5-Point 1911 Safety Check: Is Your Gun Safe?
If I had to wager, I’d wager at least 10% of the 1911s I’ve worked on over the decades have had safety issues. Some were even new guns. If I just think about well-used 1911s, I’m betting the percentage is more like 15% or even 20% — especially gun show “parts” gun amateurs often assemble. Not long ago a friend brought me a foreign 1911 (an Argentinian “Sistema” Colt clone) saying it needed some work. No fooling.
Last Minute Gift Solutions
Happy (almost) holidays, everyone! If you're like me and find yourself still nailing down gifts at the very last minute, here's a list of things we like that you can still get in time for pre-Christmas delivery...
Gun Cranks Podcast: Then And Now: Our Concealed Carry Journey
What was your first carry gun? Tom McHale, Ashley McGee, and Nic Lenze discuss where they started, what they carry now, and how clueless husbands can be.
Top 10 Tips For Urban Survival
Some people are naturally observant. I’m not one of them. My wife can sprint through a crowded airport on a holiday weekend wearing noise-canceling headphones and then proceed to describe everyone there, who has middle seats on their next flight and which of their kids are taking violin lessons. On the other hand, I could trip over Jabba the Hut playing “I Am the Walrus” on a set of kettledrums and not notice. What’s the moral of the story? I have to work at situational awareness. No, I mean it. I deliberately have to “switch on” when I’m out and about or the world will pass me by while I remain blissfully unaware. As a result, I’ve had to learn and develop some techniques and hacks to help me spot potentially dangerous anomalies and lifesaving opportunities during my daily travels. Maybe some of these strategies will help you too.
The Ultimate Training Tool — Mantis X10
A few years ago, the engineers at Mantis launched a training tech revolution with their MantisX sensor. When paired with a companion smartphone application, the rail-mount device could show you exactly what’s happening when you break a shot. Motion sensors track the most minute movements of the gun, allowing you to see muzzle movement before, during and after the shot break. That’s impressive stuff, and it’s a great way to improve hold and trigger technique, especially since the system works with dry, live and airgun firing modes.
The Air-Powered Fun Zone
We can’t always get to the range to shoot our fire and brimstone guns, and frontyard ranges tend to upset the neighbors — at least some neighbors. That’s where Air Power saves the day. Modern air pistols and rifles are technological marvels and offer realistic and accurate performance. Better yet, they can be safe for backyard, garage, or even indoor — if your spouse isn’t home — use. Or better yet, get her involved in the shooting! Here’s a few “must haves” and “wish I had thems” to get you going.
| 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!
