Tam says you need to get a better holster. I particularly love this part:
Nothin’ but Fobus and those godawful clip-on nylon sausage sacks with the spare magazine pouch sewn on the front of the holster.
The reason I think that’s funny is because Bitter has one of those. When I first saw it, I cringed. I’ve offered to buy her a better one, but holster carry doesn’t really work too well for her. At some point I need to get her a new carry purse. The one she has now works, but the draw from it is a bit awkward. If you can’t draw the gun smoothly and quickly, I’m not sure there’s too much advantage to carrying.
I’m normally the designated shooter, carrying a Glock 19 at 4:00 in a Com-Tac Infidel holster. Of course, I know Tam isn’t too much of a fan of plastic guns, the europellet, or plastic holsters, so I doubt I’m ranking much higher than the open carry heretics on the Tam Approval Meter with that one :)
I’m a big fan of Galco holsters, for “off-the-shelf” buying. For $60 you can get a pretty nice leather rig, or go down to one of their plastic holsters for about the same price point as you’d pay for a Blackhawk or an Uncle Mike’s which are solid quality products.
I have a Galco Royal Guard IWB. I switched to Kydex because it conceals a lot better, and I prefer the draw from the Kydex holster. The only issue I have with Kydex is the belt loops/clips break after a while.
Actually, the Infidel holster I have now seems to be pretty good about the belt loop not breaking. I also have one of Comp-Tac’s belts. It seems to carry the holster just fine, but I think the kydex reinforcement is kind of gimmicky. Other than making the belt stiffer, I’m not sure it has any advantage over standard leather.
I live in a hot climate (Texas) and I’m a fan of the Kydex. (CompTac C-TAC mostly)
A Leather IWB just doesn’t hold up when you’re sweating all day.
I also find that drawing and re-holstering is much easier with Kydex.
Does Kydex make and IWB holster for a 1911?
Kydex is a material, and yes, they make kydex holsters for the 1911.
There’s not a thing wrong with Glocks, europellets, or quality synthetic holsters. I’ve carried Glocks in my day, and wouldn’t hesitate to carry one in harm’s way. The Para I bought is in Nine Minimal. My range holster for my 1911s is a G-Code paddle, and the holster on my bug-out belt is a Safariland 6004.
See?
“Infidel” Holsters: For when you care enough to send them 72 virgins.
At least you get to carry…legally.
I openly carry in an Uncle Mike’s with a retention strap (thumb break) because nobody makes good holsters for full size USP .45s. Unless it’s leather, which I really don’t care to pay for. I don’t like plastic holsters, because they tend to polish the surface of stainless steel guns. Then again, if I carried a Glock, I obviously wouldn’t care much about the aesthetics of my gun…. ;p
I don’t actually carry on my person with that holster. It won’t stay anywhere near my body, it hangs off really far.
However, for $10, it does the job it needs to: keeping the trigger protected when I throw the gun in my purse.
Tell Bitter to check out the purses at Coronado Leather. I bought my wife one of their split-in-the-middle ones years ago and even though she doesn’t normally carry she uses it as her everyday purse. Very high quality and well thought out.
He doesn’t need to tell me to check them out. I already have a Coronado purse and have pushed them for years on my own blog. I just like a little variety in my purses. And a $10 fix allowed me to have that option.
Bitter,
You’re right; they do work well for that purpose. :)
Also, if they make one in the size you need, check out the soft IWB’s from Uncle Mike’s in that kinda neoprene-ish material if you haven’t already. They’re great for purse carry because the tacky nature of the fabric helps the holster stay in when the gun comes out. Plus, they’re cheap. :)
This thread needs to die before Bitter gets mad at me for making fun of her holster again :)
Hey, I was being serious. The built-in holster in my purse is great for revolvers but is teh suck for autos. I used on of those $9.99 Uncle Mike’s IWB thingummies when I used to keep a Glock or SIG in there.
I will admit to being ignorant about purse carry. The only experience I have is trying to fast draw Bitter’s SIG 239 from her Coronado purse. That’s one instance I’m glad no cameras were rolling :)