The Walking Dead roundup

I just finished up season 2 last night; and believe it or not, my wife and I didn't even start watching the show until early last week, but we're caught up now. There's plenty of reviews and threads out there that cover everything well, so I thought I'd collect some links and drop them off here.

***Spoiler Alert in case you record shows and haven't finished yet. Just a friendly Spoiler Alert here. (Ace of Spades ruined it for me. Thanks jackass!)****


My favorite - College Humor: 10 Reasons Why The Walking Dead Should Just Kill Carl. Spot on. I would have had serious words with worthless Lori after the first time that stupid boy went wandering off, and after the sixth or seventh time Lori would be sporting irish sunglasses and both of them would be handcuffed in the basement. I get that boys wander about to do boyish things - I did when I was a boy - but that isn't acceptable behaviour during the zombie apocalypse. Really this one all boils down to poor script writing, in that Carl is only a facilitator to get everyone isolated in small groups in the woods.

Castra Praetoria: The Walkind Dead: There's No Crying In The Zombie Apocalypse and Thoughts On The Walking Dead, Season 2. America's 1stSgt points out that the scavenging and security abilities of the survivors are shit-in-a-brown-bag (thanks, Dad!). All the M16s and M4s laying around haven't been picked up, and the main character's weapon of choice for two whole seasons only holds six rounds. What does that tell you? The gun handling and weapon expertise in general in the show is terrible, and the show's execs need to find a competent firearms trainer and fix it. That would go a long way towards satisfying some of the estimated hundreds of millions of Americans who actually know a thing or two about guns and security.

Cracked: 5 Reasons 'The Walking Dead' Has to Get Better. I especially note the part about Dale; every time he started talking I treated it like it was a commercial. Who cares about morality in the zombie apocalypse? Seeing him ripped apart was such a relief. If the show is going to keep a stockpile of zombiefood characters to add occasional sadness and tension, the least they could do is not let them speak (Carrol). And yes, the farm was a terrible place to film the show.

ARFCOM Walking Dead season 2 thread. This is just for general entertainment. At 230+ pages, there's a lot to read if you're in to that sort of thing.


I didn't read the comic books, but I dig the show. I do think season 2 started to get really dull about halfway through, and hope that somebody does something about the laughable gun handling for the 3rd season. Pity the 2nd season had all those lush fields for someone with an AR rifle and a couple ounces of skill to pick off tons of zombies, and they missed the opportunity because the script writers decided to let Carl wander off for the 19th time. And Lori needs to get eaten, or lose her footing and stumble into a running wood chipper. Seriously, now that Dale is dead, she's hands down the worst character, and on top of that she is now relieved of having to choose between Rick and Shane, meaning that her presence on the show is now pointless. What kind of drama can she drum up now? Her character sucks and she should be the first to go. Even clueless Carrol is capable of picking one dude to want to be with, and mostly keeps her mouth shut.

I do like the zombies though. I'm more in favor of the slow, mindless zombies instead of smart zombies who are quick in their feet. Early into the first season I told my wife that I would have a sword, which means that I would have to make one, probably out of a leaf spring from a car. The cutesy Gerber machete thingies would do fine for one engagement, but there's a reason the Spartans and Romans didn't make their edged weapons out of eighth inch steel - longevity and toughness. If you're going to make it picking off small groups of zombies for months on end, and don't want to attract giant herds with gunfire, you need a substantial piece of hardened steel so you can save your ammo for shooting food. I'd also want a sword for close in encounters that are typical of the show, and not a pistol that holds a finite amount of ammo. That's my take.


***ETA: Check out IMFDB thread on the guns of The Walking Dead. The gun that Sheriff Woody Rick Grimes uses is a Colt Python, and there are also Sigs, Glocks, Brownings, Mossbergs, and a plethora of other guns. I note that T-Dog's Glock is a Glock 19, not a Glock 17. You guys are slippin!!

SmartCarry Holster Review Illustrated

I've had a SmartCarry holster for the P30 for over a month now, and I have enough data to give a good review. There's lots of reviews out there, but I wanted to make it as inclusive as I could. For ~$50, there's not a lot of risk in buying this holster, and I think for the price it's a smokin' good deal.

I ordered a standard model from their website; I didn't go through a 3rd party to order it, and it took three days for it to get here from Florida. The SmartCarry is made from denim with a waterproof backing and seams made to prevent snags.



For the magazine pouch, to adjust for the height of your spare magazine you use a safety pin. That's all it takes. Fishing down the front of your britches for your magazine when you're at slide lock is another matter, but we'll get to that in a little bit.

This holster is worn below the belt. It works so well at concealing because it has its own belt built in; it's made from elastic and fastened around the waist with velcro. Because of this, there's no clips or loops on the belt around your pants, so there's no trace that you've got anything on you, and on top of that you can tuck your shirt in. Also, because it's in front of your body, there's no printing when you bend. Here's what it looks like hiding it under your pants:



Now, the directions say to secure the SmartCarry's straps around your "hips" so that when you pull up your pants, your belt line sits around your "waist." That is probably correct for some folks, but that's not how it works for me. I do not have an ass to speak of, so my belt and pants slide down until it stops on the only structural part in that area, which is my hips. That is what I consider to be my "waist." The gut that I have accrued over the past few years has formed a shelf above this waist, meaning that I can't make a new waist any higher than that. What I do is strap the SmartCarry straps just below my hip bones, and pull my pants up over them and I'm good to go.



In these pictures I'm wearing 5.11 Covert Cargo pants which work nicely with the SmartCarry. If you look closely under my belt loop on the right side of the picture as you see it (It's on my right as well. The pictures were all taken in the mirror) you can see the only printing you can expect with this holster with a full sized handgun, which is a slight bulge. If your pants sag down throughout the day this bulge will be more apparent as the entire grip will be right up against the belt. I give my pants a quick hike when I stand up from sitting for awhile, and it's good to go. If you're wearing this holster at work with an I.D. badge, clip it to the belt loop above the bulge and it's not an issue.



If you wear a tucked in shirt, definitely wear an undershirt because the velcro on the straps in the back will chafe. Tuck the front of your overshirt behind the SmartCarry, and I would advise tucking the back of your overshirt OVER the strap in the back because it has a tendency to ride up throughout the day, especially when you sit down.

You wouldn't want someone to notice a huge black strap sticking up!



Yeah, I've got the pregnant belly-hold thing going on there in that last picture. So sue me.

They make smaller SmartCarrys for the micro pistols. For fun I thought I'd show you how well this holster would conceal a mouse gun: here's what it looks like hiding a Kahr PM9 9mm with its 3" barrel:




There's no bulge at all. I could wear this holster with the PM9 to the gym under running shorts and nobody would have a clue.

Something most of the reviews on the internet don't mention is that while this holster works great with the right pants, it can go all wrong if you wear the wrong ones. Trust me on this. You have a lot going on in this region of your body as it is: a shirt, undershirt, underwear, pants, and belt are competing for room with a holster, magazine, and pistol. Make sure there's enough room for everybody or some of your softer bits can get mashed when you sit down, and your skivvies will bunch up when you walk.

First, you don't have to go out and buy pants with a larger waist size; keep the pants you already have and use them. Definitely try all your work pants on with this holster beforehand to find the ones that work best. What you need to be concerned about is that your pants have a deep enough crotch. If the distance between the top of your pants and the crotch is short, when you sit or bend down the muzzle of your gun will print this massive, blocky bulge that is sure to startle your co-workers at the water cooler:



Sorry about the mega crotch shot, but somebody had to do it. I don't recall the brand of pants in the above picture, but I got them from Kohls. The front of your pants shouldn't be tight or you'll end up looking like you're wearing a diaper. Or a gun down your pants. Pleated pants do help to get rid of the bulge, as do darker colors:



I wore this under LA Police Gear Operator pants yesterday in front of my family, who all know I carry, and told them to guess where I was carrying while I lifted my jacket, and they had no idea. A full sized gun just disappears. Somebody mentioned in a forum somewhere that you can wear the SmartCarry appendix style and tuck your shirt in over it:




It works okay that way, but wouldn't be my first choice. I didn't check retention like that either, so I can't speak for how well it would hold my gun while a scumbag was kicking me on the ground. Since there's no retention strap, I have to think the gun would come out in my shirt.

The SmartCarry is comfortable when you sit and when you drive. That's a big question that comes up. For me, if my pants have sagged down some and I don't hike them up before I sit, the back of the gun's slide will hit my belt, and my belt will collide with the shelf that my gut makes, which is uncomfortable but only takes a quick adjustment to fix. To prevent this I hike my belt a tad before sitting down and it doesn't happen. Driving for an hour or two, I don't have any issues or need to make any adjustments. It's like I have a 26 oz. weight sitting in my lap. No problem. When walking, I can feel the edges of the holster slightly, more so while walking up stairs, but it's not a concern. I think I could run comfortably wearing this, but I'd have to test it to be sure before hitting the treadmill at the gym.

Bathroom breaks are something to talk about. For a trip to the urinal, just follow the instructions that come with the holster and you'll be fine. There's a piece of the holster underneath the magazine and safety pin that's not occupied by metal, and you can use that to your advantage to gain that extra half inch of comfort. It's the sit down bathroom trips that are easy: again, do what the instructions say - pull your pants down and pull the holster, gun and all, up to your chest and let your shirt come down over it. It takes a moment to do this, and in the slight chance some sicko is watching you do your business, there's nothing showing and you still have quick access to your heater in case Tangos kick in the stall door.

Another concern is how fast the draw is. What good is having a pistol on you if you can't get to it, right? I went out yesterday and did some draws while on the timer so that my dear readers would know. Oh, the things I go through for y'all! While I did forget to bring a standard IWB holster to get some comparative times for (AIWB I average around 1.6 seconds), I managed to get lots of draw times on the SmartCarry, and I was impressed. I've done some dry fire at the house, but this was the first live fire I did with it. I warmed up with 50 rounds from the draw before going for time, and when I started recording times I went for 33 rounds single firing from the draw. My slowest time was 2.95 seconds, and my fastest time was 2.14 seconds, with an average of 2.54 seconds. I was shooting at an 8" steel target at 7 yards with 115 grain Federal FMJ rounds out of the P30, and was wearing the LA Police Gear Operator pants with 5.11 Operator belt, tucked in T-shirt and unzipped jacket.

From my notes, I had one draw that snagged on the front sight which pulled the holster out of my pants. The time during that draw was still 2.59 seconds, so it wasn't critical. I also fumbled a draw - from my notes it was because I'm a moron, and not a fault of the holster. The time on that one was my slowest draw at 2.95 seconds. With the snagged front sight, I found that if I didn't draw the pistol straight up, but canted the butt of the pistol down towards my foot, the sharp edges of the front sight would grab the inside of the holster and pull it out of my pants. Dry fire, dry fire, dry fire. That will keep that from happening. My technique for drawing was to hook the thumb of my support hand into my waistband, minimizing the amount of flesh which would obscure my draw, and then reach down with my gun hand and grab/draw the gun. Keep the grip angled in towards the body during the draw or you'll hit the butt on your belt, which will foul you up. Also, I found it helpful to suck in my gut some so I didn't bang my hand on my gut shelf thingie. A pro tip: before you go to the range for a practice session, trim your nails and file the edges so that they're not sharp or you will tear your gun hand up on your support hand thumb nail.

I did not try any weak hand or strong hand only draws, and I think they would be challenging without a lot of practice. One thing that bothers me about this holster is if I'm holding a child in one arm -- will I be able to draw? It would certainly take longer than a draw from AIWB holster. I'll have to practice that one and find out (not with a living child, of course).

I found two ways to re-holster: pull the SmartCarry up out of your pants, holster the gun, and then tuck it all back in; or, do a reverse of your draw by hooking your waistband with your support hand thumb and reaching in with your gun hand. Just be sure you're watching/paying attention or you can miss the gun pocket on the holster (it's cloth and doesn't stay open) and drop your gun down your pants. Then you can't tell your friends you're a smooth operator. Going for the spare magazine is something that needs to be practiced, as my reloads were an abomination. The hard part is that you have to grab the spare magazine with your support hand, and not with the assistance of your gun hand. Also, your shirt may be fouled up from the initial draw, so there's that to contend with, too. All in all though, you have the option of a reload which is normally not available with deep concealment carry.

In summary, I'm a big fan of the SmartCarry. It's the most concealable way to carry a full sized handgun with spare magazine in comfort if you want to carry without any chance whatsoever at exposing your gun. The draw is obviously slower than IWB carry, but is comparable to pocket carry and you have the option to pull a fighting pistol instead of a mousegun. For me, it won't take the place of AIWB carry, but it works well for day to day carry. There are people on forums who say it doesn't work for them, and that may be true, but for $50 you would be well served to give the SmartCarry a try.

Knife review

The TOPS Knives USMC Combat Knife. Looks pretty sexy to me.

What he said

There is a review at Military Morons covering the Vicker's magazine release and slide stop. I've recently put both of these products on my Glock 17 and 26, and find them to be an excellent. Glock should really put both of these on their guns in the factory; they're indispensable. I like my Glocks to have commonality of parts so that they feel the same, so all modifications are done the same for both.

I have large hands, and even I can't reach the stock Glock magazine release without changing my grip. The Vicker's mag release is just long enough that I can dump the mag without changing my grip, but not long enough to inadvertently drop the mag if the gun is placed on its side on a flat surface. Installation is about as easy as changing a memory card in a camera.

On stock Glock pistols, there is what they call a "slide stop", as Glock firmly recommends using the overhand method to charge the gun with a cartridge from a freshly inserted magazine. The slide stop can be used to release the slide, but it's very hard to do, especially under stress. Glock also has an aftermarket extended slide release that you can add to the gun, and it works very well -- too well for folks like myself who are used to a "high thumbs" grip from shooting 1911s. This grip can cause either one of the thumbs to be in contact with the slide release, which often results in the slide not locking back when the magazine runs out; and for me, it also causes the slide release to ride against the slide, inducing malfunctions. The remedy is the Vicker's slide release modeled after the Smith & Wesson M&P slide release.

Installation of this part takes a whopping minute or so with the use of a punch to press out a pin. Piece of cake. It's very unobtrusive, and yet is very easy to get to when you're dropping a locked slide on a fresh round. I'm a big fan. Both of these parts combined cost less then $30 dollars, and I highly recommend them.

A Zack holster review

The Truth About Guns reviews the Zack holster from Dale Fricke, and it's very informative, including a short video of it in action. There is some hate for the concept in comments, as well as some hate for AIWB in general.

I didn't try carrying with the Zack anywhere else on the waistband other than in the front, and I also didn't try canting the weapon. One thing I noted in comments was that the gun carries better if you adjust the slack out of the cord so that it takes the weight of the gun and keeps the trigger guard area off the belt.

I also added in my thoughts on the best part of using the Zack for AIWB: you don't have to holster a loaded pistol down into your pants -- that being the most dangerous part of AIWB carry. You will notice that he snaps the Zack onto the Glock while it is out of the waistband, and then tucks it in.

Appendix IWB on the cheap

I've been experimenting left and right with affordable ways to appendix carry a handgun, and I've had a decent amount of success. Here's some stuff I've been messing around with:



Click the pictures to make them bigger, and also feel free to browse my growing four+ year old collection of pictures at Photobucket.

The Bladetech Nano (top left) for my Glock 17 is a well made holster, and is suitable for AIWB carry if you're not too concerned with concealment. It's very thin, light, and the attachment loops are spread apart which keeps the profile thin for waistband comfort, but it also doesn't tuck the gun's grip in towards the abdomen. I've tried to modify it to make it conceal better, and I have one more idea, but so far I've struck out. I think it set me back about $35, and for that price it's a steal.



Next to a plain old Bladetech IWB holster that I've modified, you can see the difference in the belt loops and that there's less holster overall. Keeping those loops out to the side makes a big difference, as the amount of thickness stuffed in between your belt and jelly roll is minimal:



I've had great success with the Bladetech IWB, and I had to do some more modifications since my last post. I've now mounted the plug/spacer/old-rubber-piece-from-a-rifle's-buttstock directly to the holster, instead of to a strip of leather, and it works better, but the screws holding it on are dragging on the trigger guard. Back to the drawing board.



The DeSantis Sof-Tuck I got on sale at Midway for $15, and it's a very sturdy and well made holster. It is a bit thick, as the tuckable J-hook piece adds material between the gun and the waistband, but it does hold the Glock 26 well:



I recommend the baggie-over-the-gun-stuffed-in-the-holster trick to loosen it up a bit. I didn't get any concealment pictures of it with the Glock, but you did see the same holster a few days ago with a Kahr CW9.

The Zack holster is still good to go. I've modified it a bit so that I can put the gun on and take it off the belt without unholstering the pistol. This is done as a margin of safety, as unholstering a gun and laying it on the car seat next to you while you jack around the front of your pants is not exactly the safest idea:



I've even modded it since that picture was taken by drilling new holes in the back of the belt clip, near the top, and running the cord through there. The gun sits at a perfect height in my waistband, doesn't move around, and is still tuckable for concealment if you so desire:




A word of caution here: because the Glock 26 has such a short slide, it can pop up out of your waistband if you have a spare tire around your guts. Since there isn't much slide down inside the pants, if you push your gut out while bending over down to the ground, there is enough leverage against the grip to potentially shove the whole piece out of your belt. I can make it do this, but I have to try to make it happen. It's a double edged sword -- the Glock 26 conceals so well in this holster because the grip is short and doesn't stick out, and the Glock 17 is way more secure because its longer slide gives opposing leverage preventing it from coming out, but it doesn't conceal as well because the grip is longer. I wear my pants low enough that the gun sits just below my gut, so in effect my jelly roll becomes a retention device, so I can make the Glock 26 work.

I also found an AIWB holster where I didn't expect it: inside my pocket. I was thinking about the Remora holsters the other day, which don't expose any clips or loops or such, and it struck me that the DeSantis Super Fly is basically the same thing, so I gave it a whirl:




I'm happy to report that it works perfectly. I left the detachable shield thingy on it to give more traction, and was careful when tucking it that I didn't jam my shirt up underneath of it, so that if I had to draw it it would yank the whole thing out. I did have all day comfort without any movement or loops showing, so there's another option for carry. I have one of these also for the Glock 26, and I'm going to give that a go to see if it will work.

So there it is. Cheap AIWB solutions. It's a dirty job, but someone has to throw themself onto the alter of concealment. Folks, it's not easy trying on holsters all day, taking pictures of your crotch in the dirty mirror in the kid's bathroom, but I do it for you, dear readers!

I like big knives, and I can not lie

Waiting for me when I got home yesterday was a package from KnifeCenter.com that contained two of Cold Steel's new extra-large Voyagers; one for me, and one for my homie (snicker!). I ordered them back in like April, but Cold Steel hadn't released them for sale yet for some reason or another. I'm glad they're here now.



For scale:



That's a 1st generation Cold Steel Recon-1 with a 4" blade, and a 2 liter of Coke at the top.

This is a massive knife, which most people are not accustomed to or don't see the need for that much blade. Most folks stick with 3" - 3 1/2" blades for EDC, but I've always preferred a 4" folder. I don't consider folding knives to be weapons; they are convenient utility tools that I put to use every single day for mundane tasks like cutting up boxes or getting rid of irish pennants (Google is your friend). The more blade you have, the more you can get accomplished.

To be honest, the Voyager won't be my EDC unless I'm going to be doing work outside. It's niche is probably in a backpack or clipped to a belt when you go down into the woods. For the moment though, it's in my pocket so that I can get a feel for how it carries. With Grivory grips with aluminum liners, it's not all that heavy for its size. The handles have iron cross-like texturing that provide excellent grip, and the contour is such that you can grab up close to the blade for more control, or down towards the hook at the bottom of the handle for chopping. The Voyager would be great for camping.

Here's another picture for scale:



The 5 1/2" blade is still not in Ka-Bar territory, but it dwarfs the Benchmade Rukus' 4 1/4" blade. The Voyager weighs in at 7.2 oz., which is lighter than the Rukus at 7.7 oz. The S30V steel in the Rukus is also a bitch to sharpen, but the Voyager's AUS-8A should be easy to take care of. Overall I'm impressed with the quality: the lockup is very tight and everything feels very well made. It came shaving sharp, but as always I can do better. It's a good knife to have around, and I'm sure I can find a proper career for it somewhere.

AIWB Carry: The Dale Fricke Zacchaeus Holster

. . .and a wee little man was he.

I just got received two Dale Fricke Zacchaeus "Zack" holsters in the mail today; one of them for a Kel-Tec P3AT and one for Glock. I've only worn the one for the Glock, and have been impressed enough that I thought I would do a review of the Zack for your entertainment.





The Zack is as minimalist as a holster can get -- kind of like a speedo for your handgun. I see it as a modernized version of using a looped shoestring to keep your pistol from falling down into your pants. The first thing you notice about the holster is that it significantly cuts down on the bulk of plastic that you will have inside your pants. Comparing it to the modified BladeTech IWB holster in the 2nd picture you will notice the disparity in bulk; there simply is none with the Zack, and you only have to contend with concealing the pistol and not the holster and straps. It's very well made, and is profiled so that it doesn't interfere with the relief under the Glock's trigger guard where the knuckle of your middle finger sits.

I modified that BladeTech holster in the above pictures with a rubber plug that helps torque the grip in towards the body, aiding in concealing the grip:



It does add some chunk inside your waistband, but it does the trick well. The Zack holster does not have any sort of material or device to torque the grip in towards the body, but I don't think that it needs to, and may in fact violate the whole concept of this holster. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, here's a downward shot of the Zack with a Glock 17 tucked in my waistband:



And here just for instructional purposes I stuck a Fenix flashlight in between my belt and the Zack to show you how it can turn the grip in towards my guts:



The flashlight/lump of material obviously aids in concealment, but adds a great deal of mass to what is supposed to be a simple minimalist holster. One of the greatest benefits of the Zack is that it makes the firearm all but disappear when you are sitting down, like when you're driving. It feels like the gun is not even there. The main reason for this is the narrow profile of steel and plastic that is down your pants towards your crotch - the BladeTech has all that kydex that surrounds the muzzle, and it pushes up against your body.

With appendix carry (AIWB) the muzzle and holster fall into the crease where your thigh connects to your hip. There's a natural pocket there, and that's what you're looking for. With the BladeTech, I can comfortably AIWB but it took several days of trial and error to find the sweet spot, as I had to do a bit of adjusting to learn where it was just right. The Zack will work its way into that sweet spot in a few minutes walking around the house, and will stay there all day. It is not going to be as firmly fixed and stationary to your belt as a holster with a hard point belt loop, as it has a tendency to move a little here or there while it maintains its place in the sweet spot on your belt, but this aids in comfort. This brings me in to how the Zack attaches to your belt.

The Zack is affixed to the belt by a simple looped string. I didn't take pictures of this, but you push the loop down in between your pants and belt (right around the 1st belt loop) and then run the loop up over the holster. That's it. The Zack snaps onto the trigger guard firmly, and you then tuck the gun down into your waistband and you're done. The Zack holds the gun with enough grip that a full up loaded Glock 17 will dangle there if you let it hang, and I doubt will come off on its own even if you got into a foot chase. Drawing is literally a snap, as when you pull your piece the Zack reaches the end of the string and is pulled off the trigger guard with an audible snap. I found that I could adjust the depth of how the gun sits in the waistband by where I put the knot in the cord on the Zack, so that the gun sits about a half inch from the belt:



The shorter you make the looped cord, the higher the gun sits and the faster the Zack pops off the trigger guard when you draw. The muzzle gets about an inch outside of the waistband when the holster lets go, which is perfect. It's very fast to put on, and only takes a moment. Just loop the Zack onto your belt, click it onto your trigger guard and tuck the whole thing into your belt line. You can do this while seated in your car at a stop light. The Zack completely encapsulates the trigger, so nothing can make its way down into it and touch the trigger.

As far as concealment goes, I was surprised at how the Zack can make a full sized handgun disappear. Though it doesn't tuck the grip in like my modified BladeTech, there's not as much stuff jammed between your belt and your guts like rubber or plastic loops and such, so it's easy to conceal, and you can also tuck your shirt in over the gun. The looped cord is not noticeable at all, and would be hard to spot against a black belt, and even harder to spot when the tail of a 5.11 rigger's belt is velcro'd over it:




I didn't try to fluff that button down shirt out to help with concealment; I actually tucked it in pretty tight. You will notice also that my cargo pants are pulled up a little high there above the fly in that last picture; I was trying to hurry as it was late, and I quickly tucked in the shirt and took the picture.

I wouldn't hesitate to wear the Zack with a full sized gun with a button down shirt and tie. Even twisting and turning doesn't reveal much, if anything. I do still recommend a tucked in undershirt for all things AIWB though; it keeps the grip of your firearm from grabbing at your skin when you sit and stand. For a couple of days now I've worn the Zack with the Glock 17 in public after work, concealed with a T-Shirt, and it's good to go. Nobody can spot it, and I'm confident that it will stay in place and I can make a quick draw if I ever need to. If you're looking for a svelt, comfortable holster at a minimal price, this might be for you.

AIWB Litmus test

Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to give Appendix Carry (AIWB) a shot this weekend. Since I don't have a hoster made specifically for AIWB, I had to improvise adapt and overcome using what I had on hand. I decided to use this BladeTech IWB holster with a Glock 17, and I experimented around a bit with concealment and drawing.



The BladeTech had to be set up for a straight draw, as it has been used previously with an FBI can't for IWB at the 4 - 5 o'clock position on my hip. Holsters designed specifically for AIWB carry are made to angle the grip of the gun in toward your abdomen, which the BladeTech does not; and in order for me to make this happen in the short term with this holster meant I had to get creative. A plastic clip from a BlackBerry holster served just fine for the weekend. Clipping it onto my pants so that it was sandwiched between my belt and the holster at the trigger guard made sure the gun's grip was torqued in towards my man-fat so that it wouldn't print.

Bonus points for me using the words sandwich and man-fat in the same sentence!

Here I have the holster stuffed down my britches at the 2 o'clock 12:30 position on my beltline. You can't tell, but I'm sucking in my gut. A picture of my beer belly consuming kydex is not family friendly, let me tell you.



Here's the same shot with the gun resting in the holster. Notice the black plastic clip against the holster at the trigger guard, and that the grip is somewhat flat against my abdomen:




Without that clip there the Glock's grip sticks out. AIWB holsters will probably do a better job at this than the clip, mind you; I had to use something though in the interim or I wouldn't have been very successful this weekend.

This is what it all looks like from the front:






Once you get the gun in the right spot, it's very comfortable, even while sitting or driving. As Terry pointed out in comments, having a gun with a decent sized muzzle (not a sub-compact) is better for AIWB because it provides leverage against your body's tendency to have your belly push the top of the gun out. Also, keep the gun vertical, and make sure nothing gets between the belt and the grip of the gun where it meets the trigger guard. I had to make sure the plastic BlackBerry clip didn't do that as it would screw up my draw.

Speaking of the draw, this is the best part about AIWB carry. After clearing the Glock, I did a couple of hours worth of drawing and dry firing using empty magazines. I'm going to make a bold statement: there is no faster way to draw a gun from concealment. The only method of carry that I can think of that is as fast is competition rig carried openly on your belt at 3 o'clock. For one thing, you don't have to rip your shirt up high with your support hand, which means your support hand is not reaching all the way across your body and is much closer to the grip when the gun clears the holster. Your hands rest naturally near the gun, and it takes only a moment to get your shirt pulled up the six inches needed for your gun hand to get the gun out.

I was simply astonished how fast that I could get the Glock out and have the sights on target from concealment. This has to be why criminals often carry here; although I would not place a loaded firearm in my waistband without a holster. After my practice session with draws, I have to carry AIWB. That's all there is to it. Hip carry is practical and all, but you lose the natural draw that you get with AIWB. I can't stress it enough though that when you RE-HOLSTER your pistol that you do it very slowly and deliberately. If you're one of those who is accustomed to speed holstering after a string of fire, than chose a different method of carry.

As far as driving while using AIWB carry, I never understood how it could be comfortable until I tried it. Once I got the holster placed right while standing and drawing, I didn't have to re-adjust when I sat down; the holster kind of went away. It's also way more accessible when sitting than with hip carry. For all day comfort, that one I'm going to have to wait out. AIWB does favor the svelt folks who don't have a gut, and I noticed that if my pants sagged down to where my belly fat could hang over the top of the gun I would end up with a sore spot there. Placing my pants snuggly on top of my hips alleviates the problem though. An undershirt is a must - if you don't have an undershirt the holster will try to grab skin while you move, especially if the holster has a sweat guard.

I'll have more once I get some real AIWB holsters. A range report will certainly follow, as snapping in on random objects in the home is well enough, but actual live fire will reveal more.

Back to the grind

Memorial Day weekend in the CTone family was spent with the little ones at Virginia Beach. We all had a blast, and it was a lot of work. Keeping three toddlers out of trouble was interesting to say the least, but it was worth it:



I saw on Drudge last night that it was mayhem in Miami, Myrtle Beach, Boston, and other touristy coastal venues over the weekend. Not so at VAB. It was certainly crowded, but everybody was super nice. My wife and I managed to keep the kids busy, and not hang out in the hotel. Since my laptop died on the first morning we were there, I had to find out via trial-and-error whether the VAB Zoo and the VAB Aquarium were Gun Free Victim Pastures; they were not. It was a comforting thing too; the VAB Zoo is not in a friendly part of town, and some parts of the Hampton Roads area is sketchy.

I was pleased that my trusty Kel-Tec didn't rust at all while sitting in my bag on the sand. Not that I thought I would need it, but it was nice to know it was there. My shiny new Spyderco Pacific Salt with its H1 steel was the perfect folding blade for the weekend as well. It rode faithfully in my swim trunks in the ocean every day, and got rinsed off passively in the highly chlorinated hotel pool; a pretty harsh environment all around for a piece of steel. On the last evening we were there, I finally rinsed off all the crunchy sand it had accumulated in the sink at the hotel, and there wasn't a hint of corrosion. Last night I put it on a stone for the first time to get rid of the factory edge, and it honed up well. Mike Janich had mentioned that H1 steel work hardens, and that over time as you sharpen it the edge will get better and better. I was amazed at how sharp it got last night on my first try, and it didn't take long. Not just hair popping, but face shaving sharp. Just the ticket for an EDC blade that does a great deal of light work:



I haven't put it into anything tough yet, but it slices through carboard just fine, and works great at making PB&J sandwiches.

I'm still waiting on the barrel for my MK12 Mod 0 build, and I owe a picture of how that's going. I'll do that tonight if I have a chance. I am also now on the hunt for a computer that lasts more than a month or two. My dead ASUS that had fried its last hard drive will soon meet its fate to the tune of a box or two of shotgun shells and some gasoline and matches. Maybe I'll take some pictures of that too.

Holster Review: Galco Tuck-N-Go

I've had the Tuck-N-Go from Galco for about a year now, and don't wear it often. The main reason behind this is the fact that a pocket holster just makes perfect sense, but also because of some other things. The Tuck-N-Go is an Inside the Waistband (IWB) holster that you can tuck your shirt over top of, making it extremely concealable. The J-hook is minimalist, making it even more likely that it will go unnoticed.

First off, this holster is high quality, very well built, which is what you would expect from Galco. It's also good looking. The rough surface of the leather it is made from faces outboard to give some purchase for when you draw.




It's a tight fit at first, so you want to keep your heater holstered in it for a few days to loosen things up a bit, maybe even put a sandwich baggie over the gun to help the leather stretch. One of the features is a steel insert at the mouth of the holster to facilitate reholstering, so that when you smoke the tangos from the door of the Blackhawk using your quick draw, you can reholster with one hand while you attach your tactical operator retention lanyard with the other.

For those of you looking for a cantable holster, this ain't it. Drop it into your waistband, hook the J-hook under your belt, tuck in the shirt, and you're good to go. It works very fast if you're taking it out of the glove box or such and want to carry into a store. There's just not a lot of fuss with putting it on, but do know that you will be loosening your belt a notch or two to make up for its width:



Keep in mind that the leather wraps up and over the steel insert in the mouth, so the width of what you see here is not what goes inside the waistband. One of the problems I have with this holster though is that even the little bit of width that this holster has with the pictured Kel-Tec P3AT, you can see the bulge of the piece on your side:



It's not a big deal once you tuck your shirt in, but it's there. I don't know how in the world people carry in their waistband over their appendix; that has to be the most uncomfortable way to carry ever devised even if you can get over having a loaded weapon pointed at your satchel all day. The rough checkering of a Kel-Tec will chafe the soft bits of your jelly roll too, so wear a wife beater or another T-shirt under the one you intend to tuck over the gun or you'll be sorry.


So overall, I would rate the Tuck-N-Go as extremely high for concealability, and low for comfort. Drawing from this holster is about as slow as it can get even if you don't tuck a shirt in over top of it, as it sits so low to your belt line that you can't get a firing grip on it. Trying to do this in a hurry can make you drop the gun. Once you tuck a shirt in on top of it, the draw time gets even worse, but remember that this is supposed to be a "deep concealment" holster to enable you to carry in places where you otherwise would not. Speed of the draw is not what was intended with this concept, for sure. I see this holster as being one of rare necessity, where you want to carry but can't, and need some sort of option.

Looking for a chronograph? Here's some helpful tips:

Buy a cheap one.

Having started out with a Shooting Chrony F1 model, and then stepping up to a Competition Electronics ProChrono Digital, and now to a Competitive Edge Dynamics M2, I can tell you that you most definitely DO NOT get what you pay for. In fact, from the research that I have recently done, it seems that chronographs are all basically built from the same cheaply made bargain bin parts and sensors, and that spending more money on one may give you more flashy features, but not reliability.

I was duped into buying the CED M2 because of the manufacturer claims of being more reliable than the rest, and less prone to errors due to light issues, but I see now that I ended up with the least reliable chronograph on the market. Looking back, the Shooting Chrony gave me about the same level of errors as the M2, maybe a little less, but in that I knew nothing of the limitations of these devices, so one could say that errors would be expected. It was only when I bought the CE ProChrono that I read up on the fact that light makes them very fickle; to operate reliably, they need bright sunlight.

If you are having problems getting your chrono to read, make sure you set it up where it will have either full sunlight or full shade or, in the case of the CED M2, don't bother setting it up at all because it won't work regardless. Make sure that there are no shadows across the sensors, and if there are, put up something to completely shade them. If you are shooting rifles, set your chrono up at 12 to 15 feet from the muzzle, and maintain that distance for each shooting session.

If you have the CED M2 chrono, and don't feel like heeding my warning about not bothering with it, make sure to place the display device on a separate table several feet away from the gun or you will get crazy errors. I found out this weekend that you can shake the display on the M2 and get a reading from it despite the fact that the sensors were 15' away. On previous shooting sessions with the M2, I often got two readings for one shot, on an interval of about 1 in 10 shots. Very frustrating. If there are others shooting near you, make 20 feet or more of space in between the chrono and them, as well as the display or the M2 will read their shots too. Also, you will get readings when the wind gusts, so keep that in mind as the display will make all kinds of cool calculations for you, which don't mean squat when you have six velocity readings of 112 fps from the wind queering your shot string. Something else of note is that when I failed to get a reading from my third shot yesterday, I picked up the display and the numbers on it faded in and out, prompting me to install a brand new battery, with the same results. Not what you would expect from a $200 device advertised as being super fancy pants reliable and better than the competition.

I hope this information helps somebody. I was hugely let down this weekend as I had new loads for the 308 from my recently acquired IMR 8208 XBR powder that I believe will end my temperature and consistency problems, and the M2 chrono decided it didn't feel like working that day. Having a working chronograph for load development is a must, and I expected more from the M2 than I got. I din't get a single reading from it, so instead of ruining my test by continuing to fire the rounds, I called it a day.

That's not exactly true; I threw a great big fit about it and hurled the M2 display into the woods at a shown 324 feet per second, but at least I didn't shoot it. For some background, the Shooting Chrony met it's fate on the edge of darkness two years ago when it was not recording shots from my AR15 while shooting offhand. I started shooting closer and closer to the sensors in order to get a reading as the sun was going down until I was shooting a half inch above the unit, and the inevitable happened when I put a 55 grain round right through the display. That was an accident though. The exact same thing happened to my CE ProChrono a couple of months ago when I skipped a round off the top of the display, ruining my OCW test, which prompted me to immediately toss a C-Products magazine in the general direction of the chrono that - as fate would have it - smashed in the display screen with a perfect shot. I had no other choice at that point but to finish it off humanely with a magazine of 100 grain hardcast rounds from my Kel-Tec.

Doesn't someone out there make a chronograph that doesn't suck? I mean, damn, we can send people to the moon; we can replace a human being's heart; we can split atoms and use that technology in a bomb to end the world, and yet there's no one out there that has mastered building a device that can clock the speed of a bullet. Really?

Sheesh!

Now comes my dilemma. CED makes an infra red light kit for the fancy pants M2 that is reported to end the problem of light sensitivity. Thinking about it though, the M2 is reported to end the light sensitivity problems without the IR kit, so I have my doubts, and there's also the issue of the display fading in and out, so their overall quality is in question. I could shell out the $90 on the IR kit and maybe have a working chrono, or I could spend the same amount on another Shooting Chrono F1 and have one that at least works some of the time, which would also allow me to take my M2 and set it on fire in the yard and dance around it in a loin cloth while screaming profane gibberish. I really like that idea. For what it's worth, when my F1 chrony took a round to the face, it still worked, except to say that the bullet hit both sensors and ruined them. So it's at least tough.

I think a nasty letter to the manufacturer is in order, and I have already left a review on the Sinclair International website where I bought the CED M2, which as of this morning hasn't posted yet. I'll keep checking that though.

If you come across this post, which I'm going to go ahead and call a Competitive Edge Dynamics M2 Chronograph review, my advice to you is Caveat Emptor. Don't bother wasting your dollar on "advanced software and digital circuitry" that was put together from Radio Shack seconds and packaged in a cool looking plastic package. Buy the cheapest chronograph you can find as they are all made from the same 1950's technology, and maybe the recent breakthroughs in IR technology will bear some fruit and make these things not suck.

*Update* I found this post on Sniper's Hide about folks building their own IR light source as the kit from CED doesn't sound all that reliable.

What's in your wallet?

This post is about pocket holsters for little guns. If you carry a handgun, odds are that after a few years you will have a bunch of holsters sitting in a box somewhere, and this phenomenon seems to apply even more so for the inexpensive little pocket holster; at least for me anyways.

These are all for one pistol: the Kel Tec P3AT:



Something else about holsters too is that I find myself modifying most of them, because what somebody else designed to fit a particular circumstance doesn't exactly mean that it's going to fit mine. Looking at my first pocket holster for the mighty baby-Glock 26, the DeSantis Nemesis holster did not allow for my middle finger to make it up into the relief under the trigger guard. I found my remedy by removing the offending material and hand sewing some whatchamahoozit (industry term) over the exposed cut. Now it's beautiful:



You can see how I can get a full grip now that the holster has been modified. Also in that picture you can see a DeSantis Super Fly holster holding a Walther PPKS, as well as a modified Comp-Tac Centerline holster for the Kel Tec P3AT. I found the Centerline hanging from my neck to not be ideal for me, so I did some Dremeling to remove excess material, and then added my own spring steel belt clip fashioned in a manner that allows the holster to be tuckable. That sucker goes on my belt in a jiffy, comes off not so easily (a good thing), and is small and light enough to be worn on my pajamas if I so desired. It's also super concealable.

Another holster in that picture is an exceptionally well made GURU pocket holster for the P3AT that I ordered from Pocketholsters.com. It's built like a tank, and there's no doubt in my mind that one of my children will grow old with this thing in their pocket holding their mini ion blaster, as it is sturdy enough to outlive me. But again, it's modified to fit my needs. The holster is designed to prevent the pistol from printing through your pocket; it does this with the addition of a large, flat leather flap on the outside that is attached at the bottom by two brass Chicago screws, allowing the flap to kind of swivel out of the way so your hand can get to the grip. The problem I had with the flap is that it's huge. The teeny P3AT is still a tad larger than an early 90s Blackberry, so the leather flap that is cut to cover it makes it look like you have a Blue's Clues notebook in your pocket. Someone looking at the square thing might not know it's a gun, but they will surely be scratching their head wondering what in the world you have in there.

I fixed this by trimming the flap down; although I finally removed it as I don't see that I need it. The other problem that I had was that the "wing" where the two halves of the holster are sewn together did not leave enough room for my fingers to slide around the grip, so I drew a line showing what material to remove, drilled some small holes to allow me to re-sew some new stitches, and then used a sharp wood chisel to remove the part I didn't want. Five minutes of time made a very well made holster awesome.


Now, carrying a Glock 26 in a pocket is not always possible, but carrying the Walther or the Kel Tec is. Since I loved the DeSantis Super Fly for the Walther so much, I ordered one for the Kel Tec and couldn't be happier. The Super Fly comes with a removable and reversable flap like the GURU holster, but it's very flexible. This flap is also humongous, but it kind of wraps around the gun in your pocket, so it makes itself smaller than it really is. The texture of the Super Fly is sticky rubber, so it has the advantage over every pocket holster I've owned of staying in your pocket during the draw. The GURU holster comes out with the pistol almost every time, so I'm going to have to add something to make it stay; the Nemesis holster also slides out of the pocket with the gun most of the time, so I default to the Super Fly.

On order right now is an Uncle Mike's pocket holster which a friend of mine uses to carry his Ruger LCP. He loves it, and at $11 you can't beat the price. I'm going to give it a go as well, but I ultimately see this as a toss up between the GURU and the Super Fly.

To digress a bit, I added a Crimson Trace Lazer Grip to the P3AT, and before I even got it sighted in the battery died. When I got home, the thing worked again just fine. A little Google search led me to threads where others have had this problem, so I wasn't too happy to hear that. I did replace the battery and haven't had any problems since, but who's to say it won't happen later? Time will tell.

The real reason I bring up the Crimson Trace Lazer is that when you install it on your P3AT or Ruger LCP, your beloved pocket holster will no longer fit. Know that ahead of time so that you can have a holster ready. If you notice the Nemesis holster in the first picture above is made for the P3AT without a lazer. When I ordered the lazer, I already had the GURU holster on the way so that I had something to carry the pistol in.

Overall, most brand name holsters today are superbly built, and some, like the GURU, are even beautiful. You can't go wrong by ordering several holsters for your gun, and don't hesitate to get all Martha Stewart on one to make it better suited for your exciting lifestyle.

Hey buddy, gotta light?

This post is a comparison of flashlights, and a quasi review of my shiny new Fenix PD20 that was waiting for me on my counter yesterday after work.

This flashlight comes with a pocket clip, a nifty little nylon case, a spare rubber tailcap in case your one year old gnaws through the first one while in line at Target, and a short lanyard. It did not come with a CR123 3volt battery. I won't use the lanyard, but the case is designed very smart: the closure is simple velcro, and it has a plastic loop sewn on the top for attachment to stuff with a carabiner; it will also slide onto a 1 1/2" belt (and perhaps a 1 3/4" belt I think), and it has a flap on the back with velcro to attach it to a tactical vest with MOLLE. All of this in a minimalist package:




The light itself is not much larger than a car key and fob, as you can see here:



The PD20 gives out a maximum of 190 lumens, which beats out pretty much two of any of the other flashlights that I have combined, and this is in a chapstick sized light that costs about $60 with shipping. It has a waterproof aircraft-grade aluminum body with six modes that are very easy to operate: click on the button on the back and you are in "Turbo Mode" with 190 lumens. Tap the button and it pulses with a 190 lumen seizure causing strobe that will strain your eyes in about a second and a half - I would know because I set it to strobe, placed it head height in a blacked out room in my basement and proceeded to try to look at it at a distance of six feet. I won't ever try that again.

To use the other four modes, just twist the bezel an eighth of a turn and click the light on for a 9 lumen beam. Tap the tailcap to increase the beam from 9 lumens to 48 lumens, again to 96 lumens, and lastly an SOS strobe. Tap again to go back to 9 lumens. The whole concept of how it operates took me all of sixty seconds to master, to the point where I can snatch it out of my pocket and have it on in any mode in probably two seconds.

Holy smokes, was that a flying squirrel or a bat?!?! Click the tailcap once to light up the world and find out. Oh snap, it's a gangbanger, a serial killer, or a lawyer?!?! Then tap the tailcap for strobe and he will lose interest in you and whip out his twirling chem lights and start dancing. Lost your nitroglycerin pill under your desk? Twist the bezel an eighth of a turn and clicky the tailcap. Trying to signal the Pavehawk to land and pick up you and your airsoft buddies? Tap three more times on the tailcap and you come home a hero. Easy enough?

Now, how does it stack up to the competition? I have yet to do a full run against my line up of many Surefires, several Streamlights, and one GLOCK light, but I do have a comparison against a Surefire 6P LED, and my trusty Surefire E1e.




I only had time for a quick test, as the sun had already come up and it wasn't pitch black like I would have wanted. First up is the E1e that has been in my pocket every day for four years. I bought this one in a PX in beautiful Iraq, and it has served me well. 15 lumens of light with a click on tailcap that will last for an hour and a half with a fresh battery. I've replaced the bulb in it once, and that is the only maintanance I've had to do:



I love that the clip on the light is positioned so that you can clip it onto the brim of your cover (hat, to the non-military) and have basically a headlight. I have used it like that to find helmets, dropped ammunition, and the like in some of the worst environments imaginable. It's a great idea. The only problem I have with this light is that since it does not have enough ass to blind a formation of hostels long enough to reduce them with my carbine, I have to carry a bigger light on my belt for that purpose. This one is only for finding car keys at night and such. That means two lights instead of one, as well as a holster for it somewhere on my belt, so I have less room to carry a grappling hook or thermal imaging device. But I normally carry a bigger light when I go out for the evening with the family, and for that I carry the Surefire 6P LED:



This one replaced my ancient 6P, and it has I think 90 lumens with a twist on tailcap. It's a good light, and is practically bomb proof, but I'm starting to see that maybe Surefire's Research and Design team has been slacking as of late, because my little Fenix light handily kicks its ass, and with half as many batteries:



The Fenix also has features that $250 Blackhawk lights have, like the strobe, as well as some other useful features like the small wings that not only protect the tailcap, but allow the light to stand on its end on a table; you have to see how useful that can be. I am now going to update my entire fleet of lights with Fenix lights, and it will cost about as much as one high tech Surefire. The fact that I now have one small light that not only fits in my pocket, but will serve in many different roles goes a long way to reducing my day to day loadout, and is nice to have while I am in corporate America where fist sized lights don't mesh so well with slacks. Of note is that the PD20 has a pocket clip like the E1e, but it is facing the wrong way to be clipped onto the brim of a cover (hat). It is designed to clip the light to your pocket face down to protect the lens, but I am happy to report that you can pop the clip off and turn it around when needed, so it has the headlight capability too.

All in all, I am very much impressed by this light. At $60, I'm going to get another one for the hell of it, and I'm looking hard at ordering some of their larger lights as well in the near future. If you are not into the CR123 batteries, they have many lights that are just as bad-ass, but use AA or AAA batteries instead. It really is amazing at how far this technology has come in such a short period of time.