Some handguns have very spacious trigger guards. But do these trigger guards cause issues in regards to the definition of a legal holster? Let’s look at this in more detail in this Question of the Month.
Is this a legal Limited Optics holster?
Before we delve into the particulars about the trigger guard, in case some of the ‘no’ votes were for this reason, I want to point out that this competitor was in the Limited Optics division which means that race holsters are allowed. If the competitor had been in the Carry Optics division, then this would have not been a legal holster because race holsters are not allowed and the slide of the pistol needs to be covered up to 1/2″ below the ejection port.
I suspect most of the ‘no’ votes were due to the amount of trigger guard still visible above the holster. If you were standing next to this competitor, you could actually see the back of the trigger looking down on the holster. So, is it legal?
The rules involved in this are 5.2.7.4 which states competitors cannot start a course of fire with, “A holster which does not completely prevent access to, or activation of, the trigger while holstered.” And the definition of ‘holstered’ from App. A3: The point at which a handgun is inserted or engaged into the holster so as to not allow access to any portion of the interior of the trigger guard. Holstering begins when the handgun muzzle enters the holster or trigger guard enters block.
And I know you are all reading those rules and either using them to justify the ‘no’ answer or maybe those of you who voted ‘yes’ are now second guessing your answers. Yes, 5.2.7.4 says the holster has to prevent access and activation of the trigger, which that holster does. Even though you can see the back side of the trigger, there is no way to get a finger in there to pull it. But what about the definition of holstered? Well, we added that definition in March 2023 to help define when a handgun is holstered and looking at that rule now, I think we probably could have worded it a bit better in regards to access to any portion the interior of the trigger guard. The CZ pistols in question were around before we wrote the rule and had been discussed among the RMIs in regards to completely covering the massive trigger guard. The consensus was that the front of the trigger should not be accessible and that many holsters may not completely cover the end of the trigger guard near the grip. We just forgot about these pistols when crafting the wording of the holstered definition, and that definition is probably something we will revisit for the 2025 rules to make things consistent throughout the rulebook. But NROI has always allowed these CZ pistols to be legally holstered when access to the front of the trigger is blocked.
Make sure to vote in the current QOTM!