Cross draw holsters are not new to the shooting world. They have been around since the age of the cowboys and served the purpose of keeping guns away from the body while working or riding. Nowadays, cross draw holsters serve less of a Clint Eastwood purpose, but still have their place of honour in the holster hall of fame. They have taken some criticism in recent years because the shooting world is more inclined to the strong side draw or IWB draw, but years of use and many cross draw holster lovers prove that the critics can just go and draw their holsters elsewhere.

Today's cross draw carry brings your pistol in front of your non-dominant hand at waist level, while the muzzle faces the outside of your body and the grip faces your dominant hand. For watch enthusiasts, at 10 or 11 o'clock. You draw across the body with the dominant hand - hence the criss-cross. This takes a lot of practice, as you need to eliminate any likelihood of pointing the weapon at yourself or anything else you don't want to destroy. The key, of course, is to have a custom-made cross draw holster and then practice, practice, practice.

There are other types of cross draw holsters, such as chest or shoulder holsters, which you also draw across your body, but for the sake of this article and for the sake of cowboys, today we will talk about belt cross draw holsters.

The pros and cons of the Cross Draw Holster

Cross draw holsters have many advantages and disadvantages and the same number of supporters and haters. Some people love to wear their Cross Draw holsters for 1911 or S&W 686 on their belts. Differences aside, Cross Draw is a carry style that compensates for the lack of advantages that some other OWB holsters have while not having all the advantages of OWB holsters. Let's take a look at the advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages of the Cross Draw carrying method:

Cross Draw while driving

One of the biggest advantages of the Cross Draw is for people who spend most of the day sitting. The position of the holster on your body is natural when sitting and does not hinder you in any way. The design of vehicles can sometimes become a challenge to draw the weapon easily and safely. Trying to draw it from other carrying angles can be difficult when you are sitting in a car or truck with your seatbelt fastened. In this case, Cross Draw comes in handy as the natural movement of your hand over your body while seated reaches the grip of your weapon and you can then easily draw and engage if threatened.

Cross draw while hunting

An undisputed advantage of a crusade holster is carrying it while hunting. When you carry your rifle on your back, you want to be able to access the handgun immediately without being hindered by the shotgun. But this is exactly what happens when you carry both weapons on the dominant side of your body. This is where the Cross Draw Holster comes into play. It is attached to the opposite side of the body and therefore does not interfere with walking, sitting, riding or drawing the rifle. A clear advantage even if the situation demands an immediate reaction, because who wants to fiddle with their armour only when they see the prey. Flexibility and quick target acquisition are important factors in hunting.

Concealed Cross Draw Carry

Another great advantage of the Cross Draw is its concealability. Sometimes you cannot easily hide your gun under your jacket in OWB/FBI carry style, the gun bulges and even bending down can show that you are armed. Cross draw, on the other hand, puts the gun in a position that is rather rarely uncovered - otherwise of course we recommend belly band holsters.  The concealability of a cross draw holster can also come in handy in difficult situations where you face a threat and need to access your weapon in a clandestine manner. You can simply pretend to cross your arms and draw; or you can simply draw and move the weapon under your jacket to lock it in place.

Advantageous for gun carriers with handicaps

If you have had a shoulder injury, for example, you may have difficulty drawing with your dominant side. In this case, holsters with a cross draw angle are a good option. For some people with bad backs or hip problems, the weight needs to be removed from the pelvic area if possible. After some abdominal or hip surgeries, doctors recommend that the patient not even wear a belt during the recovery period. There are also orthopaedic or medical reasons why one might choose to wear the cross draw. With some injuries to the dominant lateral hip area, it can be a pain to carry a firearm there, but the weight can be shifted to the opposite hip. Some people find it easier to learn the cross draw with their dominant hand than learning the conventional draw with their "weak" hand.

The disadvantages of cross draw carrying

 

Disarmament

The disadvantage of the cross draw is a higher risk of being disarmed by someone from the front. However, you have more of a chance of neutralising this attempt while facing the target, as opposed to the risk of being disarmed from behind. Be it while standing or sitting. Plus another advantage of the Cross Draw while driving is that if someone wanted to attack you from behind, they cannot reach your weapon when it is in front, unlike a normal OWB holster on your dominant hip side.

Shooting range limits

Another disadvantage of the cross draw is that most ranges do not allow a weapon to be carried in a cross draw holster. The reason for this is that when the loaded weapon is holstered, the muzzle will be pointed at someone in the immediate vicinity, pointing backwards, at other shooters or even at the safety officer.

OWB & IWB Cross Draw

The OWB (over the waistband) is the most common method of carry in the cross draw world. There are oodles of different designs of cross draw holsters, varying in cant, safety, material, accessibility etc. You need to take into account what you predominantly need the holster for while choosing your Cross Draw holster. If you will be sitting a lot while armed, go for an edgier version that has a thumb safety. If not, you can choose a holster with an index finger release.

WB (inside the waistband) holsters with cross draw, also called inside holsters are also handy if you are looking for a low-fitting concealment option where the grip does not protrude and you do not have to use a smock when drawing. IWB holsters with cross draw are not the most common, but this style of carry still has many followers.

How to draw the weapon from a Cross Draw Holster

 

The instruction on how to properly draw your firearm from a Cross Draw Holster can be broken down into stages. The key here is to repeat it as often as possible so you can get used to it with an unloaded and checked weapon - but as you are all responsible shooters, this is just a friendly reminder. Now let's move on to the draw.