Located in Virginia, Blackhawk Industries produces a complete line of law enforcement and military products for various applications. Gun holsters is just one line of their products that also includes:
- Tactical vests
- Hydration vests
- Gloves
- Bags and cases
In terms of Blackhawk holsters, they offer a kydex line and leather line. The leather line of holsters is produced in Italy under the Blackhawk name. The leather line is made from a very nice grade of leather and offers some unique designs that aren’t typically found in the USA.
Although both holster lines are excellent sellers, Blackhawk’s most popular holster is their Serpa series. The SERPA holster (shown above) was first introduced in 2004, initially designed for off-duty or plain-clothes use. It features a unique retention system and is available with different mounts, such as belt and pancake mounts.
While the SERPA has been an excellent seller for Blackhawk, it has had some criticism by some firearm enthusiasts for what some have labeled as a potentially dangerous flaw commonly called “trigger hooking.” This causes a situation where the trigger finger can, allegedly, slip into the trigger guard during the draw, and causes an accidental discharge.
This has led to a number of law enforcement agencies to disallow the SERPA for consideration as a duty or off duty holster. For example, in 2017, the Los Angles Police Department (LAPD) issued a directive to its personnel disapproving use of the Blackhawk Serpa holster as well as any other auto-locking trigger finger manipulated holsters.
That being said, I tried a SERPA at the range, and can’t honestly see where there’s a potential safety issue, as long as you follow the basic rules of firearms safety.
The leather line has some excellent holster models including a very nice IWB holster along with some high performing belt models.
If you’re in the market for a Blackhawk gun holster, here are a few models that are currently available :
