Printing vs comfort

[Spdu4ia]

FBI cant or tilt is a tilt forward of the gun raising the grip for concealment. I can't remember if it's 10-15-or 20 degrees.

[Zundfolge]

Silly question time: I've looked at the Kramer site, and notice there are different types of leather- cowhide and horsehide. Does this matter?

Horsehide has a tighter grain so it's more water (and sweat) resistant. It costs a little more too. If you sweat a lot or live in a hot moist climate (which Colorado is clearly NOT) then it might be worth the extra expense for horsehide.

Horsehide is also a little stiffer so you can make a holster with thinner horsehide that is just as stiff as a thicker cowhide holster (although most of the time they use the same thickness as cowhide so you end up with a stiffer holster that will hold its shape longer ... but we're talking about the difference between your grand children being able to use it and your great grandchildren).

The downside to horsehide is that it doesn't take the dye as well (so often holster makers will only make it available in tan or natural finish)

FBI cant or tilt is a tilt forward of the gun raising the grip for concealment. I can't remember if it's 10-15-or 20 degrees.

FBI cant is 15deg

[gnihcraes]

A leather holster with proper retention will "cling" to the gun as long asthere is contact. With Kydex, there is really only one pressure point holding the gun, and once that point is passed, the gun is coming out. I guess what I'm saying is you could draw a pistol 1" from a Kydex holster, turn it upside and the gun is hitting the floor. Draw the pistol only one inch out of a leather holster and turn it upside and the may still be enough tension that the gun doesn't fall out.

I don't know what relevance this has to your question, or anything at all though.

Kydex: I'm not sure what I did this summer, went out the back door, screen door caught the holster, flicked out the gun, it slid across the driveway, magazine came out.

F*CK. I just stood there in awe trying to figure the whole mess out and how did it happen. Especially the magazine popping out of the gun. Tension of the holster was good I thought.

It wouldn't have happened with my other gun and the leather thumb break holster.

[KS63]

I can't stand Kydex for CCW. Too stiff and it digs in to my waist or puts pressure on my hip bone. Leather all the way for me IWB. Dress around the gun.

[Zundfolge]

I can't stand Kydex for CCW. Too stiff and it digs in to my waist or puts pressure on my hip bone. Leather all the way for me IWB. Dress around the gun.

I've never owned a Kydex IWB holster, but I suspect your experience is dead on (there's a reason why these hybrid IWB holsters have dominated the market the last few years).

As for OWB, Kydex is fine if you're dressed casual, but it just looks so wrong if you're wearing a suit. Kind of like wearing a cheap Casio digital watch and tennis shoes with a suit or sport coat.

[gnihcraes]

Don't wear a suit.

38LCR in a pocket if I need to wear anything fancy. I have a medical condition that requires I stay warm anyway, so I just keep wearing a jacket of some sorts. Usually cold in fancy smancy places to eat anyways. (air conditioning)

[TheGrey]

Well! gnihcraes' experience is the thing that pushes me over to leather. Murphy's Law would have it so something similar would happen to me with a Kydex holster- I get hung up on the doorknob sometimes, too.

I wouldn't be able to carry that specific gun with an IWB holster while wearing a suit; I've yet to find a decent pair of suit pants with more than a nominal waistband and/or more than five belt loops. They also have no pockets, because of stupid fashion. Women apparently aren't supposed to CC.

So that means something other than a waistband holster when I've got a suit on. Not often, but it does happen when I'm meeting clients.

[Irving]

Well! gnihcraes' experience is the thing that pushes me over to leather. Murphy's Law would have it so something similar would happen to me with a Kydex holster- I get hung up on the doorknob sometimes, too.

I wouldn't be able to carry that specific gun with an IWB holster while wearing a suit; I've yet to find a decent pair of suit pants with more than a nominal waistband and/or more than five belt loops. They also have no pockets, because of stupid fashion. Women apparently aren't supposed to CC.

So that means something other than a waistband holster when I've got a suit on. Not often, but it does happen when I'm meeting clients.

Easy there, just because of Kelly's ONE experience, is no reason to completely write off Kydex. My Kydex holster would require a door knob to grab my gun with man strength in order to yank it and toss it down the drive way. The best part of Kelly's story is him standing there trying to figure out what the hell happened, as that is pretty much the universal response when a gun hits the floor. I'm not saying that I don't believe that story, because I do, but that will probably never happen to him again. I have a similar story.

I've been carrying in a Comp-Tac Minotaur hybrid holster for about 6ish years now. I liked my holster so much, that I ordered another kydex shell that would fit my CZ-75B so I could just change shells and use the same leather. Problem was that the shell I got wasn't molded correctly so no matter how tight you adjust the holster, it just doesn't have the correct tension. I knew this, but would just tighten my belt and wear it anyway. Well, one night I was at a party and no one knew I was carrying. I was showing off and jumped up as many stairs as I could with a vertical jump. My cocked and locked CZ came all the way out of the top of the holster and bounced down the hardwood stairs and bounced around on the hardwood landing. While no one was paying attention to me before hand, now everyone was looking to see what had just bounced down the stairs. Fortunately it was just with family who liked guns and the first person to talk said something along the lines of "Cool, a gun!"

I tell this story to demonstrate that while that is certainly a horror story, I wouldn't write off hybrid holsters for that reason alone. The nice thing about kydex is that you can use a heat gun to make the kydex malleable and adjust tension. I've never gotten around to doing that and just never wore that holster again.

[TheGrey]

I hadn't thought about a concealed carry jacket. Thanks for the idea and advice!
I'm not a motorcycle rider, but there may be others reading this thread that are, and hadn't known about the option.

[68Charger]

If we're throwing out options...


Rather than kydex or leather, I'll put this one out there- friend of my swears by it, but I haven't gotten one yet (but I sometimes use a Blackhawk fabric holster with Velcro retention strap when wearing light clothing)
http://www.stickyholsters.com/

Provides lots of options, especially with accessories for thigh or ankle... the material is almost like memory foam- it conforms to the shape of where you put it, which is what helps it stay in place.