All posts tagged Sig 228

Magazine capacity and balance, don’t forget it

There was a transition away from the high capacity or should I say, Standard capacity firearms back in the late 1990’s after the AWB of 1994, but it was mostly because the cost of a gun magazine might have gone up 200% or more.   You could easily spend $1000 for a firearm and magazines depending on what it was.   Once thing that I will that will never change is balance and speed.   I think we have recently witnessed the pinnacle of the M4 Carbine accessorizing craze because now we are seeing more and more that people are wanting lighter carbines and 15 lbs AR15 variants is something that really doesn’t help you out in close quarters gun fights, speed does m ore than what optics you have in close up fighting.

When it comes to caliber and capacity, you really need to put some thought into how much weight you want in a firearm especially a handgun.   I’ve shot some double stack 45acp handguns that were so heavy that taking them in and out of  holster felt like I was wielding a ball and chain.  Throw in spare gun magazines and the bulk and weight can quickly become extreme.  The Springfield XD is a nice 45acp gun, but the balance of a 1911 or even the Sig 220 seem to handle better.   And lets not forget, the reason for a handgun is to fight your way back to a rifle, so why bother trying to carry all that handgun ammo.

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Want speed and lightweight holder options?

Try the Don Hume Jit holsters that are just belt through and don’t add on very much weight.   These are quickly making grounds on my Fobus gun holsters because they don’t jab into my side like a paddle holster and they are as fast as a paddle holster.    The only draw back from what I can see is they may leave some marks on your gun and leave your gun exposed to get rubbed against, but what the heck, it’s a firearm not a piece of jewelry.   It really bothers me to this day that some people can be so concerned about the guns that they carry that they get upset about wear and tear that they are always tickering with them.

The guy that needs to break out his gun blue kit every time his gun is dinked is probable the guy that is damaging his chamber because he’s over cleaning his firearm.  I’m a big believer in having atleast a Don Hume Jit holster or a paddle holster of some sort, the Fobus gun holsters are always a great open carry or training holster but there are better things out there.   Blackhawk Serpa holsters have an edge for secondary firearms because you need a level of restraint.   Backup guns don’t need to be in your hands, but be close by.   Concealed carry holsters are not always the best for military or law enforcement.

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Somebody has been finding about the Jit holsters

After being in business for so many years, and working in this industry, I’ve seen enough trends in various things like firearms, holsters, ammunition and attitudes in general.   I remember when I only knew a  handful of people that CCW permits and now that number is probable 4-5 higher and it’s mostly people that I didn’t expect to get them.   I have several friends that did the College thing, the Grade School thing, and after they got tired of changing jobs, they started their own businesses.   Unfortunately, some of them found out real fast about the liabilities of having a business and dealing with the public.

There are always statistics attached to certain types of crimes and if you own a pizza sh0p, restaurant, UPS driver, or just travel around in Urban environments, you general area going to witness or know someone that was robbed or assaulted.   I do like the Don Hume holsters that attached are belt through holsters, they seem to be the simplest and smaller holster design.   The gun basically hangs in the holster unlike many other holders that contain it.   There is no clip or paddle protruding into your hip and they seem to be one of the most popular ones CCW holders are buying these days.

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Galco Kingtuk holster review

I’ve been wanted to get a Crossbreed holster for a long time, but they seem to be a little complicated for me to order online and I always wanted to hold one in my hands first before I purchased one.   It seems that as soon as someone comes up with an idea, and a good idea, somebody in the tactical and accessory market tries to copy it.   I’ve heard stories from guys attending SHOT Show that had to chase off Chinese attendees because all they did every year was show up, find out what’s new, and take the pictures back to China and then try and  make a knock off version of it.   We’ve seen this with optics time and time again.

I’m gonna keep my mouth shut on who is copying whom, but since Galco has such a large selection of holsters, and they cover a wide selection of right hand and left hand holsters, we gotta go with the best and most versatile product lines in this industry.   Galco holsters almosot always take a few days or more to break in.   This leather kydex combo Kingtuk holster was no different.   I’ve had times where the leather holsters were so tight that I thought I had to send them back because it was defective product.   I’ve learned to be more patient with leather holsters.   I think  the Kingtuk is a good idea and yes, it does not dig into you like a regular IWB holster, but I find them difficult to get on and off every morning, maybe I need Coffee first.

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tactical gear and accessory ordering online

I’ve been doing a lot of product evaluations and we’ve been scouting the tactical apparel and accessories industry since the NRA Convention in Pittsburgh.   We pretty much brought in new gun holsters and apparel for the CCW holder and we’ve already been well immersed into what most military contractors use.   Some of the new Smith Elite Optics have a really popular turbo fan goggle that have been flying out the door and we’ve already been taking orders to blow out the next shipment.   A great many new customers have been dropping in and calling us on the phone asking who are we because they’ve never heard of us before but we have been showing up in gun magazines and conventions for the last several months.

Most of our new customers are finding us on the internet through search engines and many times it’s because they found us after bad experiences with a few other companies.   It’s somewhat shocking that some of the highest ranked businesses on Google and Yahoo are companies that have an F rating with the better business borough.   Gun holsters are hard to find in many gun shops and now that there are so many new guns like the Ruger LCP,  Galco holsters, Blackhawk holsters and many more have to keep up with what is being put out.  You gotta be real careful who you do business with and that’s one reason we’ve thrown up a facebook page so that our customers knew who we were and that we respond to our customers questions and needs.

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Glocks 17 holsters and safety

I view the Glock pistol as an unsheathed knife.  When you pull a knife or a sword you better pay attention to where your blade is because it will cut you.   I am not big fan of manual safeties on handguns because the closer you are to a bad guy the less time you’ll have.  On an AR15 it’s whole other story.   I am also not a big fan of carrying firearms around with empty chambers.   People gotta realize that when bad things happen, you don’t have all the time in the world and giving yourself one more thing to do before you can defend yourself is a bad idea.   I recently did an audit of all of the friends and family members that I know that carry firearms and the vast majority of them have never been in a really hostile situation.

I, unfortunately have too much experience in those regards and I completely understand what “stress” is in combat or hostile situations.  I never got into the whole CCW thing just for being a cowboy.   I’ve seen evil and I know the dark side of what humanity can do and it’s not just about defending our lives, it’s also about defending the innocent.    I think there are some good designs out that may be at higher safety level than Glocks, but the Blackhawk holsters that I like the most for Glock firearms is the Serpa.   The Level II tactical holsters lock the gun in place, you hear it click and you don’t have to worry about thumb breaks or guns flying out of the holster because there is nothing to retain it.

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J-frames should never be underated

I recently did a ballistics test between a j-frame 38 Special and a Smith & Wesson Model 19 with a 4″ barrel.   I thought that I would get better ballistics out of the obviously longer barrel, but I was wrong.   It’s amazing what a chronograph will do to your belief in gun energy.   I’ve seen ballistics out of M4 Carbines that nobody would believe.   I’ve read lots of stuff online about how weak the M4 Carbine is and that 2800fps was what they normally shot at.  Well, I was clocking in ballistics that were 400 fps above that.   I’m aware of the amount of stress and wear you can put on a firearm if you shoot it that much, but let’s just walk about capabilities within a certain threshold.

There are so many .380 pistols showing  up out there that people are more content with small pocket pistols like never before.   I finally got to shoot a Ruger LCP .380 a few weeks ago, but wasn’t blown away.  I know why people like them, but a j-frame in a pocket or even in Galco holsters, like a paddle  holster are just fine for me.   The Rohrbaugh guns are the race cars of small compact semi-autos, but the j-frame will always have it’s grip in that mode of CCW.   Considering that all of these .380 pistols are usually 6 or 7 shots, going with a 5 shot and a speed loader isn’t much to loose sleep over.

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I may make another attempt at replacing my IWB holsters

I switched to carrying a Glock 26 this Summer because I got tired of rusting out all of my other firearms.   This year I have gotten use to my new CCW gun and it hasn’t really bothered me at all.   It was a little thicker than my previous firearms, but it gets the job done and my Galco Tuck-n-go holster seems to be working.  The only real problem I have with the holster is that it does not hold up when I go to re-holster the weapon.

I have been looking at Crossbread holsters for some time now, but it’s one of those things where I’m afraid of ordering something online that I have not held in my hands, and then you gotta worry about return policies and shipping costs.  Galco holsters has something fairly new, I don’t know how new because I just learned of them, but the new Kingtuk holsters look like a Crossbread knock off.  Well, I’ll give this a try and see how comfortable they are.

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Still not in love with the LCP

I got to the NRA convention a few weeks ago and the LCP was all over the place.  I saw  holster makers show up that they made gun  holsters for the little .380 pistol, Crimson trace laser grips had a big section devoted to concealed carry, and numerous other companies devote products to the Ruger LCP in .380.   The .380 is  a ballistically inferior caliber, but the durability of small pocket firearms has dramatically improved and people are wanted to carry less of a gun for more comfort.

Unfortunately for the rest of us that have seen the wrong side of society, carrying a firearm with a caliber that is not adequate for hunting just about anything, the .380 should really be viewed as a purse gun.  I have a stock pile of Galco holsters in my  house because they are the best and easiest way to get a good IWB or OWB holster for CCW.   I have an ankle holster for all of my j-frame revolvers and IWB are the best method for CCW.  I still have a hard time taking a .380 with me knowing that the gun won’t kill the worst in society.

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Outside the pants carry, how well can you conceal?

I’ve been on the mission of trying to find gun holsters that I can wear that are not IWB because I’ve had too many times where i got a bruise and it took weeks for it to go away.  If i got thrown around in a fight IWB is more likely to hurt you in my opinion, but for some situations it’s about the only way a thin guy can carry.   Now that I’ve grown  older and packed on a few extra pounds, I’ve been trying to see if I can get away with summer carry outside the pants.   Paddle holsters, especially the Blackhawk Serpa holsters protrude too far outside my body for me to conceal them with just a t-shirt.  I’ve been wearing an Eotac Style 103 for Spring Season, but once it warms up I can’t carry with my Blackhawk Serpa any longer.

I’m trying some of these Woolrich Elite CCW shirts, they are really, really impressive.   I think Woolrich got hurt pretty bad by the split up a few years ago, but the Woolrich Elite shirts i recently picked up have been really nice to wear to family and social events.  Since the 1911 is one of the thinnest built handguns I own, I have been trying one of these Galco holsters that is a locked in place by your belt and sits right up against your body.  I always prefer paddle holsters because they are easy to get on and off, but for CCW they just don’t cut it in the Summer.  My Colt 1911 is getting use to this configuration and I’ll report back as soon as I get the chance.

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