A Unique Pocket Carry Solution: The One-Handed Autoloading Pistol
Firearm design attracts interesting engineering solutions. To offer a “pocket carry” safe autoloading pistol, one Witold Chylewski created a .25 ACP handgun that could be carried uncocked, with chamber empty, but still ready for instant, one-handed deplyment.
What You Need to Know About Carrying a Gun in Your Pocket
Carrying a compact pistol or revolver in your pocket can be an effective (and convenient) solution year-round to carrying a concealed firearm. As with most all things related to guns, there are some hard and fast rules to make sure you’re doing it safely. Here are some tips to get your pocket carry solution in order along with some proven pocket holster recommendations.
A Holster Full of Boom: The Automag III .30 Carbine
Revolvers chambered in the .30 Carbine cartridge have a reputation for range-clearing levels of boom! One reader suggested when we wants the range to himself, he breaks out a .30 Carbine handgun. Clayton Walker has a great story here about an interesting version of the Automag III chambered in, you guessed it, .30 Carbine.
Reloading While at the Range?
Lindsey shares some useful ideas on developing the ideal handload by reloading and making adjustments while at the range. Rather than prepare a bunch of load variants at home and hope for the best, sometimes it’s easier to make load adjustments on the fly when you’re able to immediately see how they perform.
Silence? Or Not So Much? Are Suppressors Really Hearing Safe?
The devil is always in the details. We hear about suppressors making shooting “hearing safe.” Is that true? Well, yes. And, no. It all depends. Here’s a brief look at some of the science behind silencing and suppression of firearms and what you need to know to be sure you’re not permanently destroying your hearing.
At the Mercy of Reloading Component Shortages? Life As A Lead Scrounger
Out-of-control reloading component shortages, lasting years, are becoming a regular event thanks to pandering politicians and a hysterical media. So perhaps the time is not to start casting your own bullets. It’s fun, satisfying, and most importantly, puts you squarely in charge of your own destiny. Mike has some tips.
| 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.
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| 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!
