Belly Band Holsters and Improved Sight Pictures: A Valuable Pairing

You choose a belly band holster because it is discrete and practical. Maybe, if you have met those requirements, you choose one because it is comfortable, too. It’s not something you decide to wear for fashion. This is all about being prepared, situationally-aware, and ready to respond at a moment’s notice.

Taking that into account, it begs the question: What else can you do to be better prepared, or, more specifically, how can you make sure the weapon you carry is well suited to enhance your ability to respond to rapidly changing scenarios?

Some of this has to do with the handgun itself, and how it operates, and what cartridge it accepts. As a very, very basic example, some gun owners choose to carry hammerless revolvers because there is no possibility of jamming and no hammer to hang up on clothes.

In this, we’re going to address one very specific area in which your firearm can be well-suited to serve you: in the sight picture it offers.

Why Sight Picture Matters

Sight picture can be explained as what you see when you acquire your target. It is deeply impacted by the sights or optics you use. For example, firing a rifle with open iron sights provides a dramatically more open sight picture than firing that same rifle using a calibrated scope at 16x magnification.

Over open sights, the sight picture allows you to see the entire target and everything in the area. Through a scope, this is limited. There are trade-offs here; it can take longer to acquire the target with a scope but there is the potential to be more accurate with your shot.

With a handgun, you have your choice of sights and optics. You can choose iron sights (including glowing night sights), optics like scopes, red dot and reflex sights, and laser sights. Some of these are considerably more practical for self-defense than others.

If you are ever in a situation in which you must draw your firearm to defend life and limb, you will need to acquire your target quickly and efficiently. This makes a clear sight picture and rapid target acquisition critical.

Iron Sights: Benefits and Drawbacks

Some gun owners choose to utilize nothing other than the iron sights on their handguns. When adjusted properly, iron sights enable shooters with the proper experience and training the benefit of a very open sight picture.

Iron sights are also not temperamental and once adjusted, you can expect them to perform reliably, assuming you are using the same loads. However, despite the fact that iron sights are reliable and effective, a shooter must line them up before shooting, which is a concentration intense mental action.

Under pressure, some shooters might find this difficult, which is where the value of laser sights, including center mass style sights, comes into the picture.

Laser Sights and Center Mass Style Sights

There are a variety of laser-style sights available for shooters. These typically mount to the trigger guard or to the frame of the handgun. Some can be switched on, others are pressure activated through the handgrip.

Laser-style sights present several very distinct advantages over iron sights and other optics, especially at close ranges for self-defense. First, laser sights can be utilized “reflexively” or “instinctively.” They do not require the shooter to line anything up in order to find the target.

The laser sight projects a laser at the point of aim, which, with proper adjustment and calibration should correspond closely to the point of impact. Because these types of sights give the shooter an impression of shot placement, he or she does not need to expend extra time or attention acquiring the target or forming a sight picture. In fact, laser sights give what might be called the clearest sight picture of all.

With a laser sight, you “point and shoot.” They are highly effective at close range as well as in the dark where other sights or optics would prove less than effective. They also enable quick follow-up shots which can be crucial in life-or-death situations.

A variant of laser sights is the center mass style sight, which projects a laser (the point of aim) at the center of a ring of lasers that spread out away from the point of aim as the distance from the target increases. Some shooters find that these types of sights can be used reflexively to acquire the target and line up a shot; some also report that they diminish time-to-target acquisition.

Laser Sights and Belly Band Holsters

What this has to do with a belly band holster is that, as these types of holsters can be designed for practicality (and discretion and comfort), laser sights are designed for practicality in their given scope as well.

Wearing a belly band gun holster (for men or women) can enable you to concealed carry a gun for protection as you go about your day. Some of ours are even designed for running and athletic activities. A laser sight can diminish your time to acquire a target as well as improving your ability to connect in the dark, at close range, or when your nerves are tense. All of our concealed carry holsters, such as our Lady Defender Gun Holster for Women, have been specifically designed to accommodate trigger-guard mounted laser sights.

To learn more about the benefits of our unique styles of holsters, or if you have questions on sights or optics, get in touch with our customer service team. We can be reached at 1-918-289-2976; we would be glad to assist you and we also appreciate feedback from our customers.