Like a prom dress for your pistol.

Barbecue guns demand barbecue holsters, right? And then there are times when you just want your heater to look its prettiest, like blogmeets or Gunblogger Rendezvous, or an open-carry picnic.

I've lamented on this blog before that it's hard to find a good holster for a Colt Pocket Hammerless, and at the LuckyGunner Bloggershoot I was speaking with Michael, of the eponymous holster site, and he casually mentioned to me that he'd gotten his hands on an M1903 mold gun. Would I like a pancake-style holster like the one Jennifer was wearing?

The holster in question was a striking white rayskin number, nicely finished, and of Michael's "hidden stitch" variety, which bonds an additional layer of leather over the outer face, concealing the stitching and making for a very dramatic looking holster, especially when combined with exotic leathers or funky dye jobs. We discussed belt width and pistol cant and preferred carry positions.

I warned him that, if the holster sucked big rocks up off the ground, I'd write that it sucked big rocks up off the ground. If it was "meh", the best he could expect would be some pointed asides scattered through various posts about "things I think it's important for a holster to have." He confidently told me to watch my mailbox.

Now, I'll admit that I'm a skeptic with startup holster companies. I'm a pretty hardcore holster snob: My daily carry rig, on which I've been sweating for years, is a horsehide Milt Sparks VM-2, and my backup holster for those days I'm feeling fat is a Brommeland Max Con V. I don't impress easy.


When I opened the package, I was impressed. The holster's molding was crisp (not an easy trick with the second layer of leather atop the first) and the edges were beautifully burnished. The stitching may be invisible from the front, but flip the holster over to the part nobody but the wearer will ever see, and it's still ruler straight, despite being hidden from view; this is like finding the underside of a show car with three coats of lovingly hand-buffed lacquer. The "hidden stitch" style, when combined with the black ray skin, makes for a striking holster.


When I put it on, I was even more impressed. Retention was good; the holster would hold the pistol snugly, even inverted, but the 'smooth-side in' construction allows a clean release with no suede boogers clinging to your heater. I'm sure if I was jumping out of helicopters with a knife in my teeth, I'd want a more positive retention device, but this really isn't that kind of holster; it was certainly up to chores around the house, puttering in the garden, and bicycling around the neighborhood. The molded-in curve made it sit all day comfortably at the ~4:30 position I favor, but tried it as far forward as 3:30 and still fit nicely. The belt loops gripped my 1.5" belt tightly and didn't allow the holster to shift on my belt unless I used both hands and really meant it, and even then you had to "inchworm" the belt through one slot at a time.

I will note that since my pistols are both of the pre-1909 "Type I" variety with the four inch barrel, I have a quarter inch of exposed muzzle, as the mold gun is no doubt of the far more common later variety with a 3.75" barrel. If this is the kind of thing that gives you the vapors, let Michael know and he can cut the holster to suit.

This is a very impressive holster, as sturdy as it is pretty; I have no problems endorsing it.

(Yes, FTC, he let me keep the holster. Now don't you have some productive work you could be doing? Oh, right, you're fed.gov bureaucrats; I forgot.)