Girl Stuff
You guys might learn something, too
Inside Waist Band and a full size 5” Les Baer and a girl.
One nice thing about straps rather than snaps, the holster stays put.
This is a joint effort like the rest of our lives together. Heidi truly carries a gun everyday and although I am sure lots of women also carry daily, I also believe many women who could or can often do not, when they probably should. I carry a gun everyday and have done so for decades and I see no reason to change now. — Clint
About gun selection, we are not going to argue this point much as our minds are made up for the most part. We will say if you use the gun to defend yourself or your family, the ranges will probably be short or modest at best, unfortunately. We think if the gun is deployed it had better do as good a job as it possibly can and better be as effective as it can, caliber and function wise.
Clint is pointedly called out by others for his dislike of the small autos and small calibers, but in his defense, when we see these small guns really shot much volume-wise at the school, they usually crap out or flat fall apart. In the caliber category, placement is probably as significant as diameter, so the shots need to be well placed.
Mostly, the people who carry these guns do not practice as much as they should, making these selections often more poor than usual. Also we do note and understand the gun with you is better than the one at home in the safe … most of the time.
One last point, just because a lot of the goofy peewee gun things are sold doesn’t mean we would bet your lives on them … or ours. The gun company’s and the gun store’s job is to sell you a gun. We doubt they will come to your funeral if the gun fails. — Clint & Heidi
John Ralston’s holster for ankle carry or inside the pocket carry all being
done with big guns. Remember it’ll be a big gun when you carry it, and it
will be a big gun if you ever draw it to defend yourself.
The Platform
At issue here is a major consideration because often whether or not people carry a gun is often resolved or settled by the issue of comfort. The gun is supposed to be comforting not comfortable, but the point here is carrying a gun daily can often truly be a true pain in the butt, hip and leg. We agree, “If it is comfortable, you’ll carry it more.”
Under the carry it more and creative platform, John Ralston is one of our favorite holster makers because his skill and flexibility helps us solve new or difficult problems. Under the banner of Five Shot Leather, he does his work across the spectrum of revolvers and pistols for open or concealed carry, with his strong suit being concealed gear, in our limited opinions. — Clint & Heidi
These inserts work in everything from purses to packs. They’re versatile,
and are custom built to fit the dimensions of your preferred carry bag.
Inserts
The 5 Shot leather inserts are made for a cross section of gear from butt packs to shoulder-across-the-body packs to the original purse-type rig for ladies. The inserts are custom made to address your bag size, use, access and angle of carry. The solid backing holds the selected holster securely anchored and the design assures the insert stays seated while the draw stroke is implemented. I don’t often carry a purse and Clint doesn’t use man bags, but for my bag, the inserts work well although I’m not much into carrying the gun other than on my person. — Heidi
Angle IWB
Girls have the hip thing going and rolls around the middle for guys create some odd angle holster issues. Ralston’s angle changes on the inside the waistband holsters made a difference in Heidi’s ability to carry a full-size pistol concealed. Angles set up for a muzzle-forward-rake carry forward of the hip, but the more conventional muzzle-back-behind the-hip carry is her preference and it prints less for her under the shirt/jacket mode. The holsters use permanent belt slides instead of snaps which some prefer. One thing about it, if the holster in anchored on the belt in this slide fashion, something about like a car wreck is going to be required for her to lose the gun from the holster or the holster from the belt. — Clint
Ankle
The ankle holsters are a favorite of mine and Clint likes them because I put it on everyday and carry it everywhere. Still only a .38 Special, I upgrade the gun by the use of CorBon Pow’er Ball or DPX in +P loadings. Loaded in Smith & Wesson 342’s set up with Crimson Trace Laser stocks, the guns are always there for me in the car or in the office. The ammo gives the caliber an upgrade and the stocks with a rubber overmold help tame the recoil of the hotter ammo. The extra ammunition supply is resolved by using a TUFF QuickStrip and we kind of sprinkle them all around the car, house and coat pockets.
Ankle guns do require more maintenance because of exposure to movement kicks up ground dust and dirty fuzzy stuff, but an on-hand can of air from Radio Shack blows the crud free on a regular basis. Under the “special build category,” the ankle holster John Ralston made for Clint for his Smith & Wesson 327 2″ barrel 8-shot revolver is pretty slick and we think you could do worse than fight with eight .357 magnums as a back up gun. — Heidi
Pockets
Pocket guns are probably a good “Where do I carry a gun?” situation solver for both genders. Although it is not always a fast draw, the access is good and I like the concept of having a right and left gun in both pocket and ankle holsters. With all the baggy-pocket clothes today, just short of a cannon can be carried. Heidi doesn’t do it, but I can and do put a full-size S&W 4″ N-frame revolver in the front pockets of my trousers and they aren’t all that tactical looking — a good thing. If I was in “at the beach” mode, the gun is a bit big, but where we live and work it does well. — Clint
5Shot Leather
14201 NE 36th Street
Vancouver, WA.
(360) 624-8284
www.5shotleather.com
TUFF Products
Quick Strip Loader
1031 Bay Blvd. Ste V
Chula Vista, CA. 91911
(877) 883-3776
www.tuffproducts.com
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Girl Stuff
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