the most. By incorporating a belt tunnel loop and a trailing slot, the trailing slot pulls the gun butt closer to the body in a camming-like action, enhancing concealability.
For instance, a full-size 1911 with a 5-inch barrel in an Avenger style holster can be quite concealable.
Wraparound style holsters also tend to stay open for re-holstering better than pancake holsters. Leather tends to return to its flat state, so by wrapping it around the piece, the holster mouth wants to stay open. By including a reinforcing piece around the holster mouth, which I refer to on my Avenger style holsters as the “top band,” the holster tends to stay very stiff and open, allowing for easy one-handed blind re-holstering. The reinforcing top band on an Avenger style holster doesn’t have to be very large; it’s essentially just a leather tab. This is in comparison to pancake holsters, in which the reinforcing piece is often half the size of the holster body itself.
As an experiment, try shooting rollover prone with your sidearm. Then re-holster and transition to your carbine, to finish the stage. The pancake holster will likely collapse, my avenger style holsters won’t.
The necessity of a one-handed blind re-holster of your sidearm might seem biased, but it’s based on my experience. Thirty years ago, the idea of private citizens legally carrying concealed firearms was uncommon unless you were friends with the Mayor of Chicago. Most concealed holsters designed back then were for officers, either plainclothes or undercover. As the concept of the two-officer squad car was being phased out, lone officers had to manage their own control, re-holster, and cuffing of a suspect.
Myself, along with Prof. Joseph Olson of the Hamline School of Law, and others, successfully lobbied the Minnesota state legislature to enact “Shall Issue” concealed carry laws. This has now become the norm nationwide, rather than the exception. However, like police officers, I still prefer my holsters to re-holster as easily as I can draw from them.
With all this talk of tacos, pancakes, and sandwiches, I’m getting hungry.
Steve Pulley,
The Gunfitters Leather Company
