dcmdon
NES Member
Folks, I've been carrying either a .32 or .380 pistol around in my pocket for the better part of 35 years. It started with a Seecamp .32, then ran into the Keltec P3AT, then the LCP, then the Glock 42, then the Kahr P380 and finally an LCP Max.
I currently have the P380 and the Max. The Kahr is small enough to be an "always" gun, the Ruger with its 10 round mag is a bit pudgier. I'm a firm believer in the idea that a .380 in your pocket is better than a 45 at home. So acknowledging that I'm a wuss when it comes to weight and bulk, I pretty much put a pocket gun on when I get up. In fact there have been times I've decided to carry my P365 and realized that I still in fact had my Kahr in my front pocket. ha.
Suffice to say that I have a good list of requirements for my pocket holsters. After I got my Kahr about 10 years ago I made myself a holster that was nearly perfect. Within a month or two I knew its issues but was too lazy to make another until last week when it started to crack.
With all this time pocket carrying, I'll get into my requirements.
1) Must completely cover the trigger guard opening. This may not be a necessity with a regular holster, but it certainly is with a pocket holster, where things may accidentally end up in your pocket with the gun.
2) Must not add unnecessary bulk. Holsters like the Remora and the Desantis Nemesis add a TON of bulk. It kind of defeats the purpose of carrying a tiny gun if the holster nearly doubles the total volume.
3) It must hang up on the draw and not come out with the gun. Most holsters don't do a great job of this. The Kydex holsters are better than the ones made out of rubber, like the Remora or Nemesis. But most still aren't very good. The Vedder is close, but the hook isn't aggressive enough and it comes out with the gun when I draw.
4) Must retain the pistol reasonably well. This works against the holster hanging up on the draw since the tighter a holster holds on, the more chance there is that it will come out of your pocket still on the gun.
5) Must hold the gun level in my pocket. Most of my pockets sweep up in the rear, so if the holster is cut level at the bottom, it will hold the gun rotated forward. This makes it harder to get a clean draw and more importantly , in pants with large pockets, makes it more likely the gun will rotate with the weight of the slide out of vertical, resting with the slide on the bottom and the muzzle pointing back.
Because of this, I want a holster that if set on a flat surface will hold the gun with the slightly off of vertical towards the grip.
Please don't slam me too hard on my actual fabrication skills, this thing is ugly. But it's good. I may try again this weekend to correct the one flaw (see below). If I decide to keep this, I'll sand and finish the edges to make it look better. And I'll also replace the trashed rivet that I screwed up.
1) The trigger guard is completely covered for safety.
2) Its made of .060" kydex. This is thick enough to be as rigid as it needs to be, but thin enough to add very very little bulk.
3) It has a very aggressive rear hook, as well as a FRONT hook that really does a great job of making sure the holster stays in the pocket.
4) The front hook extends forward of the slide which helps to prevent the pistol from rotating out of vertical.
5) The cut of the holster makes it so the gun sits slightly off vertical towards the grip. This further prevents it from rotating forward during normal activity.
With all that said, it's not perfect. As a lefty, I have a few times over the years bumped the mag release and released the mag. I should have extended the material up over the mag release and stepped it off by 1/8" to protect the mag release from being pressed.
Also, the front hook may be too aggressive. It is a real pain in the butt to get this out of the pocket at the end of the day. But I think I'll keep that as is.
Other than that, this thing is damn near perfect.
It takes up much much less space than a Desantis, Remora, or Sticky.
It hangs up better and holds the gun at a better angle than a Vedder
By the way, you can make a template for your gun by just using a sheet of printer paper and drawing and cutting until you have something good. There are tons of videos on Youtube on how to actually mold the holster.
I currently have the P380 and the Max. The Kahr is small enough to be an "always" gun, the Ruger with its 10 round mag is a bit pudgier. I'm a firm believer in the idea that a .380 in your pocket is better than a 45 at home. So acknowledging that I'm a wuss when it comes to weight and bulk, I pretty much put a pocket gun on when I get up. In fact there have been times I've decided to carry my P365 and realized that I still in fact had my Kahr in my front pocket. ha.
Suffice to say that I have a good list of requirements for my pocket holsters. After I got my Kahr about 10 years ago I made myself a holster that was nearly perfect. Within a month or two I knew its issues but was too lazy to make another until last week when it started to crack.
With all this time pocket carrying, I'll get into my requirements.
1) Must completely cover the trigger guard opening. This may not be a necessity with a regular holster, but it certainly is with a pocket holster, where things may accidentally end up in your pocket with the gun.
2) Must not add unnecessary bulk. Holsters like the Remora and the Desantis Nemesis add a TON of bulk. It kind of defeats the purpose of carrying a tiny gun if the holster nearly doubles the total volume.
3) It must hang up on the draw and not come out with the gun. Most holsters don't do a great job of this. The Kydex holsters are better than the ones made out of rubber, like the Remora or Nemesis. But most still aren't very good. The Vedder is close, but the hook isn't aggressive enough and it comes out with the gun when I draw.
4) Must retain the pistol reasonably well. This works against the holster hanging up on the draw since the tighter a holster holds on, the more chance there is that it will come out of your pocket still on the gun.
5) Must hold the gun level in my pocket. Most of my pockets sweep up in the rear, so if the holster is cut level at the bottom, it will hold the gun rotated forward. This makes it harder to get a clean draw and more importantly , in pants with large pockets, makes it more likely the gun will rotate with the weight of the slide out of vertical, resting with the slide on the bottom and the muzzle pointing back.
Because of this, I want a holster that if set on a flat surface will hold the gun with the slightly off of vertical towards the grip.
Please don't slam me too hard on my actual fabrication skills, this thing is ugly. But it's good. I may try again this weekend to correct the one flaw (see below). If I decide to keep this, I'll sand and finish the edges to make it look better. And I'll also replace the trashed rivet that I screwed up.
1) The trigger guard is completely covered for safety.
2) Its made of .060" kydex. This is thick enough to be as rigid as it needs to be, but thin enough to add very very little bulk.
3) It has a very aggressive rear hook, as well as a FRONT hook that really does a great job of making sure the holster stays in the pocket.
4) The front hook extends forward of the slide which helps to prevent the pistol from rotating out of vertical.
5) The cut of the holster makes it so the gun sits slightly off vertical towards the grip. This further prevents it from rotating forward during normal activity.
With all that said, it's not perfect. As a lefty, I have a few times over the years bumped the mag release and released the mag. I should have extended the material up over the mag release and stepped it off by 1/8" to protect the mag release from being pressed.
Also, the front hook may be too aggressive. It is a real pain in the butt to get this out of the pocket at the end of the day. But I think I'll keep that as is.
Other than that, this thing is damn near perfect.
It takes up much much less space than a Desantis, Remora, or Sticky.
It hangs up better and holds the gun at a better angle than a Vedder
By the way, you can make a template for your gun by just using a sheet of printer paper and drawing and cutting until you have something good. There are tons of videos on Youtube on how to actually mold the holster.
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