It’s the little things, Intro.
It’s the little things.
Very rarely does something come from the factory optimized for the dude that's going to use it. While it’s true that a professional is going to use the tool that's in his hand to get the job done, it doesn't mean that it’s not ok to optimize that tool long before it’s needed to do work. I’m not even remotely going to talk about changing out triggers on a carry gun or any of that. I’m talking about the little things and that topic is kind of a big thing with a whole host of concerns to weigh.
I remember getting my first Safariland 6004 back in the early 2000s and thinking, “This fucking thing goes to my knee” Now, I’m sure their average dude at the R&D team is taller than I am, but as it was designed, it didn't at all meet my needs. I had a BCS armor system that used a wraparound soft armor underneath plates, and I was looking to move the pistol away from that thick kevlar wing that wrapped around my side. Me being short, those two things were essentially trying to occupy the same space. That is a recurring theme, rifles, pistol, magazines, hell any of the gear stowed on the body does not change in size just because the user shrinks. But that’s another gear article for another day but does illustrate the point that the folks at Safariland did not design the 6004 around me and my needs. Yes, that setup put the gun away from my armor, my hand, and my waist, and everything but my knee.
I had heard of the internet, and luckily back in those days, there were some good places to go for some quality information to be shared. I wasn't the only guy who didn't need to replicate an ankle rig with his drop leg holster and there were cats sharing modifications they made to turn a 6004 to a mid-rise instead of a low rise holster, cutting the shroud and making it a single leg strap. Super easy and quick. My holster mirrored that within minutes. I don't have that holster or that armor setup and haven't for over a decade. I wish I knew where there were some photos of it to share.
There are a lot of things that fall into this category, these minor alterations to make shit more usable without sacrificing reliability or safe use. Things that don't become crutches that are required in order to use the gear. I promise you, my mid-rise holster did not prevent me from using any other holsters. We’re going to continue this article as a series over on Patreon, maybe a few of them will find their way to the blog too. They might not be as long as this one, but we’ll try to keep them coming out regularly. Since I don't have any of the gear from my previous example, I’m going to go ahead and start with the first one, and we'll stick with holsters, and we’ll keep it little (like ¼” little).
I’ve been running an OWB Kydex holster on my Gunbelt with no drop and no offset for years now. I don't find myself wearing gear that interferes with a high and tight holster placement, and frankly, I can't stand a pistol sticking so far off my side that I cant sit in a car seat, no matter how easy and cheater-like it is to get a good draw from it while standing still on a flat range. I prefer that the pistol be as unobtrusive as possible.
I’ve been using this OWB holster from Yetitac for quite some time. I spec’d out the wings as the attachment method because the pistol rides closer to me if the attachment isn't between me and the holster. However, it gives the holster a larger footprint front to back. For my needs, that's a non-issue. That belt has a pistol, a knife, and two pistol magazines on it. Plenty of real estate to work with. A while back, when I altered how I draw a pistol* from my EDC, IWB holster; it led me to reevaluate how my OWB, non-concealed gunbelt is set up. I didn't need to change a thing, but I was easily able to tuck my pistol ¼” closer to my body simply by rearranging how it was bolted together.
I removed the wings from behind the holster and bolted them on the front.
Aesthetic? Nope. I’m sure Bill over at YetiTac thinks it looks ugly, especially since he went to the trouble of making me a cool fabric-wrapped holster. Recently a student saw this and asked me “Why is your holster assembled incorrectly?” I told him the same thing I typed here, it was just to make it a little lower profile. Function over form and all of that jazz. He nodded and said, “Makes total sense.” Now, I’m willing to bet that he will keep his dropped and offset holster because for his needs of coming to class or going to the range, having it stick a few inches away from his hip works out best. He’s not concerned with fitting in a car while wearing it or getting it hung up on the various pieces of terrain he might find himself in. But those are important to me, so I made alterations to my gear. Pretty simple, and it doesn't interfere with my ability to use any other gear I may stumble across nor does it make this holster any less reliable.
As I make the move from M&Ps to Sig 365s, I’m going to make that holster even lower profile simply by reducing the girth of the gun that it holds. As soon as I get it set up, there will be photos on the socials. Here is our first installment of “It’s the little things” check Patreon for some more shortly.
* For a complete rundown of my new drawstroke, think about attending Dynamic Pistol.
Very rarely does something come from the factory optimized for the dude that's going to use it. While it’s true that a professional is going to use the tool that's in his hand to get the job done, it doesn't mean that it’s not ok to optimize that tool long before it’s needed to do work. I’m not even remotely going to talk about changing out triggers on a carry gun or any of that. I’m talking about the little things and that topic is kind of a big thing with a whole host of concerns to weigh.
I remember getting my first Safariland 6004 back in the early 2000s and thinking, “This fucking thing goes to my knee” Now, I’m sure their average dude at the R&D team is taller than I am, but as it was designed, it didn't at all meet my needs. I had a BCS armor system that used a wraparound soft armor underneath plates, and I was looking to move the pistol away from that thick kevlar wing that wrapped around my side. Me being short, those two things were essentially trying to occupy the same space. That is a recurring theme, rifles, pistol, magazines, hell any of the gear stowed on the body does not change in size just because the user shrinks. But that’s another gear article for another day but does illustrate the point that the folks at Safariland did not design the 6004 around me and my needs. Yes, that setup put the gun away from my armor, my hand, and my waist, and everything but my knee.
I had heard of the internet, and luckily back in those days, there were some good places to go for some quality information to be shared. I wasn't the only guy who didn't need to replicate an ankle rig with his drop leg holster and there were cats sharing modifications they made to turn a 6004 to a mid-rise instead of a low rise holster, cutting the shroud and making it a single leg strap. Super easy and quick. My holster mirrored that within minutes. I don't have that holster or that armor setup and haven't for over a decade. I wish I knew where there were some photos of it to share.
There are a lot of things that fall into this category, these minor alterations to make shit more usable without sacrificing reliability or safe use. Things that don't become crutches that are required in order to use the gear. I promise you, my mid-rise holster did not prevent me from using any other holsters. We’re going to continue this article as a series over on Patreon, maybe a few of them will find their way to the blog too. They might not be as long as this one, but we’ll try to keep them coming out regularly. Since I don't have any of the gear from my previous example, I’m going to go ahead and start with the first one, and we'll stick with holsters, and we’ll keep it little (like ¼” little).
I’ve been running an OWB Kydex holster on my Gunbelt with no drop and no offset for years now. I don't find myself wearing gear that interferes with a high and tight holster placement, and frankly, I can't stand a pistol sticking so far off my side that I cant sit in a car seat, no matter how easy and cheater-like it is to get a good draw from it while standing still on a flat range. I prefer that the pistol be as unobtrusive as possible.
I’ve been using this OWB holster from Yetitac for quite some time. I spec’d out the wings as the attachment method because the pistol rides closer to me if the attachment isn't between me and the holster. However, it gives the holster a larger footprint front to back. For my needs, that's a non-issue. That belt has a pistol, a knife, and two pistol magazines on it. Plenty of real estate to work with. A while back, when I altered how I draw a pistol* from my EDC, IWB holster; it led me to reevaluate how my OWB, non-concealed gunbelt is set up. I didn't need to change a thing, but I was easily able to tuck my pistol ¼” closer to my body simply by rearranging how it was bolted together.
I removed the wings from behind the holster and bolted them on the front.
Aesthetic? Nope. I’m sure Bill over at YetiTac thinks it looks ugly, especially since he went to the trouble of making me a cool fabric-wrapped holster. Recently a student saw this and asked me “Why is your holster assembled incorrectly?” I told him the same thing I typed here, it was just to make it a little lower profile. Function over form and all of that jazz. He nodded and said, “Makes total sense.” Now, I’m willing to bet that he will keep his dropped and offset holster because for his needs of coming to class or going to the range, having it stick a few inches away from his hip works out best. He’s not concerned with fitting in a car while wearing it or getting it hung up on the various pieces of terrain he might find himself in. But those are important to me, so I made alterations to my gear. Pretty simple, and it doesn't interfere with my ability to use any other gear I may stumble across nor does it make this holster any less reliable.
As I make the move from M&Ps to Sig 365s, I’m going to make that holster even lower profile simply by reducing the girth of the gun that it holds. As soon as I get it set up, there will be photos on the socials. Here is our first installment of “It’s the little things” check Patreon for some more shortly.
* For a complete rundown of my new drawstroke, think about attending Dynamic Pistol.
Comments
Pliskin86 said:
That’s a good idea. I just picked up a safari land light bearing holster for my battle belt, and bought the mid rise adapter. It works pretty well. I haven’t tried donning it in my truck. But I also need to rearrange the whole belt as it is for my needs and where it’s stored. Keep these articles coming bro!