Occupy something or other while open carrying…
October 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
An interesting and sure to be peaceful idea from the Weerd Beard himself!
Half-Cocked: America’s Favorite New Game Show!
September 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
America's Favorite New Game Show!
Half-Cocked: The Citizens of Gotham…
August 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment
While the citizens of Gotham sleep...
New Beretta Nano
August 15, 2011 By 2 Comments
Beretta Nano 9mm
Not quite as small as the North American Arms Nano Pinky Revolver we wrote about a while back, but Beretta is coming out with a new small form factor gun this October. The Beretta Nano initially comes out in 9mm and should have a street price of around $475. While it looks nothing like the PX4 series, it does carry some common design elements like a beveled slide and frame texture.
More info from Guns and Ammo here.
Whirling Fan Blades of Death
June 16, 2011 By 5 Comments
My Certified Shooting Instructor
Don’t believe everything you hear.
Even if it’s in a gun shop. Even if you hear it from a “Certified Instructor.” Over the course of many years of shooting, I’ve learned that the following groups all claim to be Certified Shooting Instructors:
- All members of the National Rifle Association
- All shooters who claim to be members of the National Rifle Association, but really are not
- Everyone who has ever posted on GlockTalk.com
- 74% of tween males with internet access
- Larry the Mall Ninja
So take any sources of gun knowledge with a grain of salt. There are lots of genuine Certified Shooting Instructors out there – and the good ones won’t mind direct questions. So don’t be afraid to challenge and validate advice you get. It’s your life on the line after all.
Which brings me to the point of this story. Years ago, I took the state required eight hour concealed carry course. From a genuine, state certified concealed carry instructor. Let’s call him Cleetus. Not his real name, but not that far from it, and certainly befitting of his style.
After about six hours of epic and boundless braggadocio we go to a discussion about hollow point ammunition. By the way, Cleetus spent most of the first six hours telling the class how he would win any gunfight he was in because he would just stand there, cold as ice and devoid of fear, while bullets flew by him. He’s been shot at before of course, and gunfire in his direction doesn’t faze him. Anyway, Cleetus would prevail because he would stand firm, cool as a cucumber, take careful aim, and end the altercation. At this point, most of the class was ready to test him on his claim.
Back to hollowpoints. A student asked why hollowpoints were more effective. Cleetus responded with the following answer:
“Hollowpoints is a ferocious man stopper because they’s designed with sharp petals. As the bullet flies through the air, the petals come out like whirling fan blades of death over an inch wide. It flies through the air like that and tears up everything in it’s path. Ain’t no man livin’ through that.”
* While much of the content in this site is, well, a tad exaggerated for cheap attempts at humor, this story is 100% true. Unfortunately.
Holster Review: Uncle Mike’s Pocket Holster
May 27, 2011 By 2 Comments
| The Good |
| Does most of the things a pocket holster should do: protects the trigger, hides the outline of your gun, keeps pocket junk out of the action, and generally stays in the pocket when you draw. |
| The Bad |
| The material is too soft. With a magazine heavy semi-automatic, it tends to bend and rotate in your pocket. |
| The Ugly |
| It can be really difficult to draw when your gun, and the holster, have both turned upside down. |
| Our Rating |
 One Nun. |
The Uncle Mike’s Pocket Holster
Uncle Mike’s Pocket Holster
Suggested Retail Price: $12.95
We wanted to like this pocket holster. It’s soft and squishy, feels great, and is really comfortable in the pocket.
But we didn’t. Like it, that is.
The Uncle Mike’s Pocket Holster takes a universal approach to size and fit. It’s offered in four different sizes as follows:
18744-1Small autos (.22 – .25 cal.)
28744-2Most .380s
38744-32″ 5-shot revolvers; Sigma .380
48744-4Most sub-compact 9mm/.40 autos
So there is no custom fitting for a particular gun. You take your best guess at the right size and go from there.
The material is fairly thick and has a rubbery-suede feel. Is that even a valid description? We’re not sure, but that’s what it feels like. It’s an open top, sealed bottom design and there is a band of non-slip material at about the half-way mark to help the holster remain in your pocket when you draw.
On the plus side…
- The material is sturdy enough that we’re confident the trigger is protected
- The bottom (on our model for mid size semi-auto’s like the Walther PPK) is sealed and does a perfectly acceptable job of keeping pocket lint and leftover Tater-Tots out of the action of the gun. And no, we really don’t keep Tater-Tots in the same pocket as our gun! We store them in our other pocket of course! Duh.
- It’s comfortable. The gun is protected and it feels good in the pocket.
- We had no issues with sweat, or spilled Coke, penetrating the holster material. So hit all the drive-thrus you want – no problem.
On the not-so-plus side:
- This holster, like other Uncle Mike’s models, has very little structure. You wouldn’t think that’s a big requirement for a pocket holster, but when it folds from the weight of the gun, you can have trouble with the whole rig rotating in your pocket. We did most of our testing with a Walther PPK, which, as a steel gun, has some weight to it. Add a full magazine and you have a strong tendency for the grip end to want to follow that gravity rule and find its way to the bottom of your pocket. Not good. In fairness, this problem would not be as severe with a polymer gun like the Kel-Tec or Ruger LCP.
So all in all, we would elect to pass on this one and spend a few more bucks on something a little more substantial. In our next pocket holster review, we’ll be taking a close look at the DeSantis Nemesis Pocket Holster.
 |
|
| The instability issue really caused me to fear for my manhood. I found that with normal day-to-day activity, in a variety of pocket styles, the holster had a tendency to rotate so my gun was pointed right at, well, my gun. | I tried it in my purse and didn’t have great success. The non-slip band was not tacky enough to keep the holster in the purse pocket when I tried to draw. I do realize the holster was not designed for this use, but wanted to offer up the feedback to my lady friends out there. |
Read about more carry styles and over 120 different gun holsters in The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters - available at Amazon.com! Learn more about our Insanely Practical Guides!
Tom McHale was born a helpless, shooting-deprived infant. He later discovered the joys of collecting and shooting guns, reloading ammunition and writing about his adventures with a healthy dose of fun. Tom's career has been diverse, bordering on dysfunctional, with most of it spent leading marketing teams for a variety of technology companies including Microsoft and more than a couple of high-tech startups. He's finally seen the light and given up the corporate life to pursue his passion of creating slightly crazy, but educational, content related to guns, shooting, concealed carry and self defense. 
