Hidden Defense

Theis Holsters - Another Hybrid That Works!

2011-06-07T05:46:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything so it's about time and I actually have a product review I'd like to share with everyone.

Theis Holsters is a relatively new company started by Tommy Theis who started making his holsters a couple years ago. He started simply selling through forums and has now made a pretty good name for himself through word of mouth. He fills a niche offering a holster very similar to Crossbreed's SuperTuck at a lower price point. He even gives customers an opportunity to get them at an even lower price by offering them with slightly blemished leather. They are still 100% functional, but the leather may have a scuff here or there. I opted for a blemished one to try them out for my Glock 36 which has become my EDC (everyday carry) gun.

Now about the holster itself. The Theis holster is pretty much an exact copy of a Crossbreed SuperTuck in terms of materials & overall design, but with a couple key differences. It's still uses a large piece of leather as the backing which provides comfortable carry IWB and a piece of kydex formed specifically for your gun attached to the leather with rivets. The choice of metal or kydex clips (over the belt or J-clips) is yours and they are adjustable with removable fasteners. It can be worn IWB and visible or IWB hidden under a tucked shirt.

The differences which may seem slight are still significant when it comes to overall functionality. First the kydex completely covers the slide. This helps protect your pants from excessive muzzle rub which I outlined in my long term review of the SuperTuck. The next difference is that it comes from Tommy with the "combat" cut already done. This allows for an easier grip of the gun when drawing. The SuperTuck does not do this standard, but will do it on request for a fee. When I got my first SuperTuck I had to perform this leather surgery myself which isn't hard to do, but it's nice to see Tommy do this right off the bat for his customers. The kydex is also trimmed more to help with the draw. The kydex is also formed tighter than the SuperTuck which locks the gun in. I can put the gun in it and turn it upside down without it coming out. I never could have done that with the SuperTuck though the P239's a little heavier than my Glock 36. I hope this helps minimize the slide wear I had previously. Like I said before these differences don't seem like much, but they are an improvement to the original Crossbreed design.

Other differences that I noticed are the leather of the Theis is a tad stiffer than the SuperTuck, though part of that may be because my SuperTuck has seen a lot of use and the Theis should break-in and soften over time. The edging on the leather isn't finished quite as nicely on the Theis, but that's being nit-picky and doesn't affect the functionality of this concealment holster at all. The hardware is slightly different, but still seems equally as sturdy. I ordered mine with the kydex J-clips and other than they being formed a little too small for my double thickness Crossbreed belt (a little heat fixed that) they are strong enough to do the job. From a concealment viewpoint I think they are a little less noticeable than normal clips. From a support standpoint they don't have any issues with carrying my Glock. As with any holster that carries anything ~25oz or so there is a very slight sag, but it's hardly noticeable. I've got a set of velcro clips that I'll probably put on it in the future to use for complete concealment.

In conclusion, I've very happy with this holster and think that this hybrid design is the best for everyday comfortable concealment. It is such a simple if not pretty solution that I'm not surprised that others have copied Crossbreed. I've seen Kholster's copy before and a few others on ebay so it's definitely proven to work. With a Theis Holster for about $40 you get a comfortable & concealable holster with a lifetime guarantee & a two week trial period. If you're like me and have tried many other holster designs you know that you usually only need two hours or less to determine if you'll actually use a given holster. Inside the waistband isn't for everyone, but where all other IWB designs may not work the hybrid design is one that just might do it for you. Give it a try!

Walther P99c; An Uncommon Choice

2010-08-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

In a sea of Glocks, XD's, and M&P's the P99 series by Walther get ignored by the masses.

I recently got my hands on a P99c in .40 s&w. I must say that I am enjoying it. I've been an owner (my wife's actually) of a P22 and have always like shooting it and then I had the opportunity to pick up a P99c. The largely overlooked compact version of the P99 has a lot going for it for use in concealed carry. It's very similar in size (maybe a tad larger here & there) to the Glock 27 and actually a bit lighter. It uses a unique trigger system that mimics traditional double action/single action, but uses a striker instead of a hammer to ignite the bullet. To facilitate this, it has a manual decocker (located flush on the top of the slide) to take it out of single action mode and to allow disassembly without having to pull the trigger (like Glocks). The double action trigger pull is long and approximately 8.5lbs and the single action pull is shorter and about 4.5lbs. It's not hard to master and both are light enough to manipulate while staying on target. I prefer to put it in double action mode as an added safety while carrying it concealed.

Here are a couple shots of it.

One of the previous owners (at least two that I know of) had duracoated the slide and controls OD green and the barrel black. It was originally a Tennifer-like black finish so this really makes it stand out from the crowd.

It looks to be in great shape and doesn't look to have been shot all that much. I'm new to .40s&w which has a bit more snap than 9mm, but I'm getting used to it. I was impressed by it's accuracy. Here's the first mag full at 7 yards.
Things tightened up from there as I got more familiar with the trigger, though I must admit I would flinch every now and then.

I've picked up a couple extra magazines from CDNN (they sell magazines for the similar S&W made SW99/SW99c which work perfectly). I also changed out the front sight with a Meprosight night sight that helps greatly in low light conditions.

I purchased a SmartCarry holster and have been carrying the P99c in it regularly for a couple months. It conceals easily and has been very comfortable. I'll probably write up a separate review on the SmartCarry at another time. I've been very happy with it so far.

If you're a fan of DA/SA pistols and would like to venture outside of the heavier metal hammer fired handguns that system is usually used for then look no further than Walther's highly underrated P99 series pistols. They come in either 9mm or 40s&w.

How to Convert from 9mm to 7.62x25 on a Norinco 213 Tokarev Clone

2010-02-06T08:36:00.000-08:00

I've learned a lot about Tokarev's since owning my Norinco 213. This Chinese version is very similar to all other Tokarev's except for it's chambering. Recently, I came across someone selling a barrel and matching bushing in the original 7.62x25 chambering and decided to try converting my Norinco.

There are a number of reasons to do this conversion from 9mm. Yes, 9mm is a larger diameter caliber and there are many many more defensive options for the 9mm, but my Norinco is strictly a range gun and won't primarily be used for defensive purposes. 7.62x25 ammo in many circles is considered almost a magnum round because of the speeds it can approach (similar to .357mag if loaded right). It has been shown to penetrate kevlar helmets. For those that like bigger bangs & more flash the 7.62x25 outblasts the 9mm. In addition to that merit, surplus ammo can be found at very low prices. If you shop around it can be found for 9.5cents a round compared to around 20cents a round for 9mm. So it's economical to shoot it much more. Thirdly, it gives me another option and I love more options.

I put together a video to show how everything goes together.

This is what's needed:
- Barrel chambered for 7.62x25
- Barrel bushing to match the barrel
- Wide magazines for 7.62x25

It's that easy!

Norinco 213: TT-33 Clone Modified Grips

2010-01-03T17:33:00.000-08:00

I've written about my Norinco 213 before when I first modified some grips to include a beavertail and when I used kydex to make ulta-thin grips and a holster for concealed carry. I've finally come to what I think is my final set of grips for this gun.

The Tokarev TT-33 design does not lend itself to use as a concealed carry gun. The primary reason is simply safety. The only real safety on the gun is a half-cock notch which requires manually cocking the trigger before firing. Yes, I know that these Norinco & all the other later imports came with added "safeties", but they are more like afterthoughts than being truly usable & reliable. The 213 came with a thumb safety, but requires you to move it in the opposite direction from what's intuitive (back for fire & forward for safe). The Yugo's and Romanian's have a safety switch located behind the trigger, but these often required a modification of the flat spring that holds the slide stop pin in place which weakens the flat spring and in many cases causes it to break. The location of these safeties still (for me) is far from ideal and they don't inspire confidence to carry the gun cocked & locked like a standard 1911. For these reasons I have regulated my Tok to range duty with it in the far backseat for defensive use if pressed.

So for this role I want the most comfortable grips that allow me to get the most pleasure when shooting. I turned to my original modified grips which added the beavertail. They provide the best grip angle for natural point shooting (the originals caused me to aim very low) and they protect my hand from hammer bite. The original modified grips were coated in a rubbery Plasti-Dip spray which felt nice, but were not very durable. Since I've had such good luck using the textured spray paint on a couple of other projects I decided to use it here. The final product gives a solid no slip grip that seems to wear well. Because it's just normal paint I would be careful with using solvents around it. I'll just remove the grips if I need to do any heavy cleaning on the frame.

The front and rear sights have been dotted with white paint to help with acquiring them against a dark background. I've found that the standard sights although not quick to see are very fine and enable precision.
The trigger face has been sanded smooth and slightly rounded to remove the terrible sharp vertical grooves that were standard on this model. Their removal was totally necessary as they've drawn blood in the past.
I don't foresee doing much more to this gun, though I do have a bushing compensator that I might fit to it. Better sights would be nice, but would likely require cutting a front dovetail or drilling into the slide to stake a new sight. I'm not sure how Novak style sights would look on a Tok. It might be like putting HID headlights on a Model T.

I love the simplicity & ruggedness of the Tokarev TT-33 design and didn't want to disturb any of that with any of the modifications I've done to it.

H&R (Harrington & Richardson) Model 950 22lr Revolver

2009-12-30T12:54:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

As is the case for gift giving days most folks know that a firearm will always be appreciated by me. So this Christmas my inlaws presented me with this gorgeous 22lr revolver.

It is an H&R Model 950 nickel plated 9 shot double/single action 22lr revolver styled after the classic Colt single actions. I've been wanting a 22lr revolver to compliment our Wather P22 and this fits perfectly. It's a fun plinker that will also be used to practice trigger control. I just love how it looks too.

Here's a little background if you've never heard of H&R. They were in business from 1871 to 1986 (over 100 years!) and made a wide variety of pistols & long guns. They made some cool looking top break revolvers as well. Though some connect them to SNS (Saturday Night Special) guns their firearms were always well made and out of steel instead of pot metal alloys.

My example is a bit rarer being nickel plated instead of blued or case hardened as most others are. One neat thing is that this gun was made the year I was born 1976 so it's the same age as I am. The previous own obviously took very good care of it's finish because it's common to see bad examples of nickel plated guns. They can look like the gun has leprosy. What got me into looking at H&R revolvers is my father-in-law's own H&R Model 676 which has the option to fire 22lr or 22wmr depending on which cylinder you put in it. They also can be found fairly inexpensive which is always a plus. I've got a sweet spot for revolvers, but the ones in my "arsenal" don't lend themselves to just plain plinking. This one just screams PLINK ME!

It looks nice, but how does it handle & shoot? I know that I've criticized the oversized "shovel" target grips that are narrow at the top and get widdde at the bottom in the past, but for some reason the balance & weight of this SA styled revolver works perfectly with this kind of grip. It points naturally and just wants to stay there. The trigger takes some getting used to. In double action it's pretty heavy, but manageable. In single action it's quite nice, light & crisp. Because of it's weight (about 31oz) and the light recoil of the caliber I found that it's very easy to walk the bullets where you want them to go in double action. The front sight blade leaves a lot to be desired. Since it's nickel & rounded it never looks the same as it catches light differently everytime. It's thickness is well regulated with the rear sight unlike our P22 that has such a wide rear notch that precision is very difficult. It's no Ruger MKII, but I could hit an inch sized orange sticker target at 7 yards without trouble. I will admit that I'm no marksman and I'm still getting accustomed to the pistol. No doubt, others can do much much better. Point shooting is easily accomplished without focusing too much on the sights that it's still a lot of fun to plink with.

Loading is done by putting the hammer in half cock so the cylinder can be rotated and then opening the loading gate to access the chambers. To eject the spent shells; put it in half cock, open the loading gate and use the ejector rod to individually pop the shells out. As this is my first real experience with this method of loading & unloading I was surprised with how easy it is. It's not nearly as slow as I would have originally thought. For a gun that won't be used defensively and that may be used to show new shooters the ropes it suits me fine.

I will admit that my first time out with it I did have mechanical problems after the first several cylinders of shooting. What was happening was the trigger was sticking back when fired double action and had to be wiggled to return forward. Also sometimes the hammer wouldn't catch on the single action sear when manually cocked. I traced the problems to accumulated gunk built up on the inside that needed to be cleaned out. After a good cleaning and blowing out all the gunk it's worked perfectly since. Even with the above mentioned problems from earlier it never failed to fire and always hit hard enough to ignite the primers.

Here are a couple parting shots.

She sure is a beauty!

A Stone Grip! ...No Not Really

2009-12-09T08:06:00.000-08:00

I picked up another old grip someone didn't need for my Dan Wesson Model 14. I love my walnut grip I had reshaped for it, but I wanted something I didn't have to worry about messing up and I wanted to try something different.

At first glance the old grip looked similar to my other grip before reshaping and refinishing. The only difference that I could tell at first was that it looked to be painted and not varnished like the other grip. I started sanding it down past the painted finished and low and behold it's not walnut under that paint, but some kind of plastic. These grips must have been formed using a mold that was filled with plastic reinforced with wood. *edit - I was informed that this material was marketed by Dan Wesson by the name of Powerwood, it's both light & tough. These plastic grips actually worked out great for what I had in mind for it since now I really didn't have to worry about messing up a nice piece of wood. One strange thing with this plastic is that it is fairly porous, so you can see that in a couple spots on the pictures. I used my walnut grips as a kind of template and carved these into a similar shape. This time I decided to make them even smaller. One thing I don't care for about the walnut grips is that they are fairly slick. I had considered trying to stipple them, but I was afraid to mess up. This time around I wanted a more textured grip so I didn't worry about sanding them smooth. Compared to the walnut this plastic is a lot easier to carve so things went pretty fast. I carved it down past where the screw become recessed so I simply countersunk the hole and painted a screw black that would fit it flush.

On a previous project I used a textured paint on a Tyler T-grip to give it more traction with my fingers so I thought this would be a good chance to try it on full grips. I didn't think the color I had (Aged Iron) would look good with the worn bluing on my DW so I picked out a dark brown (Autumn Brown) to use. Before applying it I sealed the plastic with a black lacquer to help it stick a bit better. In the end, I ended up with a nice texture that won't slide around in my hand and should hold up well.

Here are pictures.

My hands are large enough to utilize the pinky rest while my wife prefers to grip it like in the lower picture where her pinky sits above it.

All in all, very happy with how this project worked out. If they hold up fine at the range, I'll probably keep these grips on the gun most of the time.

Appendix IWB Kydex Holster for a S&W 908

2009-11-19T18:10:00.000-08:00

After proving my newest acquisition, the Smith & Wesson 908, was reliable and accurate enough and then carrying it a couple weeks concealed & tucked I decided it needed it's own holster. Since it fits very well in the Crossbreed SuperTuck that I use tucked at the 4 o'clock position I don't need that kind of holster. For winter carry, when I can wear sweaters or fleeces I like to carry at the appendix location. It enables a quick draw and because it's directly in front of me I have more control over exposure. I've also found that it isn't nearly as uncomfortable as most people would think.

I've made similar holsters before, but at times had problems with clip breakage. So this time I decided to go with the slightly thicker kydex I had (.080 gauge vs. .060 gauge). It adds minimal thickness, but also adds much more strength to the J-clips. The design is a single piece folded scabbard integrating the J-clips secured using one bolt/nut. The .080 gauge kydex is too thick for me to use the rivets I have, but I actually like the idea of being able to take it completely apart in case it ever needs to be totally cleaned. Here are pictures.
It fits tightly, but draws quickly and smoothly. This holster holds the gun much like a traditional leather holster does where it feels like it grips the gun all over. Most kydex holsters rely on clicking points (typically the trigger guard) which cause the gun to click or snap in and out of the holster. It all comes down to personal preference, but I'm happy with it's retention. I put together a short video showing this holster & gun concealed.

S&W's Budget 3913: The 908!

2009-11-03T10:49:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to pick up a 908 for a steal of a price so I jumped on it. I previously owned the second gen S&W 469, but had traded it off. My father in law got the 457, the 45acp version of this "Value Series", last spring for a great deal at a gun show (yeah, I know how often does that happen?).

Anyways, for $220 that included a total of 3 mags not to mention a less than desirable nylon holster, I picked up my first 3rd gen S&W auto. I'm a little thrilled that it's covered under S&W's lifetime warranty (from what I understand all 3G's are). It's a very slim gun! Slimmer than my Sig P239 and lighter as well. It's not quite as thin as my Kahr, but not many guns are. I still need to give it a good cleaning as it's barrel looks like it may have been a little neglected. It's definitely not a looker, but as a working gun it sure looks the part. Not as nicely finished as the 3913 and containing a few *gasp* plastic parts, the 908's still has a good feel. This week I'm planning on taking it to the range to give it a little workout and see how well it operates. If all goes well, it will then move into the rotation.

Pictures...of course...

My view is, if you can find a pistol in a fighting caliber from a name brand maker for under $250 that works then it's a good value. Any blemishes to the finish are marks of character.

***Range Report!!!***

Ok, just got back from my lunchtime range after running the 908 through the paces. I put a little over 100 rounds through it with a few hp's to check feeding. I came away liking it very much. I brought my Sig along to compare triggers and sights. I'm a big fan of the "dot the i" as with three dot sights I tend to miss the middle dot when quickly acquiring the target. The 908 lines up very instinctively so I didn't have too much of a problem with it when doing double taps. Accuracy was similar to my Sig. I'm no master marksman so both of these weapons are more accurate than I am. I can easily do head shots at 10 yards so take that for what it's worth.

The trigger is pretty smooth and very different than my previous 469 primarily in DA. Mostly because the 469 employed a half cock notch which you could feel as you pulled through DA. Compared to the Sig trigger it feels a tad lighter and just a hair less smooth, though it is a shorter pull than the Sig.

I wanted to go ahead and give it it's first carry day. I've been carrying a Sig P239 in a Crossbreed SuperTuck and since they are both very similar in size I figured why not try it out. The CBST's kydex is molded specifically for a P239, but since the backside is all leather the gun never "snaps" in like kydex-only holsters. I was a little worried that it might slide or wiggle around, but after trying it out...success!

Here are some shots.

It's always nice when an existing holster works well for different guns.

Overall, I'm very satisfied and think I got much more than my money's worth.

Painting Tyler T-grips for a better grip

2009-09-16T09:58:00.000-07:00

When I first picked up a T-grip for our Charter Arms Undercover .38 special it was out of necessity since I had put Barami Hip Grips on it so I could use it as a "Stuff & Go" gun. I couldn't get a solid or consistent grip using just the Hip Grips so on went the T-grip. The one I got for it was originally designed for a S&W N-frame which has a slightly longer grip so I had to trim up the bottom a bit to get it to line up with the bottom. I had then sprayed the T-grip with PlastiDip spray to cover the trim job & give it more grip. I've found over the past year that PlastiDip does not wear well. It has a tendency to rub off and then the whole thing will start to peel. While walking the aisles at Home Depot I spotted some Rustoleum texture paint (used for painting outdoor patio furniture) that looked to be a good replacement to the peeling PlastiDip.
I decided to go ahead and prime the T-grip using a gray automobile primer first before applying the textured paint. All it took were two quick coats of primer followed by two coats of the textured paint. The combination of the two gave it a nice dark gray which contrasts well with the stainless finish and glossy black of the Hip Grips.

The textured paint gives the grip a sufficently rough surface without making it overly abrasive.

I'm very happy with how it turned out and after a couple months of use I'll report back on how well it holds up.

Ghetto Grips; Not Pretty, but Comfortable

2009-07-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

Having mentioned these grips in my previous post I thought I a least owed you a couple pictures of my experimental "Ghetto Grips" for my Dan Wesson .357mag. Well, here you go.
I took the factory rubber finger groove grips from my Charter Arms Undercover .38spl and mated them to the grip of the Dan Wesson using Kneadatite Epoxy Modeling Putty (Green Stuff) as the filler. I modeled the backstrap similar to how Trausch grips are for the Ruger SP101.They have held up and feel really good in the hand. I was always bothered with how cheesy they looked though so that is why they were replaced with the very pretty custom shaped wood grips.

Getting a Grip! Reshaping Revolver Grips

2009-07-24T06:15:00.000-07:00

I don't profess to be a revolver guy. I like them for all the obvious reasons; reliable, powerful, simple to use and reload, and yes - cowboys used them. The very first handgun I ever touched was a very beautiful and manly stainless steel S&W Model 19 Combat Magnum. That began a very healthy respect for revolvers, but for some reason they've never really "fit" the same way many semi-autos sat in my hand. Most of the reason for this problem is that it seems that many revolvers sport very unergonomic grips. Traditionally they come with oversized "target" grips that are skinnier at the top (where your fingers are longest) and WIDE at the bottom (where your little pinky finger is). For me, not only are these kind of grips hard to get a hold of they are also very hard to conceal. Last year I bought a Dan Wesson Model 14 that I wrote about before. It came with large rubber Pachmayr Presentation grips that did a good job of reducing recoil, but still weren't the easiest to hold on to not to mention they'd seen years of hard use and showed it. Granted the gun itself shows a lot of the same use, but even old men need new shoes from time to time. I first tried an experiment with a spare set of rubber finger groove grips from my wife's Charter Arms .38 special. I liked the shape of those grips and wondered if I could get them to fit. Dan Wesson revolvers use a different method to attach grips than most other revolvers such as S&W, Taurus & Charter Arms. Instead of separate grip panels the grip is a single piece that slides on and is secured with a single screw from the bottom. To try to attach the two separate grip panels from the CA revolver I trimmed off a bit of the side grips and used a two part epoxy putty to fill in the gap. For the bottom screw I affixed a metal washer inside. Because I could get creative with the putty I added a bit to the top of the back and a bit between the trigger guard and the grip to better fit my hand. The experiment worked in giving me a better functional grip, but it looked pretty ghetto. The putty is green and the grip is black and though the putty could be sanded flush and then maybe painted all one color, I gave up on trying to make it pretty because lets face it rubber grips just aren't supposed to be pretty.

On to my next grip project. I wanted pretty grips that also felt good when held. I had picked up one of those oversized target grips I mentioned earlier (like the wood ones pictured above) and thought I might be able to reshape them into a more hand-friendly shape. I don't really have much woodworking experience outside of whittling sticks as a boy scout in my youth, but I was up to the challenge. I've seen a lot of custom grips out there with finger grooves and though I'm not totally against them, I do see the arguement that they may not fit everyone. I wanted to make grips that my wife would be able to comfortably use as well as me so I nixed designs with full finger grooves. Instead I came up with a design similar to these Pachmayr compact grips that add a pinky groove, but in a pretty walnut.Here's the final product after hours of sanding & shaping with a bunch of Dremel sanding drums, a lot of hand sanding and a bit of Tung Oil (great stuff).

Now I'm not into OC (open carry), but I would be happy to OC with these pretty grips showing. They are compact enough to where I might work on an IWB holster and try carrying this .357 mag concealed. I'm really happy with how they turned out and I won't have any problem reshaping my grips in the future. I hope my experience inspires some of you to do the same to renew your old revolvers.

Spare Mag & Knife Back Pocket Carrier

2009-07-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

I'm probably like a lot of you and take advantage of whatever pockets I've got on my pants. A number of years ago I stopped carrying my wallet in my back pocket. My problem was the same one that George Costanza had in Seinfield. My wallet always got about two inches thick which is not conducive to sitting on so to avoid the sore butt I switched to front pocket carry or cargo pocket carry if my pants had one. From then on I've been happily sitting on empty back pockets...until now.

Since it's the summer I've been shying away from my typical two gun carry (Sig P239 IWB & Kahr PM9 in the pocket) and just wearing one (typically the PM9) along with a spare mag. A while back I had made a horizonal mag carrier that was tuckable and while it works it's not the easiest to put on so I've found myself dropping the spare in a pocket. We all know that's not the best way to do it. If I dropped it in my back pocket it would fall any which way and wasn't comfortable to sit on. In any other pocket I never knew which way it would be when I yanked it out. So I need a solution.

For my birthday this year I got treated to a new EDC knife - a SOG FlashII (thank you nutnfancy for his review on the blade). While it has a wonderfully low carry pocket clip I prefer to keep it as out of the way as possible. I've had the unfortunate car scratch from a similar clip. So my solution for my mag can also be a solution for my knife.

Here it is.
You'll notice I used a single rivet on the mag side. The reason for this is that there is no retention on the mag except for the little bit of friction of the kydex so I wanted to keep that tight. The knife has all kinds of little protrusions so it needs a bit of looseness so that it'll draw cleanly. I kept the clip on the knife so that I have the option to use it if I ever need to. You can see I angled them slightly away from each other so that there won't be any interference. You may also notice that it's been a while since I've molded kydex and I scorched a little bit on the mag side. That heat gun gets HOT! The whole thing measures 4 1/4 inches wide, under 5 inches high and less than 3/4 inch in thickness. I wear it in my weak side back pocket with the flat side out so it just looks like a wallet. The knife and mag stay where they are until I reach in and pull them. I can even "reholster" them without having to take the carrier out of my pocket. Sitting down I can tell it's there, but since it's pretty thin as long as I'm on some kind of cushion I'm comfortable.

All in all a success.

Modification to the AIWB for the Sig P239

2009-03-15T08:27:00.000-07:00

I knew that my original design had a weak spot in the rear clip and the other day the inevitable happened and part of it snapped off while putting it on. At first I just cut off the rear clip and tried wearing it with the single j-clip. While it didn't fall through my pants it would rotate and hang by the grip making drawing difficult. Two clips are a must! I had a couple spare kydex clips left over from other holsters that I own and decided to re-form them into a usable substitute that would be attached to the ring rivet via a screw.

Here are the two different clips I came up with. One's a j-clip and the other is a velcro clip that attaches to the loop velcro sewn into my belt.
By making the rear clip pretty flat with no curve to it the holster now tucks the grip in towards my body nicely making it very concealable. It's comfortable to wear and is quick to access. This will be my go to holster when wearing untucked. I have the option to wear it with the velcro rear clip or the rear j-clip, but since really the only belt I ever use already has velcro sewn in I'll probably just leave the velcro clip attached.

The belt is made my Crossbreed (http://crossbreedholsters.com/) and I totally recommend it. If carrying a gun everyday is something you want to do then a study gun belt is a must. My CB belt is dual thickness with loop velcro sewn in. It is a thick belt, but very supportive. The buckle can be switched out if you want to use something a bit fancier than silver or brass.

Here's a video I made demonstrating this holster.

Grip Clip Holster for a Kahr PM9

2009-02-14T17:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, I was in a rush with that last holster attempt and didn't fully commit to the process. I tried to wear it for an hour yesterday and it was pretty terrible. So I went ahead and started a holster from scratch.

Here's what I came up with. It's a scabbard design held together using one larger rivet and using two grip clips as attachment points onto the waistband. It's molded so that the gun is locked in if tried to draw straight up. To draw smoothly the gun must be pulled out to an angle instead of straight up. Here it is.

Just for fun I wore it for over 3 hours to dinner along with my S&W 469 both up front at centerline carry. I was surprised it was pretty comfortable even though I'm not used to carrying at the 11:00-11:30 position.

I know it looks funny, but it worked with a sweater over it. During most of the year I don't usually go about without a belt on so I don't intend on using this holster all that often. It is the best option I have for my Kahr when belt-less so I'm glad I have it in my holster stable.

Here's a picture with it worn without a belt as it's intended.

Here's a short video showing the holster in action:

New Clipping option - The Grip Clip!

2009-02-13T09:29:00.000-08:00

I came across an ingenious idea last month while reading one of the many gun forums I'm a member of (in this case it was DefensiveCarry.com). One of the members (muddy, gotta give him credit!) came up with the idea to use plastic suspender clips (called Grip Clips) from a pair of suspenders he had on one of his kydex holsters since he rarely uses a belt. It allows him to use the holster in whatever pants/shorts he's wearing regardless if he wears a belt. Here's a link to his post - Kydex Creations using the Grip Clip.

Now, I typically always wear a belt especially in the winter months and during the work week. There are occasions during the summer or weekend where I can see the option of going beltless preferable. In the past, I've used my Stuff & Go methods when beltless. The holster I've used for the Kahr PM9 left a lot to be desired. It didn't quite cover enough of the trigger guard and worst of all the way it clipped to the waistband could cause the holster to be pulled out along with the gun on the draw. Using something like a Grip Clip seemed like the perfect solution. It would be easy on & off, yet when clipped would be secure and not slide off.

Normally, I would make this as a scabbard instead of a pancake (I've found scabbard designs to be cleaner and a little less bulky), but going through my misc. box of holsters & stuff I came across an early attempt at a pancake kydex holster for the PM9. I hadn't used it in a while since I pretty much always pocket carry the PM9. I decided to use this old shell instead of cutting up fresh kydex. In the process of reforming the kydex you'll notice there are a number of blemishes. They in no way affect how the holster actually works. I formed the kydex so the gun will not pull straight out. It is effectively locked in when a straight upwards draw is tried. To draw so that the gun pulls out smoothly it must be pulled back and up at the same time. It snicks out very smoothly when drawn correctly and it's a natural motion for my strong side hand.
I went simple and just used one clip. This is because it will be carried at the appendix location and a little bit of rotational movement helps with comfort. Also one clip is all I need to keep it from sliding down the pants or yanking out on the draw. I've angled the clip so that the gun has a little backwards cant where the grip limits how much it can rotate backwards.

To protect the gun from inadvertantly hitting the nut & screw on the inside of the holster I covered them with a little piece of electrical tape.
I plan on testing this one out after work and this weekend while wearing shorts or sweatpants. If I get a chance I'll make a video demonstrating:
- How well it conceals with a t-shirt
- How easy it is to put on and take off
- How secure the clip is
- How to draw from it correctly

In the future, I plan on designing a two clip version for more stability. Oh, and if you're interested in adapting these clips to a holster you have, they are available seperately from Seattle Fabrics. It's where I found mine.

AIWB Holster for the Smith & Wesson 469

2009-02-01T12:16:00.000-08:00

Here's my latest holster. It's for my winter carry Smith & Wesson 469. I followed the same pattern as my AIWB I did for my Sig P239 with a couple improvements.

I thickened the rear section that supports the grip end and widened both J-hooks to improve on durability. I maintained the curve to the clips I used on the Sig holster which helps with allowing the holster to bend with my waistline. The holster is easy on/off and is surprisingly comfortable. It holds the gun securely until I need to draw it which it does quickly.

The Smith & Wesson 469 is a double stack so it's not a thin gun. With a t-shirt draped over it's still noticeable that there's a lump, but it could easily pass for a cell phone and in no way looks like a gun. Here's a short little video I made that shows how easily it comes on and off and how it conceals.

Smith & Wesson 469: A Proven CCW

2009-01-31T17:23:00.000-08:00

Here's a look at an oldie, but goodie - Smith & Wesson's 469. It's a compact double stack 9mm with a blued slide, alloy frame, and DA/SA with decocker/safety from the early 1980's. I got this one on a trade a little while back and instantly liked the way it felt in my hand. The great thing is it's almost the same size and weight as my Sig P239, but it holds 12+1 rounds of 9mm vs. 8+1 for the Sig. The one place where it's noticeably bigger is in it's thickness. I've made it my winter carry gun so the extra thickness doesn't make much difference under a cover garment. In mentioning capacity one cool thing is that it can take any of the even higher capacity magazines that S&W produces. I've read where someone actually used a 30 round stick magazine and a 72 round drum. The more practical application is to use the 15 round magazines from the larger 59 series guns as a spare and leave the 12 rounder for carry.

Dimensions:
Barrel ----Total---- Weight
Length ---Length-- (empty)
------------------------------
3.5 in. ----6.875 in. --26 oz.

As you can see it has definitely seen some use. I like to think that it was a cop's gun and all the character marks are from years of reliable service. After putting it through it's paces I've found that it points well, is more than accurate enough and has been totally reliable. The trigger is a bit different than what I'm used to. It uses a half cock notch that you can feel when you pull the trigger in double action. To avoid that little hitch, the hammer can be put in half cock after decocking. The double action pull is fairly smooth and easy to stage. Single action isn't as crisp as the Sig's, but it's got a better reset.

One area that I had to change was the original front sight. It was a slanted blade with a vertical line going down the center of it that was integral to the slide. It was ok, but was really hard to see in low light. When I changed out the front sight of my Sig with a night sight I picked up a second night sight with the idea of putting it on the 469 slide. Now, most would then have taken the slide to a gunsmith to have the original sight taken off and a dovetail cut to fit, but I felt a little more ambitious. Yes, that's right using a small file set I hand filed off the front sight and cut a dovetail. It's not perfect, but it works. Take a look at my work.
It still needs a little cold blue on the raw steel, but I'm happy with how it turned out. Now I can easily pick up the front sight in the dark. After taking it to the range it withstood 50 rounds without budging. There I found that to get the right elevation using the new front sight and the original rear required holding the front dot right in line with the top of the rear sight. After a little practice it works well and puts me right in the black.

Future modifications might include a refinish and swapping out the rear sight for a slightly higher Novak style, but for now it's the way I like my carry guns: Compact, Light, Reliable, & Carried.

Overall, the 469 is a great CCW gun and one that I plan on using for many years to come. Smith & Wesson replaced the 469/669 with the third generation 6904/6906 which they have sadly stopped producing. If you happen to find one snatch it up. You won't regret it.

AIWB Kydex holster for a Sig P239

2009-01-17T17:06:00.000-08:00

I've really only been using one holster to carry my Sig P239 for the last year & a half, Crossbreed's SuperTuck Deluxe, and it works well. One thing that it doesn't do so well is easy on & off for the times you have to go into places that are off limits for CCW. Since I've yet to really make a holster for it and I have a need for a different kind of holster than the SuperTuck I put one together.

This one is very similar to the one I made for my Norinco Tokarev clone, but with a few differences. It's a single piece of very thin kydex and uses j-hooks to latch onto the pants & belt. Since it has a shorter barrel than the Tok I only used one large rivet instead of two small ones. I also played around with the placement of the j-hooks by moving them as far apart as I could and curving them to better match the curve of my body. Well, here it is.
I know the back clip looks a little fragile and I may end up doing another holster with a more substantial section of kydex added between where the rivet is and the backend of the clip, but the way it is adds more flexibility so it can really bend with my body for comfort and it hasn't shown any signs of breaking (yet).

Surprisingly, this is a pretty comfortable holster. It helps that the P239 is fairly compact. When sitting the muzzle is high enough so that it doesn't pinch or poke and instead almost fits inside the pocket where my thigh hits my hip. Here are a couple pictures of it worn.This will be used only with a cover garment like a baggy untucked shirt, sweater or fleece. For tucking duty I'll still be turning to my SuperTuck. Over the next few weeks I plan on testing this one out and putting it to the EDC (every day carry) test.

Here's a short video to show how easy it is to access, take off & put on.

Short Tutorial on How To Make a Kydex Holster

2009-01-17T17:03:00.000-08:00

I've been asked how I go about making these holsters so I did a very short tutorial on the steps I take to make one of these holsters (the IWB for the Tokarev specifically).

1. Create a paper template which is used to judge how much kydex to use and the general shape. I used the gun for this part and taped a chopstick to the top of the slide for the sight channel.
2. Using the template I cut the kydex using metal snips.
3. Usually I'll put the whole piece of kydex in a toaster oven set at about 225 for handful of seconds watching it till it starts to flop and then take it out and wrap it around the gun and add pressure. In this case the kydex was a little too long to fit in my small oven so I took a different tactic. Using a heat gun I did an initial fold on a soft & squishy folded blanket. Wear gloves from here on out to protect your hands. Things get hot.
4. Then I focused on different areas heating and pressing to make it a snug fit. I indent the trigger guard a little extra for retention, pulling the gun out before it gets completely rigid so that it's not too tight.
5. Once the fit is right I used a leather punch to make the holes for the rivets. This works for the thin kydex for thicker stuff you'll need to drill the holes. Then I punched the rivets in and tested the gun fit again.
6. At this point I start trimming off overhang with the metal snips.
7. The clips are integral with the holster so they are formed after the mold of the gun has been set. I cut out the general shape for the clips as if they were straightened out and using a 1.5" wide paint stirrer cut in half as my "belt" & "pants" I heated the clips and started folding them around the stirrers. Then I cut off the excess length.
8. Test the fit one last time and if it's too loose use folded wet paper towels to protect the molded sections that don't need adjustment and then heat up the parts that do and add pressure.
9. Once everything is cut & fitted then comes the time consuming part, finishing. My preferred tool for finishing is an emory board. Keep several of different sizes on hand for some of the hard to reach parts. Sand all edges and corners so things are smooth to the touch. Do this part well and it'll look professional, do it poorly and it'll look like Bubba made it with a dull knife.

This is a very general writeup, but it'll work for most single sheet kydex holster designs.

OWB Kydex Holster for a Beretta 92FS

2008-12-23T06:58:00.000-08:00

When I first got into guns several years ago my brother-in-law bought a Beretta 92FS. Shooting his was my first experience with this well loved firearm. I was taken by it's good looks and easy accuracy. Since then I've never really had a chance to own one myself mostly because I tend to lean towards smaller more concealable handguns, but I still love the look of it. A while back my brother-in-law mentioned he was interested in getting a holster for his Beretta. He doesn't CCW, so he was just looking for something he could carry it in comfortably. This Christmas I drew his name for presents and decided I'd try my hand at making that holster for him. This is my first attempt at a OWB (outside the waistband) kydex holster.

I got inspiration from Comp-tac's belt slide holster since it is a fairly simple single sheet design and looked to be stable & comfortable. As I don't own a 92FS I luckily have a coworker that was gracious enough to lend it to me for a night to get the fit just right.

The split loops had to be cut using a dremel so they aren't as clean as I would like, but they are functional and solidly lock onto the belt. The sex bolts (yes, they are really called that) I got after searching around Ace Hardware and if the holster were going to be used for CCW I'd probably paint them black.Here it is worn. It really is nice and comfortable and with this long sweater I could probably get away with wearing it concealed except for a bit of the bottom showing. As my first OWB holster I'm very happy with it and I hope the B-I-L likes it as well. I think I'll have to make one for my wife's Ruger, maybe a paddle holster this time...I swear I must be addicted to kydex fumes.

Tokarev IWB Kydex Holster with J-hooks

2008-12-20T18:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, I got around to putting together a carry holster for my Tok (Norinco 213). At first I flirted with a complicated IWB crossdraw design. It involved a trailing support arm that could have been made of either leather or kydex and would have to be angled just right to allow concealability, comfort & a good draw. It's an intriguing idea, but overly complicated and though I might mess with it in the future today I just wanted something easy that I knew could work. In the end, I decided on a very simple IWB scabbard design using a single piece of kydex. The dual J-hooks add a little bit of stability by being able to straddle a belt loop. I used the thinnest kydex I had (.63) to minimize any added width which as an added benefit gives the clips just a tad amount of flexibility so that they can be maneuvered onto the belt. It surprised me how light it ended up.

The outside of the holster has the majority of the molding while the inside is fairly flat since that's the side that's against the body.
I canted the holster a little rearward so that the barrel lays comfortably along the inside of my thigh when worn at the appendix position. It's still high enough to allow me to get a solid grip.
It also works in other IWB positions, but I really like it at the appendix spot.
I wore it this evening for a few hours at the mall and though I noticed it, it never hurt to wear. Now I have a way to carry my Tok concealed so I call this one a success.

Thin is IN! - Tokarev Grips Update

2008-12-12T22:37:00.000-08:00

This is an update to this previous post.

In the world of concealed carry handguns, thin is most definitely in! Anyone will tell you that it's much easier to conceal a thinner gun than a f--, um thickness challenged one (those Glocks might be listening). Whether it be in your pocket or IWB tucked, a flatter pistol carries better. It's one (of the many) reasons why the 1911 platform is still so popular with the CCW crowd. I just peeked at BOB O's pocket pistol pdf on mouseguns.com to check out what rates as thin these days. My PM9 shows that it's 1.10" in width overall and measured at the slide it's about .90", pretty thin for a 9mm don't you think? Well, according to my eyeballing with the tape measure my Chinese Tokarev clone measures at a measley 13/16" or under .82" at the slide. Lately, I've been considering carrying the Tok, partly to give it some exercise and partly because I love it's ultra simple design. It's pretty close to a 1911 design that was stripped of everything that it didn't need in order to shoot (though it does sport an external extractor). There's no beaver-tail, no grip safety, no firing pin safety, really no safety to speak of if you don't count half cock. Most 1911 folks scoff at the thought of such a thing, but in a way I find it refreshingly simple. In original form it's not exactly a thing of beauty with it's awkward grip angle and dull finish. Those clones from the Chinese like mine sport so many tooling marks it looks as if all the parts were cut & milled just enough to fit together and that's it. I like it though. It's like that 5 lb hammer you use to bang stakes in the ground. It's scarred up, dirty, maybe a little rusty, but it does exactly what you need it to do and when you swing it just right and hit that stake square all it takes is one whack.

A while back I fabricated some ultra thin grips for the Tok to maximize it's flatness. They worked, but made it look a bit like a Radom and made the grip stick out a bit. So after seeing a bunch of bobbed 1911's I thought I could easily do something similar to my Tok. So a couple of minutes cutting, molding & sanding and here you go. You'll notice that since the last effort I've gotten an untrimmed Hogue slip on grip to hold it all together and give a nonslip surface to hold on to. I'm really digging the profile now. Isn't Kydex great?

Check out how thin those grips are! Notice that I took a little bit of metal off the backside of the hammer to keep hammer bite at bay. I'll see if any more needs to be removed after my next range session. One of these days I my try my hand at refinishing to give some more corrosion resistance than the original faded blue gives it.

Pondering the differences between my Tok vs. my EDC Sig P239 I'm struck by many of the similarities. Yes, the Sig is DA/SA with a decocker and sports a short 3.6" barrel, it looks squat & chubby in comparison to the Tok's long & lean 4.5" barrel. In the end, though they both contain an equal amount of firepower, 8+1 in 9mm, with no added on safety levers/switches/buttons. Granted if used for CCW I would never carry the Tok cocked with one in the chamber so it will have to be cocked on the draw.

Guess it'll need a holster so that I can practice with that...hmm another project.

Kahr PM9 Kydex Pocket Holster

2008-11-07T19:56:00.000-08:00

Inspired by my previous pocket holster for my Charter Arms snubby I decided my Kahr PM9 needed some new duds. I added a distinct bend to the tail which does two things. It gives it a squared off look when it's in my pocket and it helps hook onto the pocket to allow the holster to fall away from the gun when drawn. I haven't added any anti-skid tape to it yet, but I don't think I'll need to.

I made sure to cut enough away from the grip to allow a solid grip and the outside pocket side is nice and flat with just a hint of curve here and there.

Comparing it to the pocket holster for the snubnose revolver it's shorter in length (muzzle to grip), but has more height (top of slide to bottom of grip). I prefer to shoot with the Pearce grip extension so I leave it on for pocket carry.

Everytime I make something like this I gain renewed appreciation for the folks that make these for a living. The inital molding of the kydex isn't hard, but all the little details to make it fit just right for the gun, pocket and for the hand add up and take time. In the end, it sure is nice when it turns out the way you want it.

Snubnose Kydex Pocket Holster

2008-10-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to swapping out the front sights on my main carry guns (Sig P239 & Kahr PM9) to night sights for faster low light acquisition. I borrowed a sight pusher and after a couple hours twisting & pushing & pounding I gave up and decided the factory must have welded on these sights. So at the start of this week I stopped by my LGS and dropped them off with their gunsmith. Since I'll was to be without my primary carry guns for a few days I decided that I would start carrying my wife's little revolver (Charter Arms Undercover 38). It's setup with "hip grips", but I wanted to try pocket carrying it. My experience with pocket carry has only been with semi-auto pistols (Bersa, Kel-tec P3AT, & Kahr PM9) so I didn't have any pocket holsters that would currently work with a revolver.

A piece of kydex, some heat and a half hour later this is what I came up with.
You can see that I focused on only molding the inside side of the holster so that the outside would hide the shape of the revolver.
Here I'm demonstrating how it breaks up the outline.
I had to tweak it a bit here and there so that it doesn't grab the gun and come out with it on the draw. I may get some kind of grip tape to put on it to further secure it in the pocket, but it doesn't rotate so the grip of the revolver is always in the same spot. The hip grips aren't ideal for pocket carry since the part that sticks out to hang on the waistband protrudes a bit and shows through the pocket though it definitely does not look like a gun. Deep pockets are a must, but most of my pants have those so I haven't had any problems.

Overall, I'm happy with it and it will serve me well.

*Update*
I was given the suggestion to add some kind of rubberized tape to the holster to keep it in to pocket on the draw and went to Ace Hardware to see what they had. I wasn't sure exactly what would work best and Ace has everything everywhere, but I came across anti-skid tape that's used for stairways being sold by the foot. It feels like sandpaper but the grit doesn't come off. I cut a couple strips and added it to the holster and WOW! It's a world of difference as it almost sticks in the pocket. There's no way I could draw the holster out with the gun unless I grab the holster itself and pull it out. Here's what it looks like.

Stuff & Go - A Semi & A Snub

2008-08-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

There has been volumes written about the pros and cons of revolvers vs. semi automatic pistols so I'm going to focus this post on a more practical application of the two: the "Stuff & Go Gun".

Stuff & go means exactly as it sounds. It refers to the need to occasionally be able to quickly & easily grab a gun, stuff it in your pants and go. This need can arise at anytime in any clothing you might be wearing at the time. I can't count how many times I've needed to do this to: take the dog out, run to the grocery store for creamer so my wife can enjoy a cup of coffee, grab Waffle House to bring home for breakfast (like this morning), or going out to eat after working out at the gym. At these times I'm not in my typical work week clothing which dictates belted pants and a tucked in shirt, but in a t-shirt and shorts or sweatpants. Although, for me it's not an everyday carry method it is a definite need if I want to be armed at all times.

Some of you are going to ask, "Why not pocket carry?". The simple answer is that in order to pocket carry you must first have a pocket. The beauty of S&G is that all you need (clothing-wise) is a waistband and some kind of shirt which if you're going out in public you're most likely going to have. This, of course, doesn't take into account dresses (which my wife is glad I don't wear).

The requirements for a firearm to be a S&G gun may vary from person to person based on hand size, recoil sensitivity, body type and caliber preference. The fundamental characteristics will typically be small size & light weight to maximize comfort & concealment ability. The guns I am going to use in this comparison I've found to meet all of these requirements (after a little tweaking). The semi-auto is a Kahr PM9. The PM9 is uniquely suited for concealed carry because of it's amazing measurements and weight for a subcompact 9mm with 6+1 capacity. The revolver is a Charter Arms Undercover .38 special in double action only (DAO). This Undercover isn't the lightest offering by CA, but the extra ounces translate into less recoil & better control when shooting +P ammo.

Here's a direct comparison by the numbers:
-----------------Kahr PM9------Charter Arms Undercover .38
Length-------------5.6"---------------------6.31"
Height-------------4.3"---------------------4.5"
Width--------------1.1"--------------------1.25"
Carry Weight-----20.8 oz-----------------19.2 oz
Caliber------------9mm------------------.38 spl +P
Capacity-----------6+1----------------------5

Note: Carry weight takes into account everything needed to carry the gun in S&G condition. That means loaded with whatever carry grips or holster needed.

As you can see the semi's smaller in every dimension, but the revolver's lighter and in true revolver fashion because of it's rounded shape the extra tenths of an inch don't inhibit it's concealability. Neither of these guns comes out of the box ready for S&G carry since on the standard gun there's nothing to keep it from sliding down the waistband. Here's how I solved that problem and also what I added to aid in shooting comfort.

The RevolverDecades ago a company came up with an innovative idea to enable a revolver to be carried inside the waistband without a standard holster so it won't slide down. The Barami Corporation created the Barami Hip Grips that use a "right grip panel that has an "extension" that flares away from the gun slightly, creating a surface that when inserted inside the waistband (trousers, shorts, skirts, etc.) it hooks over it" (taken straight from their website). It's a very convenient way to carry as you never have to tote around the extra weight or bulk of a holster. The downside to the hip grips are that it does replace the comfortable factory grips. They don't add any extra height or length. Because they are so minimal there's not much to get a solid grip so I added another innovation from decades ago, the Tyler T-gri p. The T-grip is a simple attachment to the front strap of the grip that allows more for your fingers to hold onto. They are made for many different size revolvers so I got one designed for a larger revolver then trimmed off the bottom and then coated the whole thing in PlastiDip spray to give it a slightly rubbery feel.

The Semi Automatic
Some of you may see this picture and wonder why I choose to use a holster with this gun instead of going with something similar to the Barami Hip Grip such as the Covert Carrier. The reason I feel like a holster is necessary with this gun is because of how light the Kahr's trigger is at a little over 6 lbs. Although the pull is longer than any single action trigger it is noticeably shorter than that of the revolver. Because of both of these facts I don't feel comfortable carrying it without the trigger covered hence the holster. The holster is a homemade kydex one I pieced together from a previous holster I'd made. I integrated the clip into the holster to make it as thin as possible and it works. The clip works to stay attached to the waistband by catching it on the draw. The waistband must be fairly snug for it to work properly, but I don't like my shorts sagging so that's not an issue. For added comfort I added a Pearce Grip Extension to the magazine bottom which allows my whole hand to wrap around the grip.

They both look just like this when concealed so I'm just showing one picture.
The revolver
The semi auto
Conclusion
As you can see concealment with either is great. The semi does have more grip to hide with the finger extension. On the draw the semi wins out because it's grip is more accessible and the kydex holster gives it a smooth release. The revolver has the disadvantage dealing with the width of the cylinder. In comfort the revolver bests the semi because there's less of it at the muzzle end, but the semi doesn't cause any pain. It is just more noticeable. The semi has the capacity advantage (7 vs. 5). The revolver has the weight advantage being 1.6 ounces lighter. In shooting they are both natural pointers. The semi gives better accuracy at distance though the revolver isn't too shabby. Of course, the revolver has less chance of jamming.

Each has it's pluses and minuses, but both can do the job of Stuff & Go and do it very well.

Tuckable Pancake AIWB Holster With a J-clip

2008-08-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

Those of you who've read my blog have probably read my first kydex holster attempt for my Kahr PM9 in this post. Since then I've been wearing it off and on taking note of it's deficiencies. As you can see in the first design I used a scabbard design. That means I used a single piece of kydex and folded it around the gun. It's a simple design, which is very easy to make and for the most part it works well. It's probably the most widely used basic design for holsters out there.

The problem I was having with this holster mostly had to do with concealment. I had designed it to be tuckable with the shirt tucked over it behind a single kydex clip. The clip I was using is a standard (old-style) Comp-tac clip. They have since updated their clips to be almost half the width (folks seem to really love them). Anyways, first off because the PM9 is a very light gun I could get away with just clipping the holster onto my pants with the belt covering the exposed clip. My pants holds the gun that way with no problem, but the clip had a tendency to peek out beneath my belt. Wearing dark pants it wasn't noticeable, but in light khaki's it stood out. Another problem was with my shirt tucked over the gun. My bloused shirt would at times find it's way behind the folded rounded part of the holster and cause me to have the discretely pull at my shirt. Neither of these problems were problems if I could wear an untucked shirt, but I can't go to work untucked.

My solution was to change the design of the holster from a scabbard to a pancake and to create a J-clip that could hide it's J section. Molding the kydex into a pancake holster is a lot harder than simply folding over a single piece. You have to work with two separate pieces that like to move and shift. I don't own a press like many people do who work with kydex which would have made this part easier, but after a lot of trial and error and the extensive use of a heat gun I got it to mold the way I wanted. I used a couple of eyelets to rivet the two pieces together and then went to work on the clip.
I got the design for the clip from watching a video on youtube about a knife sheath that clipped onto the belt and slid to hide the clip behind a belt loop. In the video you can't see the actual design, but I could picture how it would work. After cutting & molding the clip and then trying it out it does work. A benefit to it hiding behind a belt loop besides concealability is that it adds to the overall stability of the holster. Another thing I found is that most pants don't give too much extra space in the belt loops for both a double thickness gun belt and a clip. I can get it on there, but it takes a couple seconds to work it behind the belt loop.Here's a brief video displaying it in use along with my T-magster.

I've been able to wear it a few days and I really like it. It's comfortable to wear (IWB appendix carry is never as comfy as OWB) to the point that I leave it on even after I come home from work. It provides good retention and a quick draw (once the shirt's out of the way). It definitely conceals better since the pancake design helps flatten out the gun and holster so the shirt just slides over it smoothly.

This one's a keeper! Now I have an idea to make one that incorporates a spare mag...I can't stop myself!

T-magster Double Stack with a J-clip

2008-08-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

I was asked if this design would work well for a double stack mag and then asked if it could be made to use a J-clip for and attachment point. I said "Sure, why not" then tonight decided to put it to the test.

Here's my T-magster for a double stack S&W 469 mag. Note that these mags also work for Kel-tec's P11 which I've considered getting.Here's a picture with it being worn in the 11:00 o'clock position.

Here's it tucked and concealed.I plan on wearing it tomorrow and give it a spin.

Here's a video of it.

T-magster -> Update!

2008-08-11T08:41:00.000-07:00

Say hello to the new and improved "T-magster"!

My wife came up with the name and I liked it so that's what I'm calling this new magazine carrier. This is a quick post about my latest updates to the design which I originally introduced in this previous post.
As you can see I shortened the "T". After wearing the original style for a day and a half it became uncomfortable because the extra extension would poke me when I sat. I realized that it didn't need to be so long to accommodate the amount of shirt that needed to be tucked in so I went about trimming it and reforming the kydex. You can also see that I improved the retention by dimpling the kydex where the mag catch is. This allows the magazine to click in and out so you know it won't start sliding out on it's own. Another feature that I made to enhance concealment is a slight tilt of the mag towards the body. I found that when the mag was straight up and down in line with the bottom T that it would lean out away from your body when attached to the belt. The slight tilt counteracts that and helps keep the mag close in.

With the refinements it's become an incredibly comfortable way to carry an easily accessible concealed spare magazine without taking up valuable pocket space.

I call this idea a solid success!

New Spare Mag Carrier - Horizontal, IWB, Tuckable & Kydex

2008-08-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

To set the record straight, yes, new/different/clever designs ALWAYS interest me. When I get an idea in my head and putting it into action is within my capabilities then I have to at least attempt it. Here's my latest idea; a tuckable, "IWB", horizontal spare mag carrier/holster. That's a mouthful! I don't have a catchy name for it yet, maybe "T-mag Carrier" (since it looks like a T). If you think of something that fits give it a shout out.

Here's the background on the idea. Since it's the summer I've been carrying my Kahr PM9 quite a bit in my AIWB holster I made for it. It's a perfect carry gun if you can live with it's shortcomings such as shooting comfort, short sight radius, caliber & capacity. I've overcome comfort issues by adding a Pearce finger rest to my carry mag and by practice I can overcome the sight radius. I'm actually a fan of 9mm because of it's availability/price and with quality ammo it's a proven killer so caliber's not an issue for me. I have always been a tiny bit bothered by it's 6+1 capacity and I've been preached to before about always carrying an extra mag. I've always wanted to be able to carry one, but I've run out of pockets to drop one in and I have never been too thrilled at the meager offerings for IWB tuckable mag carriers. Yes, being tuckable is always a requirement for me. I'll get into that in a different post.

Then I had a light bulb moment. The issues I have with vertical mag carriers is that in order for them to be concealable with a cover garment they need to be positioned high on the belt. This can cause the top of the mag to poke you in the ribs. That's with OWB carriers. With IWB carriers they take up valuable space between your body and your belt. Almost all of the spare mag holders I've ever seen have been vertical except for a few, one by Galco and one by Safariland, neither of which are tuckable though I do like the simple concealable design of Safariland's except it uses noisy velcro to get to the mag. There are some simple kydex or kydex/leather designs out there that are tuckable, but all those place the mag vertical so that it adds bulk between you and your belt. My thoughts were that if you could place the magazine horizontal above and in line with the belt it wouldn't add any bulk to further squeeze my tender waist. My choice to make it out of super thin kydex came because I actually had a couple of sheets of it already that I'd been playing with. This design could be adapted using leather, but that involves skills I admit not having. The retention of the mag is through friction by tightly fitting the kydex around it. It won't fall out when turned upside down, but will pull free when grasped and pulled.

Next I had to decide how to attach it to my belt so that it wouldn't move or pullout unless I wanted it to. In this design the magazine is basically sitting on top of your belt so there's no real chance it'll fall down your pants (unless you wear your pants very very loose) so the attachment point would only be to maintain the carrier's position and to keep it from pulling out if vigorously accessed. In this instance I choose to use velcro because my Crossbreed gun belt is lined with it already and it's as stealthy as you can get. In the pictures you can see the generous gap I gave it to allow a shirt to tuck in. This can be made with less or more length based on whether you typically have a lot of shirt to tuck or shorter for more comfort when sitting.

Here are some pictures of it along with pics of it being worn.

Because tuckability is just an option it can be worn untucked for the few times I roam casual.

After trying it out for a day I'm happy to report that it works as expected. At this point I've just been wearing it 11:00 o'clock (opposite side from where I wear my PM9), but it could easily fit behind my left hip. It hides easily. I notice it's there, but it's definitely not uncomfortable. By untucking my shirt to access my gun I at the same time provide access to my extra mag if it's needed. Using an 8 round spare mag I can now carry a total of 15 rounds on me which is comforting.

Here's a video for ya'll.

Ultra thin grips for my Tokarev

2008-06-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted thinner grips on your Tokarev? I didn't at first, Toks are pretty thin to begin with. Then I read about how someone will carry his Tok without the grips on to minimize it's width and I though "that can't be the smartest idea". Then I modified some wrap-around grips which improve the grip angle to add a beaver tail for comfort. They help tremendously with pointing and now don't bite back, but are pretty bulky overall rivaling most double stack grips. I can see the attraction to thin.

My Norinco 213's a 9mm with the mag spacer in the grip (not the mag) so carrying it without grips would quickly cause the spacer to fall out, not to mention I can't stand the standard grip angle. So after some brain storming and a little inspiration from glocktails I came up with a way to make the thinnest grips I could think of without any permanent modification or without too much work all while improving the standard grip angle. Check it out!
The answer is kydex. I've been playing around with it for several months and I've found it's very easy to work with. I started out first trying to determine how much I wanted to change the grip angle. I did that by overlaying a picture of the Tok on top of a picture of a Sig (which always fit me well) to see how much to add on the back end of the grip. Then I took the current grips off the Tok and played around with paper mockups. Here's a download of the template I used (in pdf). Once I got a mockup that looked right I traced it out on a sheet of the thinnest kydex I could find (not sure of the exact measurement). Because it's so thin it makes it that much easier to cut it out. I don't own a band saw so I had to use scissors and a couple sharp knives to carve out the hard parts. The next part was to do the final fitting to the gun (very small sharp knives help with this part the most). There were a few places I made adjustments to that aren't on the template. Once cut, then I used a heat gun to fold it into place and fit snugly on the gun. Then I took some sandpaper and smoothed out all the edges. I was surprised at how it almost snapped into place, but it did slide around a bit. That's where using a Hogue Hand-All Jr. comes into play. I had one laying around that had been trimmed a bit to fit a different gun. In my attempts to get it on I tore it and had to do a bit more trimming than I originally wanted, but in the end I like it all the same. One day I may pick up an unmolested Hand-All Jr. to replace it, but for now it works well keeping the kydex in place and telling my hand where all my fingers should go.

It feels great in the hand now. I think I got the angle just about perfect. Even my wife thinks it grips better now than with the thicker grips. The reason I didn't add a tail to it is because I think the only reason I was getting nipped with the wider grips is because the width plus the adjusted grip angle pushed the web of my hand up. I'm pretty sure that because these are so thin my hand won't intrude into the hammer area. For a concealed carry gun these are perhaps the best grips that I can think of for a Tokarev.

Appendix Carry: Homemade Holster for a Kahr PM9

2008-06-16T14:06:00.000-07:00

First a little background:

I've had my little PM9 for a while now and it's been great as a pocket gun with the homemade pocket holster I made for it. The problem is I carry so much stuff in my pockets that sometimes the bug can't go with me and I just stick with my primary. Then a couple weeks ago I went to Florida for a family vacation and decided to bring my wife's snub nose .38 special. It's adorned with Barami Hip Grips so that it can simply be slid into the waistline sans holster. This was my first extended session of appendix carry with any firearm and it wasn't as intolerable as it would seem.

The ease at simply stuffing the gun in my waistband at the easily accessible 1:00-2:00 o'clock position and heading out without worrying about tucking or the gun sliding down my pants all without having to wear a belt was a revelation. In Florida my attire was always ultra casual with a t-shirt and shorts which is ideal for "stuff & go", but at home about 94.8% of the time I'm in pants with a tucked in shirt. The hip grips aren't tuckable and besides the snub stays with the wife. That leaves me with my PM9 and an idea.

About Appendix Carry:

Appendix carry isn't nearly as widely used as strong side carry for a number of reasons. First, it requires a gun with a very short barrel and grip, both as thin as possible. In front of your hip, if your gun has too long a barrel it'll jab your leg like crazy when you sit down. Trust me, it's not fun. Some guns that could work are: Kahr's subcompacts, any of Kel-tec's line, the Walther PPS, Taurus' subcompacts, J-frame sized snubs, and probably any 3" 1911. Some folks can get away using double stack subcompacts like the Glock 26, but they're significantly thicker. Second, not everyone's body type will work with a gun in that position. This is not to say that you can't have a gut if you want to appendix carry, but if it's spilling over your belt then it definitely won't be comfortable. Lastly, there is the common fear (mostly among men) that appendix carry places the weapon dangerously close to the family jewels. My belief is that with the right weapon, holster and proper training (ie muzzle control, finger placement, etc.) appendix carry is no more dangerous than any other form of carry.

The pros to appendix carry are significant. You have quick easy access with optional access with your weak hand if necessary. It takes less shoulder articulation to draw from your centerline than from past the 3 o'clock position strong side. It is also much easier to draw while seated from this position when driving. If for some reason your strong hand has become disabled you can still reach your firearm with your weak hand. For concealed carry purposes, you have constant awareness of your gun's concealment. It's much easier to lessen the chance of being "made" because of inadvertent exposure with the gun directly in front of you than to your side or behind you. If being able to tuck in your shirt is a requirement than that always adds an additional layer difficulty to quickly accessing and drawing. The solution is simple; practice, practice, practice.

My Homemade Appendix Holster:

A few months back I bought a few sheets of kydex to play with. I'd seen a couple tutorials online showing how easy it was to form it and I thought I'd try my hand at it. At the time I had a Kel-tec P3AT and tried making a holster for it. My attempt was mildly successful in that it could hold the gun and protect the trigger when worn, but it was very rough and totally uncomfortable. I sold that gun and tossed the holster in a box. My next pocket gun purchase was my PM9 and when I thought about trying out appendix carry I dug out that first kydex try and realizing that there might be enough kydex there to reform it around the PM9 I figured why not try.
Kydex is cool stuff and short of cutting it into shreds it gives you multiple tries to reshape it however you want. I wanted the kydex to cover fairly high on both sides of the slide, not only as a sweat shield against my skin, but also to ease reholstering. Many other kydex designs like to trim it low on the belt side and if the whole holster is worn low on the waist sometimes the pants or belt will slightly cover the holster opening. My Crossbreed can do that at times as you'll see in the video below. I also used a separate clip so that a shirt can be tucked over the gun. You might recognize the clip, it's actually scavenged from a Comp-Tac CTAC holster that came with the PM9 from the previous owner. It's a 1.25" clip which works great since it almost completely hides behind my 1.5" belt. The extra holes drilled into it are from experimenting with different clips & attachments at different times. The design is kind of a cross between the Comp-Tac's 2 O'clock and the Ehud Appendix Carry Holster. With a gun as light as the PM9 there's no worries about the single clip attachment being sufficient to support the weight. I've worn this holster in workout shorts and as long as I tighten the drawstring I haven't had any problems with the holster pulling out on the draw. Having a single attachment point in this position also helps in that the gun has a little bit of leeway to rotate when sitting down or twisting which helps in the comfort department.

Speaking about comfort, which is probably at the top of the list of desirable traits, this holster ranks a solid 7.5 out of 10. I rounded off all the edges I could, but because kydex is so stiff it can still poke at times. Unlike my Crossbreed which can at many times be forgotten when being worn, you can always remember you're wearing this holster. That's really not a bad thing, but it could be more comfortable. I could see a leather version having more give, except it could never be as thin as kydex and unless it had a reinforced mouth (more thickness) it would quickly collapse after the draw.
As you can see in these pictures concealment is quite good. Even from the side because of the tucked in shirt and small size of the gun there's no discernible bulge. At times the bottom part of the clip may peek under the belt, but it's not very noticeable and easily overlooked (you can see it in the video below).
Below I included a short video showing both this holster and my Crossbreed SuperTuck in use. Appendix carry is good way to carry your primary or even your bug. Give it a try.

My Chinese Russian - Modified Grips

2008-05-10T17:28:00.000-07:00

I happened upon this pistol one day at a LGS (local gun store) for $99. Yeah, I know - Can you believe that it stayed there for about a week before I came to my senses (and got the wife's thumbs up) and snatched it up. Part of the reason for my delay was because I knew absolutely nothing about it. After a little research I found out this was a Norinco 213 in 9mm which is a chinese made version of the russian Tokarev in a much more common caliber than the original 7.62 x 25. It was in decent condition with just a little freckling of rust and came with 3 mags. One of the first things I noticed after handling it was that in point shooting it would aim way low because of the odd grip angle. It was nice and flat though, flatter in fact than my Sig P239 in 9mm. Here's what it looked like when I first got it.This is just a random picture of a 213 I found, but it's exactly what mine looked like right down to the tacked on safety. Original Tokarev's weren't designed with a safety as they utilized the half-cock notch and were carried either half-cocked with one in the chamber or chamber empty and racked when needed. You'll notice the nice flat rear sight. It's perfect for hooking a belt to chamber a round. My example has the odd issue of not easily being racked with the hammer down. With the hammer thumbed back it racks very easily. It's not much of an issue for me since this is more of a fun range gun than one that I'll carry. For that purpose it works. It's more accurate (for me) than my Sig which I attribute to the nice single action trigger, longer sight radius and fine sights.

One thing that I still had a problem with was that t-square grip angle. While perusing a pawn shop I ran into another Norinco 213 that had what are called Tokagypt grips which wrap-around the back strap and give a fuller more natural grip angle by adding a palm swell. I liked the way they felt so I went on the hunt for similar ones for mine. Unfortunately, China is unable to import their firearms into the US anymore so parts like grips aren't that easy to fine. Fortunately for me they are sold in Canada through www.marstar.ca. The cool thing is that Marstar sells some different versions of the Tokarev so I had a choice of grips. I chose the grips for their M-201C. Here's a picture of how they look on the 213.
The grips are designed for a version of the Tokarev without the laynard loop so I had to utilize my dremel skills and gouge out a notch in the grips for the loop. It worked and they help the grip angle significantly! Now can I be happy...well there's always room for improvement. I fixed the grip angle now the problem I have is hammer bite. The new grips push the web of my hand up high enough now for the hammer to occasionally nip it. Zastava has fixed this issue on the Tokarev versions that they produce by adding a beaver tail.
Now there's no easy way for me to add a beaver tail to my 213 so I had to get creative. I came up with an idea and decided to go for it. Here's the end result.

I'm a big fan of JB Weld and have used it a number of times before to fix things. I thought I could find some similar epoxy-like putty to mold on the back of the grips. After hitting up a number of modeller's forums I decided to order some Kneadatite "green stuff" and "brown stuff".(You'll notice that the safety was removed and is in the container with the "brown stuff")

I decided to just use the "brown stuff" since it's a bit harder than the more flexible "green stuff". It's really neat stuff to work with and adhered tightly to the grips. When I fitted the grips to the gun originally and carved out a notch for the lanyard loop I carved a bit too deep and came through the outside a bit so I decided to cover it up with some of the "brown stuff". Next I sanded it flush.

Originally, I was going to just use some auto paint to blend everything together, but while at Home Depot I saw this stuff. It's worked great and offers a rubbery grip which should allow a solid grip even with sweaty hands. I'd actually gotten this idea from someone who posted in one of the many forums I read who dipped his Barami Hip Grips in the stuff. I think I may even use this stuff on some revolver grips I have.

All in all, I really like how this turned out.

A Little Old School - Dan Wesson .357 Magnum

2008-05-02T07:13:00.000-07:00

My background in guns is fairly recent - adding up to only a handful of years. I've always seen myself as a semi-auto kind of guy. I like the quick action, large capacity and slim design. The kid in me always screams 'NEAT' when I handle one. Most of my collection of handguns have been semi's with the only revolvers being my wife's guns. I've always liked the look of her Ruger SP101, though it never 'spoke' to me the way my semi's have. Her little & light Charter Arms .38 is so convenient to tuck into pants. It's hard not to ignore their place in the gun world. Easy to load (read - no pinching fingers loading a magazine), simple to maintain (worn springs are much less an issue), quick pointing & intuitive in shooting (no flying brass to bounce off your head or drop into your shirt). All these things I've appreciated, but they never really captured my interest. To be honest we probably would never owned a revolver if my wife hadn't picked one for herself.

Now why would I go out and buy a revolver for myself? Well, all the above came into the decision plus I felt we had a need for one. I'm constantly reviewing our home protection needs and though I know that the weapon of choice for HD is a shotgun I decided (at least for now) to hold off on that purchase. Here are my reasons for doing that. A shotgun is truly an intimidating weapon. Do I think I can handle one, of course. Do I think my wife can handle one, sure. But, neither of us have ever shot one. I'm of the mindset that if you're going to use a weapon you'd better practice with it. I don't make it to the range nearly as often as I'd like and living in the burbs like we do we're limited with the number of ranges available to us. None of those ranges (all indoor) allow shotguns so our chances of being able to practice with a shotgun would be very infrequent.

So long story short, I decided a medium/large frame revolver would fit the role as a trusty HD weapon. Since my wife's Ruger is a 357mag, I figured to keep ammo simple and stick with the same caliber. It's a known man stopper and in a larger heavier revolver would be much easier to shoot. So once that decision was made I switched into my research mode to find one that met the requirements, was fairly inexpensive (we're not wealthy) and that caught my fancy.
That's how I came across Dan Wesson revolvers. These are innovatively designed and largely under appreciated in the gun world. They are overly built strong revolvers of modular design that allow fast switching of barrels to larger or shorter lengths. You can see that their cylinder latch is located in front of the cylinder on the crane instead of behind the cylinder which was done partly for strength and partly to keep the trigger mechanism simple. About that trigger, it's different than any revolver I've ever felt. It has both a lighter & shorter (much shorter) stroke than my wife's SP101 which aids in it's outstanding accuracy.

Dan Wesson has changed hands several times over the course of time, most recently being acquired by CZ-USA so though parts aren't nearly as bountiful as they are for S&W's or Ruger's they can be found. I contacted CZ and they even have new barrels that can be purchased in all kinds of sizes from 2.5" - 10". I don't know how well I'd be able to hold it with a 10" barrel, but it's cool you can get them new from them. If you really search, I've heard you can even find 15" barrels that had been made in decades past.

So anyway, I found this revolver for sale locally and jumped on it. It's a Model 14 with a 4" barrel sporting large rubber target grips. I just found this out recently, but the difference between a Model 14 & 15 is that the 14 doesn't have adjustable sights. It didn't include the barrel wrench which is used to swap out barrels and adjust cylinder gap, but it did include this Bianchi holster. The holster originally had a snap on it, but I cut it off and refinished it so it would have an open top. The gun has it's share of wear on it (I might try re-bluing it for kicks), but it works like a dream and even though it doesn't have adjustable rear sights it hits point of aim for me.

I know this blog is called Hidden Defense and most likely I won't be trying to CCW this revolver, but I have thought about it and in the future may work on a couple holster designs to see how they work. I am looking into replacing the over large grips with smaller ones and maybe I'll splurge and get the 2.5" barrel to turn it into a snubby.

This in one revolver that makes that kid in me scream 'NEAT'!

Crossbreed SuperTuck: Long-Term Review

2008-04-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

In my original review I outlined my initial impressions of Crossbreed's SuperTuck holster. At that time I had worn the holster for a few weeks. As of today it has been over 8 months since I started wearing my SuperTuck daily with my Sig P239. I wanted to give people a longer term review to know what they can expect with owning one of Crossbreed's holsters.

Here's a brief recap (for more detail read my original review). This is a Crossbreed SuperTuck Deluxe IWB (inside the waistband) tuckable holster using V-clips (velcro clips) molded for a Sig P239 in 9mm. It is constructed with a large leather backing and a stiff piece of molded kydex to cover the firearm. The strong points this holster offers are it's adjustability, comfort, concealability and a very reasonable price.

Clothing Wear:
You might be wondering why I'm starting off with 'Clothing Wear' as my first section. The reason is to help explain the pictures you'll see for those who only care about pictures (you know who you are). Below you'll see what I mean by clothing wear. This is something that won't show up until extended wear with the same pair of pants.

The circled area is where the muzzle of my P239 has rubbed a spot on my Wrangler cargo pants (my favorite for looks & utility and yes I am carrying in that picture). It's not the best picture of it, but I think it shows what can happen. I've got a navy pair of Old Navy pants where it's worn an actual hole (I think my wife threw those away because of it). I found those pair of pants here's a picture showing how bad the wear is.Now why did I get this wear? Well one reason is because I carry at about 4:30 so when I sit (which I sit a lot for work) causes my gun to press against whatever chair I'm in. By the way that is in no way uncomfortable. I can go 14+ hours carrying this way without any discomfort. If I carried at closer to 3:00 I most likely wouldn't get this wear. Unfortunately, because of my luv handles that is not the most comfortable position. Another reason why my pants wear this way is due to the open muzzle design of the SuperTuck. A closed muzzle design would typically mute the somewhat hard edges of my firearm and cause less abrasion to my pants. Below you can see my solution to this problem.

I picked up a bag of scrap leather from the local Tandy Leather and used a larger section to trim up and cover the exposed muzzle. Then I used a leather punch and two chicago screws to fasten it to the holster leather backing. I've only done this just recently so I don't know if this is solve it long term, though feeling it through the pants there is a noticeable improvement at that spot. The great thing about this mod is that the only permanent thing I had to do to the main holster itself was punch two small holes.

Durability:
Here is a picture of the holster very shortly after I received it.

And here is a picture of my holster as it is over 8 months later including all the mods that I have done.
You can see that the leather has aged to a nice tan color. It has picked up some indentions from the gun and has developed a comfortable curve where it has conformed to my waist, but otherwise has held up very well. You will notice that I did trim a bit of the leather to aid a full grip. The clips which I initially worried about the velcro peeling off have weathered hundreds of on/off transitions without any indication of peeling or fraying. They work great for support and concealment though the velcro part is much longer than my 1.5" belt so I have to be careful when I first put it on so that it doesn't poke out the bottom of the belt and become visible. It's not a big deal and I haven't had to trim them at all.* The kydex section doesn't show any wear at all. It still holds the gun loosely until I have my belt tightened, but I have never had any fear that my gun would fall out. Overall, I can see this holster lasting many years without much additional wear than what it already has on it.
*Edit - got my new velcro lined belt from Crossbreed and it included new clips with it which are of the same design, but are sized just right for the belt and are totally hidden when tucked now.

Gun Wear:
The Nitron finish on Sig's aren't known to be anything close to Glock's Tennifer finish and below it shows.
Because of the loose fit of the kydex, the gun does have a little room to shift and that shifting has caused some finish wear on the slide. You can't tell from this picture, but just to the left of the pin behind the extractor on the rolled edge the blued finish has been polished all the way off. On the muzzle end of the gun this is also some wear where the front of the slide contacts the leather. Now I'm no gun snob and I realize that an EDC gun will get holster wear so this kind of wear on this kind of finish is acceptable to me. Now if I had a hard chromed slide and the holster was able to chew through that finish then I'd be upset. I'm actually thinking about refinishing the slide in the future (maybe hard chrome, maybe NP3, maybe try to find a super tough black finish). This particular P239 was made in 1996 and has seen about a solid year's worth of daily carry IWB. Before that it mostly sat in it's case. I'm glad that I can give it some use.

Conclusion:
The SuperTuck is a really good holster with only a couple tweaks away from being truely great. In it's role as a tuckable IWB concealment holster I can't imagine anything more comfortable and if you want to CCW 24/7; sitting, standing, driving, bending, twisting, turning, squatting and plain living then you can't go wrong with Crossbreed's SuperTuck. If you must keep the finish of your gun perfect then get it hard chromed or some other ultra tough finish because standard blue finishes will wear with use (no getting around that) and this holster like all others will wear that finish over time. The tweaks I made with my holster are simple & effective and in my mind only reflect what works for me. YMMV ("Your Mileage May Vary")

Modifying my Kahr PM9 pocket holster

2008-03-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

I've been using my royal blue binder pocket holster for my PM9 for a while now. It's been working, but there is always room for improvement.

Areas of Improvement
- Doesn't always fit the pocket right because of how the bottom is cut.
- In tight pockets it prints the grip a little.
- In really wide pockets it tends to tilt forward making drawing a bit harder.

Now, how do we "fix" these issues? Then I came up with an idea. I trimmed up the original holster I was using, cutting off the tail that hooks the pocket. Then I stuck on the loop side of velcro to the holster. Next I cut up a piece of leather to create an anti-print pad. To that pad I stuck on the hook side of velcro. Now I have a holster that's adjustable for the angle of the anti-print pad. I can also now create other anti-print pads with different bottom cuts to fit different pockets better and easily attach them to the holster.

Here are some pictures.

I'm looking forward to experimenting with it and getting some first hand experience with it.

Hip Grip/Mexican Carry Trigger Holster

2008-01-03T06:33:00.000-08:00

Do you ever get an idea in your head that keeps you up at night? That's what happened to me last night. It's an idea that I'm surprised noone's ever thought of before.

Here's some background before I get into the actual idea. A few weeks ago I became friends with Michael, the husband of one of my wife's friends. We were visiting at their house when the conversation turned towards guns. Turns out Michael's an enthusiast like myself, though more old school than new school. By old school I mean revolvers, 45's & leather vs. plastic guns & kydex holsters. He was fascinated by my Crossbreed Holster since his leather IWB for his Springer 1911 isn't the most comfortable and doesn't conceal well. Anyways back to the idea. Michael also carries a hammerless 357 snubbie tucked into his pants using the tried and true Barami Hip Grip. Now I've owned a Charter Arms 38 snubbie I'd gotten for my wife since last summer, but never really tried to carry it and using a hip grip intrigued me. So I went out and got one. It works as advertised, but it's a little disconcerting that there's nothing covering the trigger guard like in an actual holster. I know people have carried like this for decades. It's been termed "Mexican Carry" which is basically carrying a handgun tucked behind a belt sans a holster. There are lots of different carry clips available to help with this very useful way to carry. That's when it hit me.

I'd read about a knife holster several weeks back when I was researching neck knives. The holster could also be used with the knife in the pocket. When the knife is put into play and pulled out of the pocket a chain or cord tied to the holster and attached to a belt loop would catch the holster and uncover the knife blade so that it can do it's work while safely clearing the pocket. Why can't a similar "trigger holster" be made for those of us who decide to mexican carry. Here's what I've come up with:

This prototype was created with a scrap of kydex that I had laying around along with a chicago screw and an extra shoe string.

These are the features of my trigger holster:

- Safely covers the trigger guard while the gun is inside the pants

- Adds no bulk to the width of the gun

- Weighs very little

- Pops off once the gun clears the pants allowing access to the trigger

- Adjustable length string (allows for a longer or shorter length depending on if the gun is worn appendix or behind the hip)

- Tension screw allows adjustable tightness

- Can simply stay attached to the gun during storage

Here is a video showing how the trigger holster is worn and used (this is only the first day that I've worn a revolver using a hip grip so my draw definitely needs some improvement) :

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mww-DQBbtfc

I have only made one for a J-frame sized 38, but this idea can easily carry over to any number of handguns that can be stuffed inside the waistband.

Upgrading Pocket Power - Kahr PM9

2007-12-28T07:25:00.000-08:00

I've written before about my Kel-tec P-3AT and the pocket holster I put together for it. Well...it's soon to be a new year so I decided to make a change to my pocket carry. Yesterday I became the owner of a very used and well worn Kahr PM9. That's right moving up from .380 to 9mm. You'll see from the pictures what I mean by well worn. According to the previous owner he's fired well over 3000 rounds through her himself and he had purchased her used so the total round count could easily be pushing thousands more than that. It's also seen it's share of being dropped, scratched, and who knows what else. You're probably wondering why would I buy a gun like this that's been so obviously abused...the reason is simple, the price was right and I'm more into function than looks anyway. As long as she shoots reliably and as accurately as I need then she'll be a keeper.

Almost immediately after I got her I took her to the range to make sure she didn't FTF (failure to feed) or FTE (failure to eject) on me. After over 100 rounds through each of the 3 mags I got for her with no problems I came away impressed. This was the first time firing a PM9 and I had some initial expectations that it would be similar to firing the P-3AT. Boy, was I wrong. The biggest reason for the difference is the grip of the P-3AT only allows 1 1/2 fingers on it where on the PM9 I can get 2+ fingers on it. It made all the difference in the world. I added on a Pearce grip extender to the 6 round mag that further aided comfort. The PM9 has decent sights (the dot the i kind like a Sig) which also helped in accuracy.

Now for the condition of this PM9. Check out the pictures below for reference. The slide on the left side has been scratched along the grooves like it's skidded across asphalt. There are other minor similar scratches here and there in other places. You'll see from the pictures that somewhere along the life of this PM9 someone took off the white from the rear sight. I plan on painting it back on. Obvious attempts had been made to move both sights with scratches on the right side of both. It's much worse on the rear sight. Luckily, they line up to POA (point of aim) for me at 7 yards which is all I need it to do. The base of the grip has had a file to it to smooth off any sharp edges. The only other mark I can see on the polymer grip is on the right side on the corner of the beaver tail, but it's only superficial.

Now, I said that this was to replace a P-3AT in pocket duty. Here's how:

It was super easy to make. All I used was the plastic cover from a three ring binder and 3 rivets from the local Tandy Leather. I wrapped the gun in the plastic and trimmed it with scissors. Then I punched the holes where the rivets where going and set the rivets. In the holster with the grip extender, the gun is a fairly large package. Good thing I have large & deep pockets. It hides very nicely.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with both the gun & the holster. They do the job and do it well. The gun also came with a Comptac CTAC holster which I may use on the occasions I decide I need a lighter IWB carry than my Sig P239.

Pocket Holster for a Kel-tec P-3AT

2007-09-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

I'm not thin. Well, I'm not fat either, but I was starting to feel fat. Let me explain. I was lucky when I first got into guns a few years ago. When my wife and I were trying to determine what our first firearms were going to be we had a friend whose dad is a gun enthusiast. He was kind enough to invite us over to his house to explain some of the finer points. At the end of the visit he allowed us to take a number of his guns with us to try out at a local range. What can I say he helped fuel my own enthusiam. The guns consisted of a 4" S&W .357 Magnum, Sig P239 9mm, Ruger MarkII, and a 2" S&W .22lr Airlite. Needless to say we had a great time handling these wonderful firearms. When we returned his guns, he asked if I would be interested in purchasing the Sig. He didn't have to ask me twice. At that time I didn't even consider concealed carrying and it wasn't until much much later that I realized the significance of getting a P239 as my first gun.

Back to feeling fat... Out of the entire Sig Classic lineup, the P239 is almost ideal for concealed carry. I got my license and started carrying the only way that was really possible for me, inside the waistband. The requirements for IWB almost always include a larger pant size. For me, going out and purchasing all new pants a size larger just isn't reasonable. Yes, I already knew I need to lose a few pounds, but now it was getting ridiculous. Pants I could squeeze in before without a gun, I now didn't even get close to buttoning. I didn't want to walk the streets unarmed so I came to the conclusion that there were times when my beloved P239 wouldn't be able to accompany me.

Solution: Buy a smaller gun of course!

So that's what I did. Initially looking for a Kel-tec P11 to stick with the same caliber as my Sig, I came across a used P-3AT at a gunshow with my brother. Amazed at the size and weight of this tiny gun I bought it. For a take-any-where gun, it is about as perfect as it gets.

Now how am I going to carry it. Just shooving it into a pocket would be asking for an AD (accidental discharge). I had picked up an Uncle Mike's pocket holster, after reading a review that listed it as a best buy, for my Bersa Thunder22 and tried that out for a little while. It was a little too big and the tiny P-3AT would still print when the pocket was stretched against it while sitting. So instead of going out and buying another holster that fit, I decided to modify the one I had to be smaller and avoid printing. I first cut the bottom off to shorten it. Then I melted the frayed ends with a lighter. I then put a stitch in to close up the bottom underneath the trigger guard. I left the muzzle open to allow lint and stuff to fall out the bottom. Then I cut a piece of leather to cover the entire weapon including the grip. I used two chicago screws to attach the leather onto the bottom of the holster with the rough side out to help grab against the pocket.

Here's what the finished holster looks like:

I've been using it for a few months and it's worked exactly like it should. It's small enough to put in any of my pockets including a back pocket if I need to.

Now for those "fat" days I always have a weapon and method to carry it.

Crossbreed - Extensive Review & Comparison (pic intensive) *video

2007-09-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

I've worn my new Crossbreed SuperTuck for awhile now so I feel like I can give an honest review of it. In this writeup I will detail my experience from the beginning with ordering and receiving in addition to the normal final product analysis.

Background:My everyday carry (EDC) is a Sig P239 9mm which is reliable/reasonably compact and I love even though it's not the most efficient (weight/capacity ratio). I tuck my shirts in so that ruled out all OWB holsters and many IWB ones. Since I'd gotten my CCW about 5 months ago I make shifted a tuckable IWB holster which I posted about here.
It works well, but I wasn't completely happy. After a lot of thought, hours of review reading, research and consideration I decided to order CB's SuperTuck Deluxe as my next holster.

Ordering:I called them up (I believe I spoke with Mark) and asked a few questions which he answered promptly before placing my order. He told me about the two week trial period and about the lifetime warranty in case anything breaks on the holster. Sounds good so far. I've been using Comp-tac v-clips on my current setup so I asked if they offer velcro clips as well. They do and will subsitute one of the other pairs of clips for those. I choose to sub the j-clips (I'd rather have my belt do the supporting). From all the pictures I'd seen it always looked like the leather backing was kind of large and might interfer with a full combat grip so I asked Mark about that. He said doing that may reduce some of the comfort, but they can alter the leather for me for an additional charge. Me being the cheapskate that I am declined his offer. I figured that if it was a problem for me I could always do my own cutting (for free). Once I finished placing my order he told me it should take 4 weeks for them to complete the holster. Yay, that's much better than most of the other custom shops. I ended up calling back a little while later with an additional question which he answered to my satisfaction.

Receiving:About 4 weeks later like Mark had said, I got a package in the mail from Crossbreed. Upon opening it I noticed something odd right off the bat. The kydex portion of the holster had a hooked trigger guard where the P239's is curved. I promptly called Mark up again and told him my discovery. He said very quickly that it was their mistake and they had shipped me the wrong holster. Apparently, they'd had several orders for P229's and mine got mixed up. I realize that they have been very busy with orders and can forgive an occasional admitted mistake. Of course, I was very disappointed. I mailed it out and about 3 weeks later (which is about 7 weeks after my original order) I finally received my SuperTuck! It came packaged in one of those brown mail packets with the bubble wrap built in. Included were the velcro clips installed on the holster, a set of the standard clips, and a long length of adhesive loop velcro to attach to whatever belt you'll be using (2" wide which for most will require some trimming).

Construction:

Crossbreed keeps their SuperTuck very simple. The leather backing is soft, but of sufficient thickness and size to almost completely cover the pistol except for the bottom 3/4's of the grip. The rough side is on the outside with the smooth side against the gun. The kydex portion is kept to a minimum to cover the trigger guard and most of the slide though it exposes the entire front sight. It is well flared at the opening and at the bottom. All the sharp edges are smoothed out so there's no chance of scratching yourself or your gun.
The rivets are well set and spaced for a solid hold on the leather. The clips are simply folded kydex with a hole drilled in the bottom for the attachment and the hook side of velcro glued/adhesived into place.
They are attached to the leather using a screw which is screwed into a neat "bolt" which is thin and is designed with little hooks that set inside the leather to keep from twisting. There is a circular piece of rubber between the kydex and leather to help apply friction to keep from rotating and also gives a little room for your shirt when tucked. There are 4 holes on each side of the leather for adjustability which are evenly punched out.

Fit:Right out of the package the gun slid easily into the holster. Almost too easily I originally thought. There is a noticable amount of play with the holster off. Being used to an all leather holster which grabs the gun and requires more of a tug to draw it was at first a little disconcerting. Then I tried the fit with the holster on. With your body against the leather it pushes out and holds the gun firmly against the kydex. The draw with the holster on is very fast with only a slight click on drawing & reholstering. The stiff kydex allows for easy reholstering with no collapsing.

Comfort: One of the important things for most is how it feels. In this case, I would say how much it doesn't feel. I'm wearing it right now seated and I can't tell it's on unless I lean back and shift to press the gun against me, but even then there's no pain. The big piece of leather does it's job very well. It may look a bit ungainly, but it really is not. The leather cups your body and is really soft. There's no need for an undergarment to "shield" you from the holster.

Concealment:Take a look at the pictures to see how well it conceals when tucked. Note that in these pictures my arms are over my head to pull my shirt tight.
The velcro clips work, though sometimes you have to shift them up a little bit so the rounded part of the clip doesn't show under the belt.

On/Off:Is this holster easy to put on and take off? In a word, no. It takes between 1-2 mins to position it on my pants, then thread my belt on taking care to maneuver it around the clips before fastening it, and then tucking in the shirt finally adjusting it so it's equally bloused. If you're going to tuck then you have to live with this method. I've accepted that.

Comparison:Here I will compare it to the holster I've been using. To read a description of this holster go here. The only difference is that I have since purchased velcro clips from Comp-tac and been using them.

Main Holster Body:The Don Hume holster is well made with good stitching and boning. It has a sweatguard and holds my gun firmly. Though it is fairly stiff it will collapse some after the gun is drawn which makes one handed holstering, while not impossible, more difficult. The rough part of the leather is on the inside to help grip the gun with the smooth sides on the outside. It does a great job of gripping the gun, but IWB it slides and has a tendancy to sag. The Don Hume portion looks like it did the day I got it so it looks like it should hold up well to years of use. The leather attachments are more worn, but don't show any signs of tearing. One thing about the attachments is that when in the bathroom sitting down, the holster has a tendency to flop either in or out.

The SuperTuck has a large piece of leather which resists sagging since the rough side is against the body. This makes it grab the gun less so drawing the gun is very easy. This is a pro and a con so it all depends on what you prefer. One con to such a large piece of leather is that from the "factory" it does interfer with a full combat grip. After wearing it a few days I went ahead and cut a small amount so that my hand can get a much more positive grip. I don't know why they would charge extra to trim that little bit off. The hard kydex won't collapse so one handed reholstering is a cinch. Because of the large leather when in the bathroom sitting down it helps keep the gun vertical and not flop one way or the other.

Clips:The Comp-tac clips are thicker and look more study. Instead of an adhesive/glue to keep the velcro on they wrap it around the clip and staple it twice. I haven't noticed the velcro peeling/moving at all. Comp-tac designs their clips with a total of three holes to aid in adjustability. Their clips are cut square at the top end which maximize the amount of velcro that hits the belt. They are also very well finished so there are no sharp edges or ends.
The Crossbreed clips are thinner and since the velcro is glued on there may be a chance for it to peel or move some. I haven't observed any peeling/movement yet. They only have one hole located at the bottom of the clip. Crossbreed relies on the multiple holes on the holster itself for adjustment. This works well because it doesn't reduce the amount of shirt you can tuck in behind the clip. The clips aren't well finished as the sides aren't rounded like Comp-tac's. The tops and bottoms are circular so they don't have any corners you have to worry about.

Hardware:I used chicago screws to hold everything together on my original holster. They do what they need to, but since they don't grab into the leather like the Crossbreed ones the clips can slide around which is more an annoyance than a problem. The SuperTuck hardward appears solid and secure.

Comfort:While both are comfortable, the SuperTuck shines in it's ability to conform and hug your body. From my experience it is the most comfortable IWB tuckable holster you can buy.

Conclusion:The Crossbreed SuperTuck Deluxe is a great holster and a good value. Though it may not be a looker or as well finished as some it does exactly what it's supposed to do. Compared to what you can get or "piece together" out there for the same amount or more money there's nothing that can beat this holster in actual use.

This is for anyone who'd like to see more "angles" while wearing a SuperTuck tucked in.

In this second picture you can see where I had a nice japanese man at the local Boot Doctor sew in the velcro onto my belt. It works.

The video's not the best quality and there's no sound, but I hope it helps some of you.

For a size perspective, I'm 6'1" about 225lbs (man, I need to loose like 20lbs).

If you carry daily and want to be able to tuck or even just wear IWB go and buy a Crossbreed. You won't want to show it off, but think about it - Why would you want to show off your concealment holster?

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Sig P239 (9mm) in a Crossbreed SuperTuck Deluxe

Another conversion from OWB to IWB - the OTI holster

2007-09-19T06:26:00.000-07:00

I'm the one that put together the original Bucket holster and I know that there are some out there that rolled their eyes at the thought of putting a piece of bucket inside their pants. I had a number of people throw out suggestions to use leather or kydex instead of a simple paint bucket and I listened...sort of.

The bucket holster worked for me and I like it, but I'm one of those people that can't leave well enough alone. I fiddle and experiment/mess with things. Enter the OTI holster (OWB To IWB). I had purchased a square of leather from the local Tandy store to attach a small piece to my Uncle Mike's pocket holster (it needed something else to break up the shape of the P3AT) I had a bit of extra and wanted to try out another idea. The size and thickness of the leather I had gotten wasn't quite stiff or large enough to do the same thing I did with my bucket so I improvised.

Here's what I've come up with:

For those of you that would like to try this here's a little illustration that I drew (I'm no Picasso).

It's very adjustable for cant and height depending on where on the clip or the leather you want to attach everything. I'd say it's even more comfortable to wear than the bucket because it's much more form fitting without loosing the stiffness needed to stay put. I have noticed that it's easier for me to slide it along my belt when initially putting it on, probably because before the bucket piece would catch on different parts of my pants.

Here's pictures of this rig worn.

All in all, I'd say this was a successful experiment.

How to turn your OWB into an IWB for $20...The Bucket Holster!

2007-09-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

This was my first attempt at converting an outside the waistband holster into an inside the waistband holster for concealed carry.

Who out there has had the experience of a comfortable OWB holster that fits their CCW just right and dreads having to find a similar fitting holster that will be comfortable to wear tuckable IWB for those times when sloppy can't be worn? Last week my hand slowly would have gone up.

Here's some background... Yes, I admit I'm a cheapskate. I know that a good quality holster is worth the money, but I also enjoy ingenuity and saving hard earned money. Several weeks back I had purchased a Don Hume 721 open top OWB that I really like. It's a high-ride, well made, good fitting holster. I like it and have worn it numerous times, but it being a high-ride to pull the weapon up so that the cover garment doesn't have to be below your butt it's not very comfortable while sitting as it jabs my back while I drive. I drive a lot. I've been reading posts for some time and have seen all the recommendations for a comfortable quality IWB holster. Most of which will send you back $70 - $1?? Those typically recommended have multiple connection points to the belt and ride pretty low for comfort and concealment and are made in both leather and/or kydex. The Comp-Tac clip system seems to be vastly popular either in their CTAC or Tucker's Answer so I looked to them for inspiration.

I thought that by using a stiff piece of material, two of Comp-Tac's innovative C-clips and screw together studs I could modify my existing OWB Don Hume pancake holster into a Franken-IWB holster. After perusing a Tandy Leather which I'm very fortunate to work near, they gave me the idea to use instead of a stiff piece of leather a plastic paint bucket for my project. Using sissors I cut up the bucket into the shape I needed, drilled holes for the clips and then screwed them on.

For $20 for the clips which I could always use if I purchase one of Tucker's or Comp-Tac's holsters I think it works pretty well.

Here it is worn.

I wore my "bucket holster" over the weekend and I must say I like it. I nicknamed it that because of the paint bucket I cut up to make it. I can see why folks praise designs like the CTAC and VM2. They spread the weight of the gun along a much larger section of your belt and place it nice and low so that the butt doesn't dig into your back.

The great thing about this setup is that it offers amazing flexibility in gun placement. Where with custom holsters you're fairly limited on the cant of the gun, how low it sits and the width of the clips because once it's made it's made and you can only alter so much. Yes, I know with the CTAC you have some choice in cant and how low it sits because of the adjustability Comp-Tac designed into it, but you're still stuck with a kydex holster for those who prefer leather and what if you wanted the holster with just 5 more degrees of forward cant. Tough luck, you live with what you get.

Not so with the bucket holster. If you want it to sit much much lower or have a more extreme cant and the clips are already adjusted as much as possible then go back to the bucket and start cutting. If you're like me and have access to buckets (paint or those 5 gallon Ruco mud ones) then you can experiment to your heart's content.

I wasn't completely satisfied with the first draft of my bucket holster. It didn't offer as much of the grip as I would have liked for a combat grip. I was having to almost shove my hand into my pants. So I went back to my bucket and a new idea on how to angle the gun more and offer more of the grip. Here's what I have now.

It hides as well as any tuckable I've seen (not counting those underwear holsters), though with V-clips it would almost completely disappear.

This is my normal work wear so other than now needing to buy more pants with a larger waistline (which I'd have to do with any IWB) I can now wear my P239 daily!

For those who'd like to do this, to connect the clips to the bucket piece I used these screw posts which are easy to take off and put on (http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/products.asp?dept=232). I've used these things on those cheap nylon holsters in order to customize the fit for particular guns. They also work well as tension screws. Now enjoy!