A Perfect Combination

The Ruger LCP .380 in a D.M. Bullard Cross Draw holster

In Europe the round we call a .380 is referred to as the "9mm Kurtz", or 9mm "short". Which, basically it is. I think Ruger has done a great deal to make this caliber extremely popular with the average concealed carry person here in the USA. Now, I understand that there are a number of individuals and writers, many who are comfortable with the term "expert" even though that is handed around a little too readily in some circles, who will disregard and disrespect the .380 round and handgun. This is unfortunate because the modern self-defense .380 cartridge is an ideal choice for most concealed carry folks when coupled with a good, reliable pistol, such as the current generation Ruger LCP and a quality holster designed for how most of spend our days.
As I posted earlier, the FBI has decided that, all factors considered, the 9mm is the ideal handgun choice. I think the .380 (the "short" version of the standard 9mm) is also an excellent round when loaded with modern self defense bullets like the Hornady Critical Defense. My opinion about this goes beyond mere caliber and bullet ballistics, but includes more practical considerations for the average person. You have to look at the gun, ammunition and concealed carry holster as a system. They all must work in conjunction to provide the best firearm and concealment system for you. Not for a real expert or LEO or military operator with hundreds of hours of training to rely on, but for the average Joe or Jane who carries in daily life with minimal training.
Here is why I like this setup: the Ruger LCP is a very light, compact pistol, which, with the new generation trigger, is easy to shoot, is made in a safe double action configuration requiring no manual safety, is inexpensive and affordable for the average person and handles the modern .380 ammo.
The ammo is now easily capable of stopping a threat. I'm not talking about stopping power, which is more relevant to Sharps buffalo rifles or elephant guns than any pistol, but about deactivating and disposing of an immediate threat. Just the sight of a gun making a perp flee is "stopping the threat". That's the aim of a self defense weapon. Stopping the threat.
The remaining item in this system is just as important: the holster. A light compact pistol deserves an efficient, quality holster so that the weapon is carried as often as possible. Around the house, doing yard work, shopping for groceries, picking the kids up from school, driving the car, sitting anywhere. To my mind a good cross draw holster is perfect for this. See my much earlier and lengthy post on why the cross draw carry is much better than you may have been led to think. One major factor in favor of this style of carry for most of us is the fact that we spend most of our ordinary days sitting. Sitting in the car, in a restaurant, at our desks and in our homes. The cross draw is the perfect holster for this. Comfortable, accessible and concealable.
So, my own perfect carry system is a Ruger LCP loaded with modern self defense ammo and carried in a D.M. Bullard cross draw OWB holster. After using Bullard's holsters I know they are high quality and will do what they have been designed and built to do for years. There are a few other makers who specialize in leather gun gear, but none better than Dave Bullard's. Equal, perhaps, but not better.
As regular readers will note, I am a big fan of Bullard holsters. For good reason. I have carried and tested them for years and they work. Even better, after they break in, they become like old, comfortable friends that I can always count on. If this sounds like a plug for Dave's holsters, it is.
So, think about a perfect system for you. I believe a small, compact 9mm or .380 handgun loaded with modern self defense ammo in a good cross draw rig is about perfect.

Posted with Blogsy

Two Guns

The Ruger LCP in a D.M. Bullard Cross Draw holster

I think it is safe to day, two guns are better than one.

Of course, many people consider many guns to be better than one and if you are into guns, like guns, and collect guns, that is certainly true. But, for the person who is primarily, or solely, interested in concealed carry for protection, having too many guns isn't necessary or even desirable.

However, I want to put forward the case that for the average person who carries, two guns are better than one, even if only one is carried at a time.

Why would this be so? In my opinion, it is a good idea for most of us who are concealed carry gun owners because of the fact that much, if not most, of our day is spent at home and around the house and yard. Some percentage of our time is taken by activities that take us away from home, and some of these occur in places in which we are more likely to encounter individuals and circumstances that might require recourse to our carry weapon. The two general scenarios are suited to different carry guns. Here is why.

My basic premise is that if one has gone to the trouble and training to carry a concealed firearm, then it only makes sense to carry it as often as possible. Otherwise, what is the point? You don't buy insurance that is in force some of the time and not others, nor throw a spare tire in the trunk for some trips but not others. Why, then, leave your carry gun in a drawer, or locked in a safe some times, but not others? Although this makes logical sense, most people don't follow this general rule because, let's face it, carrying a gun all of the time, especially around the house, is a pain. Really. The damn thing is hanging off your belt, or poking you in the stomach or pressing on your hip bone. Maybe dragging at your ankle. (Why anyone would use an ankle holster if they weren't deep under cover or worked a corporate job in a suit, is beyond me.)

A shoulder holster at home? Forget it.

Good holsters will provide a greater level of comfort, but, in the end, after wearing your S&W or Glock all day around the house, you'll know it. You get used to it, but never really like it.

What's a person supposed to do? Not put your gun in a drawer someplace. As we all know, even though it's unlikely, bad things can happen to good people any time, any place, and that includes while you are in the back room going through boxes for that next yard sale, or in the garage kicking the lawn mower. "Oh, pardon me an sec, Mr. Bad Guy, I need to dash into the house/back room/den/office to retrieve my gun."

So, for me, the solution is to carry an effective but small and light handgun around the house. One that is comfortable because it's small and light, but effective enough by itself, or will buy me time to get to a larger weapon if the need dictates. This smaller gun, in a quality and comfortable holster that is always with me, will ensure that I have access to a firearm when and if it is needed.

Yes, the caliber police and the capacity monitors will not take kindly to the notion of a lightweight, small, and small caliber gun, but a simple reality check is enough to defuse those overworked arguments: any gun is better than no gun when you need one. Period.

My choice for AHC (around the house carry) is a new model Ruger LCP. It is "light" and "compact" as they say. It has an improved trigger for better shooting accuracy – put a LaserMax on it and the accuracy goes way up – and it fires the modern .380 self defense loads which are fine. I haven't yet heard of a big-caliber supporter who would volunteer to be shot with a .380 to demonstrate how weak-kneed the round is. Really.

A couple of good holsters and you have a system that you can carry comfortably around the house all day. Keep it on as a back up, or swap it out for something a bit larger with more capacity if you need to carry in a situation and place that you think requires it.

Be safe.

Some preliminary thoughts about the carry part of concealed carry.

As we all know there are many different approaches to designing and making holsters for carrying a handgun concealed. I have tried and tested many of them, and written about many in this blog. I think the main reason why we accumulate so many different holsters over time is that we initially don't answer a fundamental question: what type of holster will I carry the most often and the most comfortably?

This is based upon the assumption that if one goes to all of the trouble to get a concealed carry permit, then one will be carrying a handgun whenever possible. What is the alternative? To guess when you will not be needing to protect yourself or others? How will you do that? So, given that many of us (not most, probably) who have a permit will have a gun on their person whenever possible, it makes sense that a holster has to be comfortable and useful enough to be with us constantly.

Concealed carry holsters have to meet basic criteria: be safe, provide quick and unencumbered access to the handgun, hold the weapon securely, be generally concealable and comfortable. It's the last part, "comfortable" that is the issue.

My opinion is that for most of us, the best carry position is the appendix followed by the cross draw. They a couple of important advantages: easy to access when sitting; and easily protected from grabs or from someone bumping into you and feeling that gun on your hip. But to effectively conceal in those positions, the gun and holster should be carried inside the waistband, or with an effective covering garment. Not always possible in warm weather. A really loose shirt will work if you carry in these positions OWB, but you will have places, times and positions where your gun will be obvious to bystanders. So, inside the waistband is called for in most situations. The bad part: comfort.

Holster makers have come up with various solutions to this IWB issue, and, if you carry long enough, and anything larger than an LCP-sized handgun, it becomes an issue. A good, firm leather holster for a medium sized handgun will, in order to offer a certain level of comfort, will be thick and wide. A good kydex IWB holster is much thinner, but will either stick you in the ribs with the slide (sweat) shield, or if it does not have one, with the pistol's slide. The hybrid models that provide a wide backing of leather with two clips and a kydex holster are difficult to put on and you have a foot-wide hunk of leather wrapped to your torso all day.

I think the same can be said about wearing one of these types at the strong-side positions, like 3, 4 or 5 o'clock for right hand shooters. Whichever position you choose, your pants and belt must wrap around the gun and the holster, creating a large bulge that is clamped to your body and is always there in your consciousness, pressing into your hip or stomach like a heavy parasite.

I used to dismiss those people who say or write that they just can't get used to IWB carry. I no longer do so, but have come to appreciate their position. I seem to naturally reach for an OWB holster for my everyday carry, especially around the house. If I'm going out for a half-hour or so, I am ok with IWB, but if it's going to be longer, especially if we are on a car trip for a day, I don't like it. I make my pistol accessible, but not on me, while driving. When I get out, it goes along too. But, more often in an OWB cross draw or on the strong side where I don't have to live with a hunk of leather, or kydex and a heavy handgun stuck in my pants.

Of course your mileage and preferences will vary. Many people don't mind IWB carry and it works for them. But, after a long time carrying I have come to the conclusion that I want a balance between access and comfort so I am tending to the OWB style for most of my carry situations.

Reducing the Inventory. Reducing Complexity. Re-focusing

Ruger SR9c, Comp-Tac Minotaur AIWB, Kytex mag holder.

Bond Arms Snake Slayer, Remora holster,
BA Ammo holder with .410 Personal Defense Rounds

As with so many shooters, my personal inventory of weapons, accessories and holsters has grown far beyond what I need to be well equipped for personal defense.

I also have the proverbial box of holsters, except in my case, it is a large drawer full of holsters. As readers of this blog will note, I've tried and analyzed many holsters over the past months, reporting on what I see as their good and bad points relative to self defense carry. There are many different designs and executions of those designs. There are many ways to carry spare ammunition, a subject that really doesn't lend itself to debate - if you carry for self defense, then be adequately prepared with extra ammo. A gun with no ammo doesn't work. It looks like a gun, but it don't shoot. Case closed.

Laser sights. Night sights. Grips. Mag extenders, modifications (which I don't recommend in general) to the gun... There are many, many ways to spend money on more stuff for more guns.

But, I've come to the conclusion, what's the point? If you are interested in guns, shooting, target practice, and all of that, then fine. There is little limit to what you can spend your money and concentration on. But, if you are primarily interested in carrying a gun for self defense, and the legitimate defense of other innocent people who may need protection, all of the 'noise' of more stuff isn't going to do you much good for a couple of reasons.

One, it really doesn't matter if you have a leather or kydex holster, or mag carrier. It doesn't matter if you carry a Model 1911 .45, or a LCP .380. Strong side carry, cross draw, appendix and anywhere else - it's not all that important to the main goal of being prepared with your pistol for self defense situations. "No," someone is going to say, "you're wrong." Then comes one of the standard arguments: caliber (bigger is better vrs. accuracy trumps caliber), carry style (cross draw is too vulnerable to gun-grabs, and slow vrs. cross draw is better for driving and sitting), or (IWB is too uncomfortable and harder to get to, vrs. OWB less concealable and  harder to get to...)

And so on.

Two, if you have four different holsters, three different styles (IWB, OWB, SOB) and five different guns, you are setting yourself up for confusion, uncertainty and delay when, as the Marines so accurately put it, the shit hits the fan. Take the Bond Arms derringer and the Ruger SR9c for example. I had both of these guns - still have the Ruger - and can speak from experience. As the photos demonstrate above, carrying them in the same manner still presents significant differences and potential difficulties. It's easy enough when I'm just practicing moves like drawing from concealment, safety, presentation, reloading, but if that SHTF moment ever comes, I will be suddenly in full blown, adrenaline fueled, get-it-done-right-now mode. No luxury or time for consideration of what's in my waistband, or where, exactly, it's located.

If I'm carrying the Ruger with the manual safety on (I don't, but I don't recommend this practice to anyone. You have to make your own choices.), I have to click it off when I draw. If I'm carrying the derringer, the safety will be off, but I have to cock the hammer. It's a single action. (Which barrel will fire first? The bottom one for more accuracy and recoil control, if I've remembered to set the hammer accordingly.)

I can quickly squeeze off two, three or four shots (or more) with the Ruger with simple trigger presses. I have to re-cock the derringer with the thumb of my weak hand before I can shoot a second time. Third shot with the derringer? Well, first in the midst of all this fear, panic and craziness, I have to open the barrel latch, swing the barrels up and over, lock them there with my shooting hand thumb, strip out the two shotgun hulls, reach to my ammo carrier, lever up two shells so I can grab two together, bring them up to the gun, which I hope I've remembered to lock upright into my field of vision so I can also assess the situation while seeing the empty chambers, slide two shells into the barrels - all the way in - and close and lock the barrels into the frame. Oh, then I have to re-cock the hammer.

By then, I might be dead.

With the Ruger, once I've emptied the magazine, which will be eleven to eighteen rounds, depending, I have to push the mag release button, hold the gun into my field of view, slide a new magazine from the holder on my weak side, and slap it home and slap the slide back into battery.

Confusion. Mistakes. Too many options for a time that demands simplicity and clarity.

I am simplifying. The Snake Slayer, a fine handgun, is on the block. Someone will like it and find a good use for it. I don't spend much time afoot in snake country, although there are a few 'wild' dogs around here that would benefit from a face full of #4 shot. My holster collection is being reduced to a few that are simple, effective and concealable. I am carrying in only two locations on my body and none of my holsters are so comfortable that I 'forget I have it on'. That's pretty much BS anyway. Your conscious mind will become attuned to a good holster, but it doesn't forget where it is.

There are times and occasions when a good OWB holster works well and is appropriate, like a long day on your feet, walking, at the fair, around town. There are times when appendix carry is better, like in the car, or at the coffee shop or restaurant. Even walking around. My holster requirements have gone down by at least 50%.

The carry guns I depend on now, both Rugers - the SR9c and the LCP look and operate much the same way. Yes, I know that the LCP is hammer fired and the SR9c is striker fired, the triggers are very different, and the magazine capacities are very different. But, my hand and brain knows which is which when I put my hand on the gun and it knows how to achieve a self-defense sight alignment quickly (and when it's too close-quarters to worry about sight, or slide, alignment) with either. All I have to do then is press the trigger. Repeatedly, if necessary.

A couple of simple, effective and reasonably comfortable holsters for each pistol, one for AWIB, one for strong side carry. That's it.

If I need a separate mag carrier, I go with one from Kytex. I've reviewed them on this blog and I still recommend them. None better. With a gun in either carry position, the Kytex mag holder and spare mag is always in the same place. Don't have to worry about that.

Re-focusing
Finally, simplicity applied to self defense shooting itself.
The internet can be a good thing. Yes, there is a lot of crap flying around out there, especially regarding guns, self-defense, the Second Amendment and all, but I watched a couple of enlightening videos recently that I recommend to you. One was an interview by Rob Pincus with Lt. Col. Dave Grossman a literate, educated, soldier, former LEO and student of violence and combat, consultant and author of a Pulitzer nominated book on those topics. He was discussing the concept of the "sheepdog", the title of his new children's book. Now, I'd much earlier seen a video by Nut N Fancy, who is certainly opinionated and knowledgeable, but whose attitudes I don't always agree with. My understanding of 'sheepdog' then was that people who considered themselves to be that kind of person were arrogant and looked down on everyone else, who they, the sheepdogs, were out to protect. Whether the sheep liked it or not. An odious concept at best.

However, hearing Lt. Col. Grossman's explanation of the sheepdog cast a new light on this concept. There are people who rather than run from trouble, run toward it in order to deal with it. Fire fighters. Cops. Military. Teachers in 'bad' schools. Counselors. First responders. The 'average citizen' who rushes in to help or save. These are all sheepdogs and they don't look down on the people who are not. I believe anyone who elects to legally carry a gun for defense must consider themselves to have accepted the role, to some extent, of a sheepdog, if only for one's self and one's family. I believe the commitment goes much further and that, and it becomes a duty of protecting the innocent whenever that is truly necessary, whether through the use of a firearm, or jumping into a burning house trailer to rescue a trapped person. No one can make someone else be a sheepdog, but if you are carrying a gun for defense, you've already signed up.

I have to remark here that on a gun forum I used to moderate we had a few posters who declared that if they were ever in a place where a random shooter went active, their main and only responsibility was to get away to safety. Why, I asked, were the posters carrying a gun in the first place? I would wonder how a person could live with themselves if they had the possibility and means to stop such violence and they crawled out the nearest exit instead.

Re-focusing on the basics of shooting for defense. Obviously, when pushed to the point where there is no alternative but to shoot your weapon, one then is forced from the defensive to the offensive as a matter of survival. Offensive shooting with a handgun is not difficult. Anyone can learn the basics of drawing, presentation to the main target area and squeezing off rounds. You don't have to hit the bull's eye, or the 10 ring. You just have to put rounds into your target, which at normal self defense shooting distances of around 10 to 15 feet, is not difficult to do. If a normal person trains to do only this, that is all that is needed to be effective at self defense shooting.

And, accepting the fact that you are a sheepdog and you are able and committed to shooting the bad guy(s) if required.

Keep it simple. Restrict the number of your carry guns. Two, or three at the most. Make sure they are well maintained and you can shoot accurately enough to hit a man-sized target repeatedly and quickly. Carry in only one or two locations on your person. Avoid fancy or trick holsters. Keep it simple. No matter which caliber or calibers you choose, make sure you can shoot them accurately.

Where it is legal, always carry your gun.
Where it is legal, always carry your gun.
Where it is legal, always carry your gun.

D.M. Bullard OWB Cross Draw - Excellence from Texas

The D.M. Bullard OWB Cross Draw (front)

the rear view

First off, an admission of prejudice: I really like great leather holsters, and, being a native Texan, and having been born in Fort Worth, I am partial to Texas craftsmen and women who work in gun leather. Given all that, this is not what you'd call a strictly unbiased review, but that takes nothing away from David Bullard and his hand-picked crew's craftsmanship, attention to detail and customer service.

I admire Bullard holsters. In fact, I admire and own several holsters, mag carriers and a wallet made by David and his folks in Azle, Texas, which is affixed to the outskirts of Fort Worth itself. I have his Bodyguard design holsters for my LCP and LC9, along with single leather mag carriers for the LC9 and the SR9c. I also use his Bandit belt slide holster for my SR9c. I am very happy with all of these, and when wearing my pistols OWB, which is my preferred style of carry, my guns ride in Bullard holsters. Lately, I have been also carrying in the cross draw position, which is very good for car travel and for when you know you'll be doing a lot of sitting. I have heard all of the old negative opinions of cross draw, but I also know that cross draw has certain advantages that that strong-side carry does not when used for concealed carry. But, more on that later. So, wanting a OWB holster for my chunky, somewhat heavy SR9c, I contacted Bullard Gun Leather ( http://dmbullardleather.com ) and requested one of his cross draw holsters. It came a couple of days ago, and this is my first write up on it.

I am in what the techies call the "honeymoon period". I'm smitten by the holster's design, craftsmanship and obvious quality. This is not hard to understand when you look at the photos. To borrow an old, but true engineering maxim, form follows function, and like the other Bullard holsters and leather pieces I have, this maxim is expressed in leather about as well as it can be. The holster offers nothing superfluous - everything is there for a reason. The moulding to the weapon is exact. The fit is perfect and the execution is about as good as top-quality hand made gun leather can be. Look at it closely and you can tell it is hand made. It's not perfect. It's the result of the knowledgeable labor of human hands. Really good stuff.

But, looks aren't everything. Having worked my way though many holsters, not to mention various other kinds of technology, over the years, I know that first impressions can be misleading. I am well acquainted with the other OWB holsters I have by David, and feel they are among the best of their type, but a good OWB cross draw holster is not easy to design nor to make, if it is to perform well to my three main criteria: concealment, comfort and accessibility. I have had other OWB cross draw holsters, some leather, some hybrid, but none that I stuck with after wearing and testing them for a few weeks. All concealment gun holsters must effect a compromise among those three criteria, and it is up to the holster maker and designer to find the best combination of design and materials that will offer the best of those three worlds melded together, depending on whether the holster will be carried Inside the Waist Band (IWB) or Outside the Waist Band (OWB). The requirements and limitations are different for those two types. Questions must be asked and answered by the holster maker. Will it be OWB or IWB? What carry positions? Materials? Deep concealment or a high ride for better access? Cant - none, shallow, steep? There is a lot of thought and experiment that goes into a well designed holster.

The first criteria, concealment, is especially important in a cross draw OWB holster. Carrying in this position will put the butt of the pistol forward, pointing the butt toward the midline of the body which, if not done in such a way as to pull the grip in to the body, is a recipe for printing. Concealment with OWB cross draw holsters is also affected to a great degree by body type.

If one is pushing a bit (or a lot) of stomach flab, then carrying a substantial firearm in the cross draw position results in much better concealment than if one is skinny, or doesn't possess a significant 'gut'. Blunt, but true. The bigger stomach tends to hide the butt of the gun better with a cross draw rig. Although I'm 6' 3" and stay right at 200 lbs, I don't have much of a gut, so this is an aspect of OWB cross draw carry that is particularly important for me.

After unwrapping the holster I was basically blown away by the quality and, yes, the beauty of the thing. I took the photos you see here so to present it in the new, pristine condition in which I received it. I then strapped it on with my Bear Creek 1 1/2" gun belt, pushed in the unloaded SR9c and checked out the fit and concealment.

For my body type, this holster with the heavier SR9c requires a tight belt and proper placement to get the best concealment. The forward slot of the holster pulls the gun butt in close to the body and, by adjusting the position of the holster to be astride the forward part of my left hip bone, I got the best fit to my body type. The gun carries comfortably and relatively snugly, but it's obvious that I won't be carrying this with just a T-shirt. But I didn't intend to do that in the first place. Around here, come September, the weather begins to cool rapidly, and at 7000 feet, we expect snow any time after that. For the best part of the year we are in heavy sweaters, coats, vests or parkas, depending on Mother Nature, so concealment with this setup is not going to be an issue. I tend to carry much of the time IWB in the summer anyway.

As you can also tell from the photos, the holster is exactly moulded to the gun. It fits in with almost a 'click'. I learned from Doug Childress of Bear Creek Holsters to wrap a couple of turns of kitchen plastic wrap around the gun, fit it in the holster a few times, leave it for a half hour of so and then unwrap it. Gun still fits tight like it should, but the holster is now "broken in" and the draw and re-holstering is smoother and as it should be.

I will be using and reporting on this new Cross Draw holster from D.M. Bullard, along with my other OWB Bullards over the next few months. I am not a big fan of pocket carry, and I use my Uncle George back pocket holster when I do carry my little LCP in the pocket. I am not totally satisfied with my various IWB holsters for the LC9 and the SR9c and when this new one has been well used and evaluated, I hope to look into David's various IWB designs. He has some very innovative holsters.

So, in the initial stages, I am very pleased with this new cross draw design from David Bullard, and the materials and workmanship are among the best there is. As we get acquainted I will continue to report on the results.

Stay safe.

Precise moulding seen on the sweat shield.

David's Maker's Mark

Excellent moulding on the 'front' side.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Looking for that Cross Draw Holster

As much as I like D.M. Bullard's leather holsters (I have three of them and two mag carriers) I am looking for a less expensive alternative to cross draw holsters. I also like Remora holsters and have found that they function very well in the cross draw position and are very easy to get on and off, and to re-adjust if necessary. They seldom shift position and only do so if you do a bunch of extreme up and down movements, like bending way over and squatting, etc. Even then, they don't tend to move much. It's more in my mind than in actuality. The thing I don't like, and it's not particular to Remoras, it having it shoved inside my waistband. It's fine for a few hours, but for an all day carry, it gets wearisome for me. Some people don't mind at all, but they like IWB carry anyway, no matter what holster they use.

I am looking for a good alternative OWB cross draw holster. I found interesting ones at texasdonkeys.com which is also Rising Star Holsters. Jim Crawford is the owner and holster maker and he does a very nice job of making holsters of Herman Oak leather. I bought an LC9 cross draw OWB from him. It was a beauty but with the size of the LC9 that particular design did not work out well. The holster had a large, long belt loop but because of the size and weight of the LC9, that design did not pull the butt of the gun in close enough for good concealment. I called Jim and discussed this with him and we agreed to exchange the LC9 cross draw for an LCP cross draw. The smaller size and weight of the LCP should keep the gun in proper position. I should receive it in a day or two so I will report, with photos, the results.

For the LC9, not to mention the SR9c, an OWB holster must have a design capable of pulling the butt of the pistol into the body. Jim's other designs, for larger guns, have two "loops", one on the back and one on the 'inboard' side of the holster nearer the belt buckle, which should do that nicely. I haven't tried one yet. I might as Jim's work is first class and the design looks right.

On aspect of cross draw holsters that are overdone in my opinion is the tendency of makers to put a significant cant on the holster. I don't think this is necessary for quick access, nor is it a feature that helps conceal the pistol. A cross draw position is more difficult to hide due to the fact that the butt of the gun points toward your midline, getting the butt closer to the belt buckle and closer to view if you are wearing an unbuttoned shirt, or more prone to printing under a loose shirt. If the gun is worn more straight up-and-down, the butt is further away from midline and tends to tuck in close to your body reducing printing and visibility. For example, today, going for a quick morning walk with my wife, I grabbed the SR9c in the Remora and wore it IWB, cross draw, straight drop (vertical, no cant), under a light sweater. Invisible, fairly comfortable and as easy to get to as a holster with a cant.

My experience with D.M. Bullard's work is that his designs work, and work well, and the end product fits the gun it is designed and made for and will last as long as the gun lasts, certainly longer than I will. But, at this point the demand for his holsters far exceeds his output. He's expanded and is training more help, but his standards are so high that it will be a long time before his lead time gets back to "reasonable". Right now, if he starts taking custom orders again, it is still likely to be three or four months. And you can expect to pay a premium for his work, which I do not begrudge him. It's worth it.

So, the search goes on. I have enough carry systems to be effective now so I'm in no great hurry to find the best cross draw setup. I'll report here from time to time on my findings.