34 The Firearms Instructor Issue 50 depressing the 4 centimeters down (cham- bering a round) thereby releasing his weapon from the holster to presentation. He now has a loaded gun ready to enter the situation and engage the enemy. At some point he needs to re-holster his weapon after actions. He simply re-holsters the weapon, removes the magazine, and again moves the 4 centimeters down in the holster to expel the round in the barrel. The round goes in the magazine and magazine back in the gun. Ready to go back on patrol, safely. The idea is that with literally 30min of training one can learn to cock the pistol in the holster and draw effortlessly. No round in the chamber means no negligent discharge when holstering at the start of the shift. The gun can be drawn without chambering as well for storage at the end of the shift or for cleaning. Within 200 rounds and one day of training the user will be proficient and fast with the holster, cocking, drawing, holster- ing, unloading etc. The holster protects the trigger guard as to insure the safe action of the weapon when in the holster and manipu- lating the slide. Further when drawing the gun after pressing the retention buttons the trigger finger is guided onto the weapon frame not the trigger guard. In short this device will have the loved ones of the offi- cers sleeping easier knowing this holster is helping to keep the officer safe. The holster is helping to reducing the likelihood of the accidental self shooting that is so common in law enforcement in the US. A little about the holster The SLVE is a heavy duty Law Enforcement holster and not for civilians and concealed carry. The holster was invented by a Canadian electro mechanical engineer with the help of the design staff from a company called L&D Tool and Die. After several prototypes where issued to the Ottawa Police Department, Royal Canadian Mounted Police research center, Canadian Department of National Defense and Algonquin Police Academy for evaluation, small changes where made to the design. The final product was then created out of a super tough nylon and from there hand manufactured to the exact specifica- tions of the engineers. Each holster is signed and dated by the assembler to keep quality control, so the first and first thousand of a batch are of the same quality and specifica- tions. The holster holds a lifetime warranty against any malfunction or breakage occur- ring from normal usage and is ISO certified. The device can be built with 1 or 2 or 3 but- tons for different retention level needs. The holster is molded from Macro Blended Poly Carbonate for each unique model of gun. The one I had the privilege of using was one that they had pulled randomly from a batch and ran a 5000 cycle failure test on (in water, sand, snow, ice). I used the holster for about another 500 times, half dry, half with live fire at the range. Like anything else it takes train- ing to use, but that is true with any retention holster new to the operator. The holster can be mounted on a battle vest or police/security style duty belt. It is canted forward to make drawing smoother for the user, but making it quite difficult for someone who would try to take the weapon from the officer. It is set to ride out about an inch or so from the belt where it is mounted, this is to be comfortable to use by heavy set officers or tactical units that will use it with a ceramic vest and other gear on. To conclude I would say that the holster will defiantly be welcomed by police chiefs, com- missionersandsheriffswhoareconcernedwith reducing liability, and the risk of the inevitable self inflicted bullet wound. Security companies will welcome the holster as a long awaited solu- tion to expensive insurance policies for their companies. The holster can reduce those rates because of the added safety factor that only this holster can bring. The biggest obstacle that SLVE will have to overcome is the officers need for the required training on the holster, which I would say will take about 1-2 days on average for a group of officers. TFI About the author: Garret Machine is a former IDF active duty soldier and now in the reserves. Garret also has worked with the Israeli National Police and Ministry of Defense. He has a masters degree in counter terrorism and security. He is currently working throughout the US teaching the Israeli method of counter terror warfare to Americans working in the secu- rity, military and law enforcement field. IALEFI-Q TARGET SOURCES ® Alco Target 888-258-4814 [www.alcotarget.com] American Target Co. 303-733-0433 [www.americantargetcompany.com] * Law Enforcement Targets, Inc. 800-779-0182 [www.letargets.com] National Target Co. 301-874-4767 [www.nationaltarget.com] Speedwell Division of Rockwood Corp. 800-243-8274 [www.speedwelltargets.com] Target Barn 419-829-2242 [www.targetbarn.com] * TARGETS ONLINE 877-505-4079 [www.targetsonline.com] QUALIFICATION TARGETS 866-498-8228 [www.targets.net] * Denotes IALEFI® supporting corporate sponsor IALEFI-Q IALEFI-QR “The SLVE is a heavy duty Law Enforcement holster and not for civilians and concealed carry.”