It is essential to practice with your belly band holster before carrying it with you regardless of your primary carry method, and you also need to train with secondary carry methods too. The training would help to make the holster more effective; you should not just go to a range for fun; you should go to learn the necessary skills to use your holster appropriately. Being armed does not automatically save your life, just like owning a sports car does not make you a racer; this is where the importance of training shows.
What is a Belly Band Holster?
A belly band holster is the most versatile holster for concealed carry; with the aid of its elastic band that is worn around your lower belly with the hook and loop, it can hide your weapon without wearing a gun belt. The belly band is perfect for situations where you do not use belts, like during workouts. You can also use a belly band holster if you want to work comfortably from home.
Belly band holsters have the advantage of expanding with your belly as you eat because of the band’s elasticity. Many people prefer a belly band holster even when they wear a belt because of its comfort. With a belly band holster, your gun is custom fit to the middle, and it would not shift except you shift it yourself.
Also, you do not have to be a fitness model before you can wear a belly band holster; it does not matter how big you are. And you can dress the way you do for any IWB holster; that is, you can wear anything like a shirt to conceal it properly.
Tips for Practicing with Belly Band Holster
You need to practice as much as possible to use your belly band holster properly if you are not an experienced shooter. For the course to be a lot easier, there are some valuable tips you should note, and some of them are listed below:
- It is like other IWB holsters
Generally, it would help if you treated your belly band holster the same way you treat other IWB holsters; belly band holsters require the same procedures for drawing as other IWB holsters. But it is still necessary to do training on the drawing process because they can differ a little depending on the type of belly band holster you use.
The general method for drawing a belly band is to use your strong hand to lift your garment, but you must train with both hands because you might not use your two hands in a fight.
- Dress casually to the range
The idea of training to use a holster properly goes beyond just the holster and the gun. Since the belly band holster is typically used with casual wear, you should train with your everyday clothes or the type of cloth you use the holster with. Many people dress to the range like it’s an occasion which is not required because you need to train for the way you would be when you need the holster.
You might not dress casually to the range if you are training for a competition; in the case of a competitive shooter, you should dress like you would for the competition. Your training should be practical and realistic, so if you are training for self-defense, you should be honest with your dressing.
- Start from the basics
If you have not handled any firearm before, it is essential to start your training for defensive and practical shooting before practicing to use the holster. And ensure that your activity is regular because this is what brings about perfection of gun handling.
It is also essential to get an experienced instructor to guide you through your practice and tell you when to start training with the holster.
- Use a shot timer
Using a shot timer is imperative if you want to get better at shooting practice; it is better to track and quantify your performance. The shot timer helps you track your course by the number of shots you have on the target.
When you begin to have hit on target, it means you have made significant progress because the most crucial part of shooting is accuracy; it does not matter if you are fast or slow if you cannot even hit your target.
After you have achieved accuracy, you can then train for efficiency with the holster. Training with the holster would show you how accurate your shooting is quickly drawn out from the holster.
- Do live fire and dry fire practice
Shooting practice cannot only be done at a range; you should also do dry fire training with your belly band holster. Having an instructor would help you with the dry fire and live fire practice; some instructors recommend more dry firing than live firing, but the two are essential.
Live firing involves recoil, while dry firing involves everything except the recoil, and that is why it is important to alternate your training program and make it regular. Dry firing is mainly to align your sight and to perfect your grip and trigger. Also, dry firing helps you practice fast first shots after drawing out, which is vital for your self-defense training.
Conclusion
Belly band holster is arguably the best choice of all the IWB holsters because of its versatility regarding who can use it and when it can be used. A woman can maintain her style while still properly concealing her gun for protection. And the holster can also be used by different people because of the band’s elasticity, and the weapon would be adequately covered under your casual attire.
The most important thing about carrying a gun is to be able to use it properly when needed, and that’s what necessitates the training to use the holster properly; just like the common saying that “practice makes perfection,” you should ensure you practice to get the best out of your holster.