Late last winter, I left a message with Ares Tactical about a tanker-style holster they had on their website. Matt Facas promptly called me back to discuss my needs. Matt is the owner and main man behind Ares Tactical, and it turned out that he worked at a range that TLG and I used to shoot at many years ago and remembered me. I have never had much use for modern kydex chest holsters, but I have long used a leather tanker holster for some of my field use. In this case, I wanted to be able to tote my HK45 with a flashlight and RDS on it. None of the original military tanker rigs could accommodate that setup, but Matt said he could do it.
A modern chest holster positions the gun too far to the strong side for my use. To use it well, the holster has to be worn openly. I prefer to be able to conceal my guns, or at least cover them reasonably well. Partly for social reasons and partly for weather protection, I like my guns to be protected by my outer layer when possible. Since I was looking for a cold-weather hunting rig, a tanker holster would allow a better draw than a traditional shoulder holster, while allowing my coat to cover it and protect it from the elements.
Before discovering Ares, I talked to a well-known chest holster company. The guy on the phone was not customer-oriented so I quickly lost interest in seeing if their product might work for me. Matt was just the opposite. He was very interested in delivering a high-quality product that would meet my needs and sent the holster to me on a trial basis. Though winter was fast disappearing, I was able to put the holster to good use before the weather got too nice.
Often while enjoying the outdoors in winter, I may not need a lot of insulation while moving, but a wind layer can be of great benefit. Because the woods where I like to roam are very dense, a lightweight synthetic windshirt would last about 5 minutes. To avoid shredding them, I often wear a Filson Tin Cloth coat. It is heavy and bulky by windshirt standards, but it is tough as nails and has been getting the job done for many years. When not backpacking, I favor that style over lighter synthetic options.
I wore my new tanker holster under my coat but still readily accessible. When the wind wasn’t blowing badly, I could open my coat up for very fast, surreptitious access to my pistol. This can be important when hunting so you don’t spook game with excess movement. If it was very windy or snowing or raining, I could mostly close up my coat and still snake my hand down the top for a somewhat slower draw. A more centered chest rig would not allow this, as the draw takes the gun out to the strong side, rather than towards the center where my coat opening requires it to be.
I have not been using the holster much since the weather has improved, but I look forward to next winter and intend to use it as much as possible. The quality of the construction and ease of donning and doffing has been excellent. Though it is kydex, the sound signature when drawing is very minimal, and when done slowly, seems to be a non-issue.
The HK45 has slowly replaced my .44 and .45 N frames for field use. Though I still love those guns, the HK fits me better, and a hardcast 45acp bullet seems to do everything needed in most situations. The HK, riding snugly in the Ares Tactical tanker holster will see much more outdoor use and I look forward to snowy days ahead.
Great article SLG, I’ve been playing around with shoulder holsters, & chest rigs for the last couple of years with mixed results. Like you I typically wear a jacket made of heavier materials when hiking my area which can make accessing a shoulder holster challenging, and I don’t always want to wear my HPG chest pack.
I also remember many hikes with my dad carrying my Crossman 1006 air pistol in a surplus canvas tanker holster so the nostalgia factor speaks to me as much as the practical ones.