Lemons: Three or four weeks ago, I came down with some kind of sinus affliction that my doctor swears is just allergies. I felt like crap for two weeks, coughed up guacamole for several days and still have a nagging, dry hack when I try to go to sleep.
Water, Sugar... Lemonade: I lost six or seven pounds those first two weeks and was about to poke another hole in my belt when I thought of a holster that I bought a couple of years ago. It was a White Hat Holsters Max Tuck. Being an inside the waist band type of holster, it would take up the excess length in my belt and empty out my right front pocket where I normally carry a Kahr PM40. It seemed like a good time to give it a try
You know the general design. A big, heavy slab of leather with a couple of steel clips to hold it in place and vacu-formed piece of Kydex fastened to it that matches the contour of your specific handgun. There are several similar designs out there. I don't know or care who was first. The Max Tuck was recommended to me by someone I respect and that's what I got.
(Not my video)
One reason I had never used the holster was I never really figured out where I wanted to position it. The guy that recommended it to me said that he had his behind his hip but I couldn't see how that would be all that "concealed." It just seemed like it would really print so just kept carrying my Kahr in a pocket holster.
This morning, we were getting ready to meet my brother for breakfast and I decided to give the Max Tuck a try. Three things about the Max Tuck that are worth mentioning are that it has five holes on each side for the clips that hold it to your waist band so the carry height is adjustable, the Kydex part is made especially tight so you can adjust how tightly it grips the gun and you tuck your shirt in between the gun and your waistband. You "adjust" the Kydex by heating it with a hair dryer until it softens and loosens its hold a little. If its still too tight, you adjust it a little more until its just like you want it. I adjusted mine to be pretty loose when the holster was laying flat because it would be slightly curved and have pressure from my belt on it when actually being worn.
The Lovely Bride helped me get it where I wanted it and made sure the clips were over the belt. The little Kahr went in it easily. In drawing the Kahr, it came free readily in a smooth motion making a "snap" sound as the Kydex flexed to let the gun out.
With the gun holstered and my belt snugged up, I quickly lost all sensation that anything was there. My friend had said his was comfortable but this was unreal. If I thought about it, I could feel something putting pressure where there wasn't pressure before but it had really almost disappeared. TLB said there was no "print" at all. On the drive to town, there was no problem with the car seat pushing on it. It was just a non-issue. Breakfast went fine and I kept checking my pocket because I could tell there was no gun there. The feeling of no gun in my pocket was actually more noticeable than the feeling of the gun in the holster.
As is our Sunday Morning ritual, we stopped by the local Gooseberg to browse so I decided to check what the "print" looked like in the men's room mirror. TLB was right. As long as I don't walk around stooped over like an ape, the only indication that anything is there is the two metal clips.
The test run went so well that I took the holster apart and put a Kydex piece for a 1911 on it as soon as I got home. Seriously, the Kahr PM40 is my pocket gun. If I'm going to wear an IWB holster, its gonna have a gun that needs an IWB holster in it. I adjusted the 1911 Kydex piece with the hair dryer and got a nice, smooth presentation with a snap similar to what the Kahr's Kydex made.
I am now testing the 1911. The particular one that I have for carry purposes has slimline grips so its only a tad fatter than the Kahr. The safety is covered by the leather back piece and the Kydex holds the gun against the leather securely so I don't expect any problems with the safety disengaging. I'll watch for that but I don't expect it. The Kydex piece for the 1911 isn't specific to barrel or frame length so I will be able to try out Commander and The Way John Browning Intended sized 1911s without shelling out any more money. Heck, if I find that I can conceal a full sized 1911, why not a Gen 4 Glock 21?
Did I really just say "1911" and "Glock" in the same sentence? Foul spirit of blasphemy be gone in the name of Jesus!
All things considered, I needed to lose the weight and I am so amazed by the holster that I don't feel so bad about getting sick. Lemonade is nice.
No comments:
Post a Comment