Initial Impressions: Little Foxx Holster for the SR9c

Little Foxx Holster with the Ruger SR9c

Tuckable J clip

After learning about Foxx Holsters from a posting on The Ruger Pistols Forum, I contacted Raymond, the owner and brain trust behind the company and discussed reviewing one of the line. I like hybrid holsters and have used and tested a few. These appeared to be well made and not overly large, and more intriguing, is Raymond's policy of zero shipping charges and his unconditional warranty. You can also try it for fourteen days to see if it is the right one for you. All this for $39. Hard to beat!

We settled on the Little Foxx model since I am primarily interested in cross-draw carry. I received a new Little Foxx Holster on Monday.

http://www.foxxholsters.com

Prompt shipment. It arrived in a bubble padded heavy envelope and in perfect condition. This holster is obviously made by someone who takes pride in his work. It was solidly constructed, smooth edges on the kydex and the leather. Leather edges of the backing are smoothed and dyed as well.

All of the rivets holding the kydex to the holster are flush and undamaged. The SR9c fit is right on and the moulding is perfect right down to the sight channel. The big, heavy low-profile kydex clip is fastened to the bottom of the kydex shell with two Chicago screws providing solid lockup and good alignment. The bottom attachment allows the holster to be worn either with the shirt tucked or not. I like that. I also like it that the clip does not have a "tail", which I find may catch on overgarments with hems, like some sweaters or sweatshirts.

Little Foxx, back side - the one next to you.

The SR9c is held somewhat loosely in the holster when the gun and holster are not attached to the belt and inside the waistband. This, I believe, is a design feature. When properly worn, the tension of the belt (and you should always use a belt made specifically for carrying a gun in a holster to get the best benefits from your holster regardless of make) and the fact that the leather backing will give a bit to conform to your body shape, tightens the kydex around the gun enough to make very positive retention yet an easy and smooth draw.

The Foxx holster was comfortable from the first wearing, and has proven to remain so over the intervening days I've been using it, and it is my main carry holster in order to provide good feedback and data for this review. At this point, I am carrying in my usual cross-draw position. If you will look back in the archives here, you will see posts concerning cross-draw and why I believe it has gotten an uncritical hearing and a bad rap. See especially the article by Mr. Campbell I've referenced for an experienced LEO's opinion. So, because that's my preferred carry position, I'll be evaluating the holster against my other IWB cross-draw carry units.

The primary competition for the Foxx holster is the N82 Tactical Pro IWB.

I have taken some comparison photos to illustrate the differences between the two holsters.

N82 Tactical Pro and the Little Foxx

Little Foxx superimposed on the N82 Tactical Pro for a size comparison.

The Foxx is considerably smaller and lighter than the N82. The Foxx uses lightweight kydex for the shell while the N82 uses a moulded thicker plastic. The kydex has 'give', the moulded plastic does not. With belt and body pressure, the Foxx kydex shell conforms a bit to the gun shape and this helps to 'lock' the pistol into the holster against the leather. The N82 depends on a small part of the moulding of the plastic shell to engage the front of the trigger guard to hold and retain the gun in the holster. This works well, but in order to release the trigger guard from the protruding plastic part in the trigger guard, one has to grasp the butt and give a small inward twist to release the pistol before it can be drawn. This is not as onerous as it sounds, but it is one other motion required to draw that is not present in other designs, like the Fox.

At this point, comfort is a toss-up. The Foxx is light, somewhat flexible and no larger than it needs to be. The top part of the slide is covered by leather but the grips are not. Some might call this a combat grip, but I prefer to think of it as an open grip. Combat, like 'tactical', is a term better applied to law enforcement or the military than a civilian rig meant for concealed carry. I might have to draw my weapon in self defense, but I don't plan to be going into combat with it. For that, I'd rather have a rifle.
Even with the open grip design, which I prefer, the Foxx is comfortable.

The N82 uses a kind of neoprene sandwich, with soft leather against the body and leather against the gun. The neoprene inside provides a good level of 'softness', comfort is a better word, and prevents sweat from migrating through to the weapon. However, I suspect the leather backing on the Foxx will provide an equally effective sweat barrier. No part of the gun touches your body with the N82. This does contribute to the outstanding comfort of the holster, but adds mass, area and closes the grip area to an extend. Combined with the need to twist then draw I find this is an inhibiting draw factor compared to the Foxx and similar 'open grip' holster designs. Bear in mind, however, that these factors are highly personal. What might be a negative for one person may have no effect, or be a positive attribute to another. I can only state my personal preferences.

Back sides of both holsters. The N82 showing the result of sweat marks from last summer.

So, it is early in the game but at this point I like what I see. And what I feel. The only negative issue relates to my cross-draw preference. I've come to find that most holster makers do not consider the effects of the cross draw position in their designs. And, I'm not speaking of strictly cross-draw designed holsters, but only for those that are designed to be worn IWB and can be positioned effectively in the cross-draw position. I've yet to examine other IWB holsters for this aspect other than the Foxx and a short while ago, the Versacarry. (See this blog: Versacarry Review and Field Notes post.)

In short, some holsters may position the Ruger SR9/40 series semiautomatic pistols such that, in the cross-draw orientation, the magazine release button is underneath the waistband material and the belt. If the belt is thick, as a good gun belt should be, and the wearer bends forward sharply, the pressure of the body pushing the gun and holster outward against the belt, can cause the magazine release button to be depressed enough to eject the magazine. This is definitely not good.

Note the top of the J clip, where the top of the belt will be, in the cross-draw carry, positions the belt over (covering) the magazine release button. This can, in certain circumstances when bending severely forward, press the button and release the magazine. However, the J clip is adjustable to prevent this.

If carrying the SR9 series in the cross-draw orientation, radical negative cants, such as pictured above, should be avoided to eliminate the magazine release issue possibility.

I have verified this issue with the Versacarry. With the Foxx holster, if the clip is positioned with too much negative cant (possible by using a left-hand carry clip on a right-hand cross draw orientation - see the photo above) this can happen as well. However, with the normal clip positioned in its most up-and-down (straight drop) orientation, the configuration of the clip, holster and gun is such that the magazine release button should never drop below the top of the belt line. So, there should be no concern about this if the proper clip is used and positioned right.

With the proper clip and orientation, the top of the belt should never rise above the magazine release button.

For most people, this is not a concern since only a small minority of us cranks insist on carrying cross-draw. (Good luck getting to your weapon in a hurry when you are belted into your seat or sitting down wearing a shirt, sweater and/or coat and your pistol is somewhere behind your hip.) Sorry, had to get that in... However, I do wish makers of good IWB holsters that can be worn cross-draw take into consideration protection of the magazine release where appropriate to do so.

I've only begun to evaluate the Foxx IWB for my SR9c. I will continue to give it a real-world field test and report back here on my findings. At this point, I am very pleased with the holster and anticipate it will become a regular in my small lineup of IWB holsters for this gun. And, I forgot to mention, the Foxx holster