Originally this type of holster was made to carry a revolver in a front pants pocket w/o the gun printing. The better ones are made out of leather w/ the rough side out, so it doesn't move around while in the pocket (so it's always is in the same position, more or less, to draw). Although the pics above don't look like it, many don't enclose the muzzle - so you don't draw the gun out of the holster, you just pull the whole thing out of your pocket and start squeezing the trigger. My dad was an old school LEO and carried his Airweight like this for many, many years when off duty. So long as nothing else is ever put in the same pocket, it's a very safe and effective way to carry concealed.