But they do set up at the Indy 1500 gun shows, and if you show up at their tables bright and early on Saturday morning, your custom holster should be ready for you to get ketchup on at lunch. Which I did. (Show up bright and early, that is, not get ketchup on my new holster.)
The best thing about doing it this way is that you can tell them "I need the holster set up for IWB carry at the 4:30 position with a twenty-five degree cant on a one-and-a-half-inch belt..." and if your gun is some bizarre model for which they don't have a mold gun, you can leave them your actual heater to use to make the holster.
I've been using the holster for a week now and couldn't be more pleased with it. It releases cleanly and it turns out that all my fears of kydex being uncomfortable for extended inside-the-waistband use were unfounded, at least when the holster is a quality one.(Dear FTC: I did not play the "Do you know who I am on the internet?" card and happily paid full price for the holster. And I will cheerfully do so again at the next show to get one for my CCA custom 1911. So go piss up a rope.)
But can you use it on the Nudist Commuter Bus? Anyway, hoping you'll do an AAR after taking it to the Range and telling us how it works out on drills, please.
ReplyDeletePhoto?
ReplyDeleteIn a bit. Waiting for available light.
ReplyDeleteHmm... kydex is intriguing but still noisy.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm a curmudgeon.
Noisy?
ReplyDeleteLeather creaks, kydex doesn't.
Oh, you mean on the draw? You know what else is noisy? Screaming and gunfire.
Don't want to alert the ninjas...
ReplyDeleteI wish they'd come to shows around here. I wouldn't mind one for my little P-64 (almost no options out there.)
And another blogger drinks some M&P Kool-Aid?
ReplyDelete-SayUncle
M&Ps do look damn fine in a Raven holster... ;)
ReplyDeleteUnc,
ReplyDeleteI don't know about any M&P Kool-Aid.
At the August Indy 1500, I mentioned to Shootin' Buddy that, if I saw a good Glock 19 or M&P 9 for under four bills, I'd buy it.
I found one of each, but the G19 had those fruity XS Big Dots on it and only had the one mag, while the M&P was in the box with the docs for the same price. I'd imagine I'd have been equally happy with either one.
It is what it is: A nearly-disposable plastic 9mm bullet hose.
Worked great at the ToddG class last month. A lot easier on the hands and cheaper on the wallet to run through 1k+ of 9mm in 2 days than it is to shoot the same amount of .45 through a steel gun with a checkered frontstrap. Less mag shuffling, too.
Something VERY NEAR that is what I've been looking for. My Hi-Power needs an IWB holster and I like the way newer ones are being made now that have two clips widely spaced, rather than the single one in the middle.
ReplyDeleteI may end up just making my own out of saddle leather but I'm not quite good enough with leatherwork to put out anything truly workmanlike, to say nothing of attractiveness.
The makers of your holster used grommets instead of rivets. Is there a reason for this other than looks? They both serve the same purpose (holding the two pieces together) but if there's another reason they used grommets it may sway my decision. Then again I was just gonna stitch the thing together anyway so it may be academic.
TIA,
gvi
I believe it is to allow for the attachment of various mounting setups. (Tuckable loops, offset tabs for a more "Versa-Max"-like setup, etc...)
ReplyDeleteI am so envious of you folks in Indianapolis or close enough for a comfortable there and back drive to same. While I’ve no desire to live there being able to go to major gun shows and events as well as get first class kydex holsters made while you view a gun show is just remarkable.
ReplyDeleteTam's correct, the grommets do the same job as regular rivets would, and double as attachment points for different carry setups. Raven's got a whole slew of different loops and clips and whatnot to hang the holster from.
ReplyDeleteRe: concern about Kydex being comfortable.
ReplyDeleteNot to get too far off the topic of Raven holsters, but I'm partial to the G-CODE Comfort Carry IWB, as it has a ballistic nylon panel on the inside that goes against your body. It serves as a cushion as well as protecting the holster and gun from sweat. I've used one daily for five or six years now and found it to be very comfortable.
Aubrey Turner,
ReplyDelete"Not to get too far off the topic of Raven holsters, but I'm partial to the G-CODE Comfort Carry IWB..."
I'd lost touch with Scott since the days when we were both on staff at TFL. He makes a good product; I still have one of his paddles for the 1911 that I got from him back in... '01?
Not really keeping track of the kydex market over the intervening years, I didn't know that G-CODE was still in the game, but it's good to know that he is. I have no problem recommending his gear.
Anybody have recommendations for an IWB holster made to pack a 3" L-Frame 696? (Or does such a beast even exist, cylinder width and all?)
ReplyDeleteI've used a Bianchi #3S "Pistol Pocket". Works well with 3" K&L frames, as long as you don't mind a thumbbreak.
ReplyDeleteHow's the trigger on that M&P?
ReplyDeleteTerry
Gewehr,
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried one, so not really a recommendation, but for years now I've been intrigued with Hoffner's Mirage holster. I like the idea of the cylinder sitting above the belt line rather than in there with me.
http://www.hoffners.com/inn07.jpg
Can't say that I've seen many reviews, my only concern would be how high it rides.
Anyway, one more to consider.
WV: bearyl - Gem produced by squishing bears under sufficient pressure and temperature in a laboratory setting.
At the risk of sounding sarcastic, it feels about like an M&P trigger. ;)
ReplyDeleteLike I said above, it is what it is. The Apex RAM made it usable for me, in that the factory trigger had such a vague reset that firing at anything faster than a snail's pace had me either failing to reset the gun or slapping the trigger after coming completely off of it.
Spring for the whole Apex DCAEK if you buy an M&P. It transformed mine from appallingly bad triggers to really quite nice. Not as positive a reset as I might like, but good enough.
ReplyDeleteThe entire M&P vs. Glock thing is one of those “I don’t get it” things to me. We do not issue the M&P but do issue the G22 & 27; I have not bothered with the M&P for this reason. Does S&W offer the same “Blue Label” purchase option to LEO/Military as Glock?
ReplyDeleteCool. They stock the CZ-75 molds.
ReplyDeleteMight have to get one.
Wait a minute. A Kydex Holster? For a Modern, Polymer Frame Gun? That's NOT in .38 S+W caliber?
ReplyDeleteWho are you and what have you done with Tam?
Next thing you know, she'll be shooting SCAR's in 7.62 Nato, then we'll KNOW the Pod People have Conquered Indy! ; )
:) I don't mind creaky leather. It matches my knees. :)
ReplyDeleteI do have a Crossbreed Supertuck for the XD45 on the shelf, so I'm not a total loss.
But I do like my VMII's.
SC Sheriff interview. Incase you have not seen it already.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wxii12.com/r/29641179/detail.html
Am somewhat mystified by Unc's comment, since I could have sworn that he owns an M&P hisself.
ReplyDeletewv: "nommyco". How a 3-year-old says "economical".
Tam, I'll be interested to get your comments after wearing the holster in hot weather with no backing against your body... The one kydex IWB I tried had me itching and scratching inside three days.
ReplyDelete"It is what it is: A nearly-disposable plastic 9mm bullet hose."
ReplyDeleteFanbois and haters alike have spilled a lot of ink bragging and ragging on plastic guns, but none have nailed it more efficiently than that.
Which is entirely appropriate...Glock and its sincerest flatterers aspire to and achieve only this; a coldly efficient tool, nothing more nothing less. Like the lady said, it is what it is.
So the book is just a prop? Heh.
ReplyDeleteGewehr98:
ReplyDeleteIf you find a Bianchi #3S Pistol Pocket, you may be able to cut the thumb break straps off. Check the fit/hold while wearing it. If snug enough, remove with an x-acto, and sand or scrape the resulting edge to smooth it. I did this to one for my .45 auto, and it works. Actually, I've done this on several of my IWB holsters. I would be leery of this on an OWB (belt) holster, as it would be lacking the squeeze effect that occurs with an IWB rig.
TAM: "Oh, you mean on the draw? You know what else is noisy? Screaming and gunfire."
ReplyDeleteLOL! I'm going to have to use that sometime. (With attribution, of course).
Rob
I got an RCS neck holster for my P3AT a few weeks ago. It's good stuff.
ReplyDeletehttp://automaticgiant.blogspot.com/2011/11/rcs-neck-holster.html