How close is Safariland GLS to the old Raptor duty holster release?

The Raptor (6070 IIRC) was the successor to the 070/SSIII and replaced the middle finger snap with a spring loaded release.  A friend had one issued and I never heard of any issues.  Automatically locking in like the now almost universally used ALS line.  

But the ALS is not offered in an IWB holster, but the GLS is.  

Any reviews?

The only commonality between the GLS and the old Raptor is use of the middle finger to release the retention.

PS - the Raptor worked but it was slow and it sucked.

The GLS is fast and intuitive but inferior to the ALS for active retention against gun grabs. The GLS is great for someone wanting passive retention to mitigate against losing a gun while working or during outdoor activities etc.

It was the closest comparison I could think of.





Aside from my friend's department (all five of them ), I wasn't aware of anyone using them back when they were new.  The 6280 came out afterwards (and the ability to mount a light) so those were everywhere before the ALS came out.






ALS is always the answer, unless ALS isn't available.  But I agree, it's what to use when going somewhere someone might get grabby.  This is for non-grabby environments (range, property, etc).  Budget LARPing included


The GLS is available in an IWB holster (not exactly top of the line, but probably serviceable) AND the universal holsters they make fit tons of guns not available in the ALS line.  


I haven't played with a GLS, so I don't have first hand experience.  My only Raptor experience was fiddle-farting with my friend's holster 20 years ago.  It seemed pretty good, but that was compared to what was being used at the time.  Safariland 200 & 295 (295 for Glocks was ) and various G&G leather holsters (this was NC, so they were used by A LOT of departments).

I used a raptor around 05 for duty.  Don't remember when we switched.

I've never used a Raptor, but I love my GLS holsters for OWB carry.  I've never even had to think about disengaging the release and they hold guns in great while running during multigun competitions.

Thanks guys!  

So talking to some of my coworkers who also carried em, we had to rock the guns within the holster too in a certain way as to draw.

Same as the SSIII/070?  That's why the middle finger release on the SSIII/070 had to be released, to allow the rearward movement because of the ejection port moulding in the holster.