Why Carry?

Why do you carry a gun? A question often heard by those of us who do. There are many possible answers. I tend to adapt my answer to the questioner. Are they really interested in my answer? Do they hate guns and think anyone who likes guns are dangerous, crazy and not to be trusted? Are they interested but not sure how to broach the topic of self defense?

I read a good response from the member of my gun forum. It went something like this:

His wife was always ragging him about carrying his Ruger .380 LCP whenever they left the house.

"Why are you carrying that gun when we are just going to the grocery store?" she said.
"Are you going to be wearing your seat belt?" he said.
"Of course," she said.
"Do you really think we are going to have an accident just driving a few blocks to the grocery store?" he asked.
"No, but you never know." she said.
"Exactly," he said.

My philosopy is that if I have decided to carry and am committed to that decision, I will carry all of the time where legally permissible. Sounds a little like overkill to some, but to me, it only makes sense.

You never know.

I have, however, struck a balance between being armed and being over-armed, so to speak. Many professionals, like Ayoob, advocate carrying more than one gun. They are usually speaking from a background wherein they are much more likely to have to resort to their firearm than you or I will. I think it makes sense, in some situations to go with a backup gun, but not always. I want to have enough redundancy and reliability that if I have to rely on a handgun, it is there, it will fire and I have additional ammunition should I need it. Sometimes this might mean one larger gun and a smaller back up gun as both redundancy and additional ammunition. Other times I feel comfortable with one reliable handgun and a spare magazine.

I'm not into over doing it as a civilian. A main carry gun with two spare magazines, a backup gun with at least a spare magazine, is a little too much for me. If I knew I was going into a crime prone neighborhood, I might do that. But, more realistically, I wouldn't go unless I had no choice.

New Remora Tuckable Holsters

First, let me say that I have been a fan of Remora holsters since getting my first one for the SR9c. I did make a few modifications for a better fit, and sent that info plus photos to Alan, owner of Remora Clipless Holsters. Later, newer Remoras were released for the SR9c and the LC9 which seemed to have been tailored to those guns. Perfect fit, everything covered that should have been and their incredible ability to remain where you put them. I have been using them for all of my Rugers - they are in the "rotation", used depending on what, when and where. I estimate the Remoras get at least at least 50% of my carry time.

I have now acquired two new tuckable Remoras, one for the LC9 and one for the SR9c. And, Alan included a surprise.

The tuckables (they are identical except for size):



Each is sized perfectly for its intended pistol. There is a firm flap attached to the bottom of the holster, hinged there so that it swings out at the top. The surfaces between the flap and the holster side are faced with a smooth synthetic material so that the shirt material, when tucked between them can easily be removed, pulled upward, when required. A thin kydex "clip" is attached to the outside of the flap with a snap. It also swivels. This clip can be used to hold the flap in position inside the waistband while tucking in the shirt over the pistol. I find that it is easy to tuck without the clip so I leave mine off. It is not necessary nor intended to support the holster.

Wearing it is easy. Tuck in your shirt. Pull it out where the pistol and holster are to be worn. Insert the holstered gun as you would a standard Remora - slip it into your waistband - then slip (tuck) the remaining shirt tail between the flap (which should be even and aligned with the top edge of your waistband) and the holster body. Done. Helps to blouse out the shirt a bit to hide the grips. This holster has no clips to show and is very comfortable to wear.

I wore my trusty LC9 most of the day under a light button front long sleeve shirt. No one, including my wife, knew. I also tried the SR9c and it worked as well. You are aware that you are toting a heavier gun, but the comfort and concealment are excellent.

These are lightweight, secure and comfortable tuckable holsters. Don't be fooled by the difference in design. They are easy to wear, can be worn in many different carry positions and stay where they are put. And, probably best of all, they have no metal clips to deal with or "print". Everything just disappears under your shirt.

I like cross draw and appendix carry and these work very well as a tuckable means to carry in these positions for me.

Now, the surprise... Alan included a Remora OWB holster!



This is made from a simple but very effective concept. Keep the Remora design but made with non-sticky material, like a heavy cordura fabric, padded for comfort and pistol support, but attach a sturdy flap, hinged at the top. Line the flap and inside of the holster that faces the flap with heavy duty Velcro, and, shazam!, you've got a super OWB holster. Tough. Light. Fits any belt (maybe including a pack hip belt?) and adjusts to any cant. Easy on, but stays on. This works so well for my SR9c in the cross draw position that I am after one in black too.

I think the Remora has been refined over the last year, and these new models make Alan's holster line well worth considering. At this point, I own and use more Remoras than any other holster. I recommend them highly.

I have since found out that the OWB holsters are, of course, also made in black.


I have had more time with these holsters and they are living up to expectations. I carried the SR9c, which, although considered a 'compact' pistol, compared to the LC9 and similar guns, not so compact and heavier, all day in a Remora. It rode cross-draw under a light leather vest all day in the car, out of the car, restaurants, malls, shopping, grocery stores - all those places you'd normally visit during the day. Comfortable and secure. I think even my wife and daughter didn't know I was carrying.


Conclusion: Give the various Remora holsters serious consideration. They have proven very adpatable to almost any carry situation. They are comfortable, ambidextrious, secure, tough, light, inexpensive and very effective. At this point, I have generally settled on D.M. Bullard leather OWB holsters and mag carriers, and Remora IWB holsters for 90% of my carry options.

Versacarry Holsters - a review

A couple of weeks ago I received a number of Versacarry Holsters ( http://www.versacarry.com/ ) for use and review. I had read a mention of these holsters on the Elsie Pea Forum (now the Ruger Pistols Forum) and was intrigued by the concept.

These are not 'holsters' as we know them, but what I woud describe as synthetic, mimimum bulk and weight, concealed carry pistol IWB attachments. But, for this review, I will still refer to it as a holster.

Examples of the Versacarry lineup

Component parts and a look at how it fits to the gun frame

 As you can see, there is only one side to this holster. The clip goes over the belt, the gun and holster inside the waistband and the side of the gun rides against the body. Or, in my case, an undershirt. On first glance, this would seem to be uncomfortable, but to my surprise, it is not. This depends, of course, on where you carry the holster - against the hipbone will not be a comfortable place. I carry Rugers, the LCP, the LC9 or the SR9c as self defense guns. Even though I have skateboard tape attached to the slides of the LCP and the SR9c to aid in racking them, I felt no discomfort carrying them as long as I positioned them properly.

The other thing that most people think right away is, "what about the trigger guard? It's only on one side. Isn't that dangerous?"

The Versacarry company does not recommend anyone carry a pistol with this holster armed with a round in the chamber. I understand this, but I also understand that carrying a semi-automatic pistol for self defense that does NOT have a round chambered is a very foolish idea. There are too many instances in which the time or opportunity to draw a pistol, then rack in a round to make it ready to shoot, is not possible. I could enumerate these situations, but I'll only state one objection: a 'bad guy' has his hands on you and you are using your non-shooting hand to fend him off while you reach for your weapon with the other. How are you going, then, to rack in a round with one hand?

So, my preference is to carry "locked and loaded".  I am not advocating this to you. You have to make up your own mind and be comfortable with the decision. This brings us back to the question of the trigger guard, which is supplied as an option and only for one side of the holster. Obviously, having a trigger guard on a holster is a great idea and for me, I won't consider one without it. The trigger guard here is positioned to guard against the trigger coming in contact with anything that might end up between the trigger and the pants' side of the holster. The opposite side, the side next to your body, has nothing to hang up on. I querried Justin, the owner of Versacarry about this. His response was that used properly, which includes attaching the pistol to the Versacarry before clipping the holster into the pants, there is nothing to hang up on the trigger. Most negligent discharges of a pistol occur when re-holstering a loaded gun into a defective or blocked holster. Besides, if you follow Versacarry's instructions and do not carry with a round in the chamber, there should be no cause for worry.

Again, like carrying with the side of a pistol against your body, the trigger guard question is one you will have to answer for yourself and be comforatable with. I personally do not have an issue with this arrangement given my comments above, but it is a personal decision.

The Versacarry holsters are sized for caliber and for length. As you can see from the photos, the pistol is held to the holster by a spring action of the plastic and metal retention rod that fits up into the barrel. The rod is positioned at a angle to the holster "frame" which flexes and pushes the frame of the pistol against the frame of the holster. The rod is made of a somewhat soft and maleable plastic, tapered a bit at the top and threaded with a steel insert to accept a long steel screw. The attachment is solid. The rod is made slightly smaller (0.015") than the pistol's barrel diameter for a good fit. I found that once inserted and withdrawn a few times, the fit is perfect and the rod is long enough that the pistol sits securely on it.

Showing rod mounted to the frame

The nice thing about this design is that a given holster will fit any number of pistols of the same caliber. My two 9 mm's and my .380 will fit the same diameter rod. The difference is in the length of the frame:

Same caliber, different lengths

For a given gun, you can get a holster that will carry it more deeply or more shallowly, depending on how you like your gun to ride above the belt line. They are also offering an adjustable holster so that it will be adaptable to guns of different thickness but of the same caliber. A nice touch.

The Versacarry holsters are made with a clip that will accommodate belts up to 1 1/2" wide and 1/4" thick, including the waistband material of the pants. They have a good video on their site about how the gun is mounted, clipped, into the holster and how the holster is attached and removed.

One quirk of this design is that if you draw your gun and then remove the holster in order to re-attach and re-install the holster/gun into your waistband, the empty holster may catch the barrel retention rod on your undershirt when taking it off. This can happen of course while you are practicing the draw from the holster with an unloaded gun of course. This is not a big deal because in a normal concealed carry situation, you won't be drawing and re-holstering your gun anyway.

Lastly, the draw. I can firmly state that there is no holster out there that offers a smoother or quicker draw than the Versacarry. Some, a few, might be as good, but not better in my opinion. The pistol slips off the barrel retention rod smoothly and there is really nothing else to impede the gun.


So, in conclusion, I think this is one of the most innovative pistol concealed carrying devices available. It weighs next to nothing. It is strong, easy to attach the pistol to and draws very easily. It also offers your option of a deeply concealed carry or one that rides higher, holding the grips higher above the belt line. It is useable in practically any position - probably not a good choice for small of back carry, but I find it works fine as a cross draw holster as well as in the other positions. As they demonstrate in their videos, it is pretty easy to attach and remove with the gun in place. And, at the current price point, the Versacarry is about half what you would expect to pay for an 'ordinary' holster with the exception of a few Galcos and the more simple leather brands. Backed by the Versacarry no questions asked replacement policy it's hard to beat.

Its uniqueness offers questions about the design that are not present with more conventional designed holsters: nothing between the body and the gun, an optional trigger guard only on one side, and the requirement to remove the Versacarry in order to attach the pistol to it. These are different factors - not "bad", but a function of the innovative design of the holster. 

 Most of us have a number of holsters in our carry 'wardrobe'. The Versacarry now has a place in mine. It's not my exclusive concealed carry holster solution, but there are times and places where it is a good choice.