Category Archives: Holster

OK SDA

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Recently, renewing my carry permit has been in the back of my mind, as it has been almost five years since my permit was issued. There have been more pressing things to attend to, and I got sidetracked, but I started researching what I needed to do when we got back from the NRA Convention in Houston. My permit was set to expire in about five weeks. The state’s website advises that the renewal application may take 60-90 days to process. Crap. It also reads that one may apply for renewal within 90-days of expiration. They do allow a 30-day grace period after expiration, but apparently we’re supposed to get our application in exactly 90-days prior to expiration. Lovely. So, Jennifer and I got our applications sent in last week. Her original permit got issued after mine, so she should be in her grace period when her new permit comes in, if they take as long as they are rumored to. I, on the other hand, will likely have to leave my gun at home for a couple of weeks. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you probably had some idea that this was going on.

This morning I got a letter in the mail from the OSBI. Surely that couldn’t be in response to my application already! I felt the envelope, and it clearly didn’t contain a renewed permit, but only paper. Surely they didn’t already review my renewal application and find some reason to not issue me a new permit! I don’t know why I get so paranoid when it comes to these dealings. I tenuously opened the letter. It appears to be an auto-generated letter sent to notify me that my permit expires next month and that I should apply for renewal. *head scratch* It seems to me that this would be significantly more useful if they sent them out 90-days prior rather than 30-days prior to expiration, considering that if one waits until the last few weeks, one is pretty well guaranteed to be out of a permit for a while. And, if they’re not going to be any more helpful than that, why even waste the paper and postage? There’s our tax dollars at work. *sigh*

UPDATE – Jennifer tells me that the payments to the state have cleared our account, so apparently they’ve received our applications and have done SOMETHING. I’ll update you when we see permits.

When You’re Holding a Hammer…

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You probably saw the title of this post and thought, “everything looks like a nail.” Anyway, I’ve been thinking about the common attitude among many LEOs that perceive themselves to be part of an elite class. Don’t get me wrong – I have many dear friends who work in law enforcement. I don’t mean this to be a blanket statement to cover them all. However, with the crap going on in LA I’ve been reminded of some of my less pleasant interactions with law enforcement.

I had to serve jury duty several years ago. I thought that I wrote about it, but I can’t find any more than a passing mention in my archives. I was out of work for three days, reading a novel and waiting. I never even got interviewed for a case. It was pretty much horrible. The afternoon that they released me, I exited the courthouse with a skip and a jump and proceeded to the office to see how badly they’d screwed up my work in my absence.

Each of those days I’d drive to the parking building where I was supposed to leave my car, I’d unload and stash my gun, and proceed into the courthouse. Just inside the front door there was a metal detector and armed security with wands. The courthouse was attached to the jail, so security was pretty tight. One day on my way in, this little female officer was searching me. I’d emptied my personal effects into a bowl along with my shoes and belt which they put through the X-ray. The officer was wanding me down and stopped at my jacket pockets.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“What’s what?” I returned.

“There’s something in that pocket,” she explained, “What is it?”

By this point I was beginning to run short on time, and was losing patience, “It’s a little cedar block,” I explained, “There’s another one in this pocket and yet another in this one.”

“Let me see,” she demanded.

So, I pulled the cedar blocks out of my pockets and handed them to her. “See?” I said, “Now can I go?”

She then asked, “Why do you have cedar blocks in your pockets?”

“I’m just trying to keep the moths out of my wool,” I explained, “this is an Armani suit and I’d like it to not get eaten.”

“You know,” she said with skepticism, “people like to take these and burn their drugs on them.”

“I wouldn’t know anything about that,” I said resolutely, “They are moth repellent to me.”

“It’s suspicious for you to have them in your pockets,” she pushed.

“No it’s not,” I posited, “it’s responsible ownership of good wool.”

She finally let me go and I did make it in time for check in. I’ve had other experiences similar to this where a LEO was treating me as an inferior, but this was the worst. For whatever reason, I never think to get the officer’s badge number and name at the time. Anyway, what strikes me is that this officer had dealt with so many convicted criminals that she had become jaded to the point of it being impossible to see a law-abiding citizen for what they were. She just knew that there was something wrong with me. She was going to figure it out, even though there was nothing there. This is a problem. I should not have to justify a harmless piece of cedar in the pocket of my Armani jacket. The very thought of it is asinine. I see this as a manifestation of the same problem that the trigger-happy cops in LA displayed last week. They’ve been so screwed in the head that everyone and everything looks like the boogeyman to them. In my opinion, if you get to that level of paranoid delusional, they should have long since taken your badge away before you shoot someone or harass someone reporting for jury duty. The little deputy who submitted me to that grilling didn’t draw on anyone that day, but she was showing a gross lack of judgment all the same.

Glock Ugliness – Are They Anti?

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I’d be shocked if any of my readers didn’t know that I make holsters at this point. One of the many questions that I get asked on a regular basis is how I mold the leather to each individual gun. Most people don’t really care what the mechanics of the process are so much as wondering how I have an example of so many different types of guns. When I first started this as a hobby on the side, I usually either borrowed a gun for the process or used my own gun if it happened to match. That is no longer feasible and I now use dummy guns. I have a lot of dummy guns. Just to give an example, I have something like four different 1911 variants, i.e. Colt safeties, extended safeties, railed frame, and a Coonan. I actually have three different Glocks, and I have more pocket pistols than anything else.

The guns that I use for patterning and forming are either cast solid aluminum, or Blueguns, manufactured by Rings. This is pretty standard for holster makers. Some of us prefer the aluminum guns for their durability and dimensional accuracy, and others prefer the Blueguns for their crisp detail. I generally prefer aluminum, but don’t have any problem with their plastic brethren if that’s what’s available at the time. In searching for additional dummy guns that I need to fulfill orders last week, I wandered onto the Blueguns website and saw this note on the front page:

blueglock

Which reads*:

NOTICE
GLOCKS ARE BACK!
Glock has recently issued a New Contract with Ring’s Manufacturing Inc. (BLUEGUNS) to manufacture Glock Blueguns as we have been doing for the past 10 years. This new contract states that Glock restricts the sale of Glock Blueguns to the Public. We are restricted to selling Glock Blueguns to the Police, Military, Trainers, Police Distributors, or Holster Manufacturers. We ask that our customers abide by these rules and refrain from offering Glock Blueguns to the Public on the Internet, Publications or General Catalogs. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your support.

Wait a minute. So basically, Glock made Rings agree to only sell their training replicas to “only ones”? In this case, that includes me, but I don’t need any more Glocks right now, and I don’t like classist attitude from any entity, especially a gun manufacturer. It’s no secret that they have classified their G25 and G28 as “Law enforcement only”, which is irksome but very few if any have complained about the absence of .380-caliber Glocks available to the public. I know that wouldn’t be my first choice in a chambering. Anyway, if Glock is taking an anti-rights stand, people need to know about it. So, I hopped on their website and sent them the following message:

Good morning,

I am a custom leather holster maker. Recently on a visit to blueguns.com, to research dummy guns for my production, I saw a note on the front page that reads:

“Glock has recently issued a New Contract with Ring’s Manufacturing Inc. (BLUEGUNS) to manufacture Glock Blueguns as we have been doing for the past 10 years. This new contract states that Glock restricts the sale of Glock Blueguns to the Public. We are restricted to selling Glock Blueguns to the Police, Military, Trainers, Police Distributors, or Holster Manufacturers. We ask that our customers abide by these rules and refrain from offering Glock Blueguns to the Public on the Internet, Publications or General Catalogs. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your support.”

Currently, I have several Glock Blueguns that I employ in the design and production of custom leather holsters, and I anticipate that I will eventually need more. Many of my customers and colleagues desire to have a Bluegun training replica as a copy of their daily carry gun for draw practice, retention training, and other forms of training and practice, as a measure of safety above using a genuine handgun for such practices. These people are not necessarily law enforcement, trainers, or holster makers. Is it true that Glock has contractually forbidden Ring’s from selling training replicas to ordinary citizens? If so, why? Thanks in advance,

–Michael

Maybe they’ve got a really good explanation or maybe it’s just a big misunderstanding. Whether that’s the case, or if their response is, “because you suck and we hate you,” I’ll be sure to let you know either way. We live in interesting times, my friends. I think that a Glock is a fine pistol, but I’m not lining the pockets of anyone who wants to deprive me of my rights – especially not in the current climate.

Cake and Futility

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A couple days ago, I summarized the escalation of gun control since the 1930s. A couple years ago, LawDog did the same in his cake analogy. Briefly quoted,

I’m left holding crumbs of what was once a large and satisfying cake, and you’re standing there with most of MY CAKE, making anime eyes and whining about being “reasonable”, and wondering “why we won’t compromise”.

I’m done with being reasonable, and I’m done with compromise. Nothing about gun control in this country has ever been “reasonable” nor a genuine “compromise”

This is seriously worth reading in its entirety. If you are a supporter of gun control and you wonder why we don’t want to hear any of your spewings, this would be a darned good example of why. As Breda was recently quoted as saying:

Have you ever tried to reason with a child in the middle of a full-blown, red in the face, snot coming out of their nose, gasping for air crying fit?

Yeah, well welcome to the national conversation on gun control.

And, that is exactly how it feels. When I say that gun control advocates are either the followers (the ignorant) or the leaders (the evil), it is because those in power go all hypocritical ‘do as I say and not as I do’ as in this example where Senator Trotter was arrested for having a handgun in his carry-on bag, despite supporting restrictions on firearms. And, if you seek to have us give up our rights and property, you might consider being polite about it. Don’t treat us like we don’t care about the victims. If you would listen, you would know that we not only care about the victims, we feel like you are cheapening the lives of the victims by so readily capitalizing on their ill fates.

The laws have gotten more and more restrictive on guns in gun free zones and to no good outcome. In many places, to simply take a gun into a school violates multiple layers of laws. In Oklahoma, where I reside, if you are going to go into a school building, you must:

1 – unload your gun and make it safe.
2 – secure the gun and ammunition separately in the car
3 – park off campus

There are places where this is not possible because of local geography. In rural districts, there may or may not be anywhere off school grounds where a car can be parked, legally or not. This is but one example of the onerous restrictions we law abiding citizens must bend to in our attempt to keep bad people from shooting up the place. But, what if we didn’t have to? Over four years ago (when I had something on the order of 1.8 regular readers), I wrote my ten people in a room analogy, which I reposted yesterday. The fact of the matter is that guns don’t wrongfully kill in the hands of good and responsible people, and laws don’t keep guns out of the hands of the bad and irresponsible.

Standing on similar philosophy, some schools have deliberately put more guns in their halls. It’s working in Israel after all! Similar legislation is in the works in Oklahoma. Perhaps instead of trying the same, tired, old thing over and over again, and passing further restrictive legislation to make carrying in prohibited places even more illegal, we ought to try a method with a better track record, and allow law-abiding citizens to legally carry guns into our halls of education? Many states restrict guns from shopping malls and churches. Oklahoma is one of the states that does not. Check and see how many of these mass murders have occurred in such places in this state. This is a precedence and should at least be part of the conversation.

I wish to God she had had an M4

Me too. Or a shotgun. Or better yet, a good pistol in a retention holster on her belt. But she didn’t. Because of gun control. As the story goes, the principal lunged toward the gunner. Who knows what she thought she could accomplish? It was a losing fight. I have to imagine that she counted herself dead already and knew that she had to do something instead of nothing. Do you think she might have preferred to have a weapon to defend herself and her school with beyond harsh words and a suicidal lunge toward death? Do you think the parents of the slain children might wish that there had been anything else to give them more of a chance? Good guys with guns save lives. Make sure there are no good guys have guns and tragedy is inevitable.

Besides that, why are you picking on guns anyway? A couple years ago, I wrote an entry in which I provide documented examples of violent slayings that were committed around the world without the use of a gun. Guns are NOT the issue here people. Guns are the convenient scape goat when we need to be focusing more on making our society better able to defend against evil doers.

Backup Guns and Carry Gun Sizing

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This post started as a rambling stream of thought over on A Girl’s blog, where she asks her readers about backup guns. When my response reached critical mass, and cleanly left the topic, I took the initiative to put it here instead of waste her bandwidth. This gave me the added benefit of posting pics.

As to the original question on whether or not a BUG…

When I carry my S&W 586L-Comps, I carry both of them. One sits on my right as my primary and the other is mirrored on my left, in a matched holster, as a Detroit reload, handsomely stowed in horse, ostrich, and stingray.

I’m largely ambidextrous, and have found that one eye is as good as the other to me. When I’m shooting left handed, I default to my left eye, right handed, right eye. I know this doesn’t work for the vast majority of people, so I don’t necessarily offer it as a solution for you so much as a glimpse into the window of my life. Today I’ve got both guns loaded with Hornady .357 Mag in moon clips, and I’ve got three extra moon clips, one in each of my front two pockets and another in a vest pocket. Heaven forbid I should have a gun fight today, but that gives me 35-rounds of .357 Magnum to fight my way back to my 12-gauge and carbine.

When I went out to get myself a more spritely backup, I (ahem) accidentally bought another primary. There’s a bit of a story here, actually. I had some extra cash and decided to go look at those Saiga 12s. In looking at them online, I liked the ‘hunting carbine’, with the 22-inch barrel that included interchangeable choke tubes. When I got to the gun store, they didn’t carry that model and the one they did have was about $100 more than I wanted to spend on one anyway. I’d played around with Jennifer‘s M&P9c, and decided that although toward the large end for of the scale, it would probably work pretty well for a BUG, as it really isn’t any bigger than a snubby. Also, I wanted a rough-weather alternative to my blued revolvers. Ice, rain, and sweat are rough on these things.

Well, Jennifer already had the 9mm, so why would I buy another copy of it? I decided that .40 was right out; it’s a fine cartridge, but because of household ammunition simplicity, we’ve decided to shun .40 for the time being. That left .45 ACP as the logical solution. Without much more thought into it, I picked up the ‘compact’ version of the M&P45. The barrel is 1/2-in longer than its 9mm baby sister, the grip is similarly longer, and the whole thing is at least 1/8″ wider.

This is no longer a pocket gun. LOL! Don’t get me wrong – I love my M&P, but I kind of wish I’d either stuck with the true pocket gun format, or gone with the full-size M&P45 instead. Just as the M&P9c is about the same size as a J-frame with a ~2-in barrel, the M&P45c is about the same size as an L-frame with a 3-inch barrel.

Pros? The 4-inch .45 is the beater I was looking for. I’ve had this thing in a swimming pool on more than one occasion and it cost half of what Jen’s FNP45 Tactical is worth, which she still carries more often than not. The M&P just works; clean or dirty, wet or dry, hot or cold, and any kind of ammunition, it simply doesn’t care. In this caliber at this length, it is legal for deer hunting in OK. It appears that the social ammunition that I keep it loaded with is actually legal for deer, for a seamless transition from the streets to the field, which I can’t claim on the similarly sized, 3-inch L-frames. Just for giggles, here’s a comparison between one of my 586s and Jennifer’s 640:

Cons? The M&P45 is really too big for a backup. At this point, I want a true backup for when I’m carrying the M&P. Also, this gun is enough of a beater that it does get neglected. I’ve had people chastise me on more than one occasion about my filthy gun. “What? I just cleaned and lubed it about… *thinking* …like six months ago or something!” LOL! I have once had it carboned up badly enough that the slide didn’t want to lock back on an empty mag. Still, that took a LOT of carbon.

Speaking of which, I do need to scrub that thing again. Maybe I’ll do that this afternoon… Clearly, the snubby revolver and the M&P9c are sized well for backup guns where as the L-frame and the M&P45 are just barely too big to do the job on a practical basis, even though I do carry a 586 as a Detroit reload. When you’re searching for a gun, keep purpose in mind. Remember that width makes as much of a difference as, if not even more than barrel length and grip length. A single-stack semi-auto will almost always pack thinner than a revolver, which can make all the difference in the world to comfort and concealability, although there are advantages to a revolver as well. And, don’t go with the excuse of “Well, this one is just barely bigger. It will probably be okay.” Additionally, the right holster and belt combination can make near miracles happen. If you’ve never had a really good holster, you might be shocked at how big a gun you can carry comfortably and fully concealed.

Open Carry – First Day in Oklahoma

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As you have probably already heard, Open Carry went into effect today in the State of Oklahoma. I don’t intend to do a whole lot of OC, but I have been preparing for this. I’ve sold several OC specific rigs to other Okies in the last year. I made a matched pair of ostrich, horse, and stingray paddle holsters for my Performance Center revolvers, and have a black belt with red stitching to match them. Jennifer got a new, red, metallic, patent leather holster to fit her FN with a CT Rail Master and a matching double magazine carrier and belt. She also got a black holster for the same setup with flat dark earth stitching to match her pistol. Today, I’m wearing my M&P45 in black basket weave with matching magazines on the off side. I think they probably set OC to go into effect on November 1, because it’s usually too cold to not wear a cover garment this time of year. Joke’s on them though. It’s absolutely beautiful out! Before the sun was up, I took out the trash and rolled the dumpster to the street, carrying openly. Nobody was out and it was dark. Nobody noticed. Twice today, I checked the mail with my gun uncovered. Nobody was out. Nobody noticed. So, this historic date remains boringly non noteworthy. If I was trying to make a statement, I’d be quite disappointed. Frankly, if I wasn’t the holster maker, I might very well not ever Open Carry. I don’t know for sure. I figure I probably will from time to time, but not indiscriminately. As I go about my daily life, I prefer to stay far more under the radar than that. Even so, experience tells me that most people wouldn’t notice even with the gun hanging out under their noses in plain sight. It should be interesting to see how this works moving forward.

Funny Stuff

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Last week, I spoke with a gentleman on the phone who asked if I was familiar with FN‘s FNP 45 Tactical. His double-take was audible when I told him that not only was I familiar, but my wife carries one. He said that he has a Viridian C5L mounted on his pistol. Viridian was kind enough to mail me non-working models on their C5 and X5 series accessories. We’re installing a Crimson Trace CMR-202 on Jennifer‘s FNP45 Tactical, so I decided to make her new holster at the same time as his. Nearly through with construction, I discovered that I’d (once again) made a right-handed holster for a lefty. So, Jennifer gets two holsters. One in black leather with flat dark earth top stitching and one in metallic red patent leather, with matching double magazine pouch and 1.25-inch belt. A gal should have accessory choices, after all. Pics to follow. I’m hoping to do a seven piece photographic project, in fact.

This morning I spoke on the phone with my dad who said he had a great idea and proceeded to ask if I knew who Ted Nugent is. Chuckling, I told him that not only do I know who Uncle Ted is, but I follow his blog and covet a trip to his ranch. My dad’s suggestion was that I figure out a way to put one of my holsters in Ted’s hands. I have to admit that it would be pretty bitching if I delivered a zebra-striped holster and matching belt to the Nuge that would fit one of his custom pistols. Honestly, I could probably send a holster that generally fits a 1911 or a S&W K-frame. I don’t know what he likes to shoot, but those just seem like pretty safe guesses. I did inform my dad that Ted Nugent has more of at least one species of wild African antelope at his ranch than actually live in the wild.

And, in the news of stylish goats, comes this story. Apparently, some chick stole a goat from a petting zoo, and brought it back with its hooves painted up in pink nail polish, and she even perpetrated the abduction on tape. Now, that’s a funny prank. That had to be the fruits of an epic dare, or copious amounts of booze, or both. Whatever the case, if I was the goat’s owner I wouldn’t be too upset, as long as the animal wasn’t harmed in the ordeal. Actually, if I was the owner, I can think of a few people that I would call to see if they had my goat! I’m thinking of a certain group of people that I saw over the weekend. And, if its hooves weren’t painted when it was returned, I’d be shocked.

Kilted Aftermath

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This year I was able to spend a lot more kilt time than last year because of weather and the availability of another kilt for garment rotation. Now, my Wranglers feel weird. I’m actually really looking forward to more unbifurcated goodness this weekend. But, that’s not the point now. I’ve just sent emails to my five top donors. People, this year’s support was phenomenal. I received almost thirty eight times the donations that I did last year. My top five donations ranged from $150 to $300. Wow. And, that is not in any way intended to draw attention away from the smaller donations. If I hadn’t received the $5 to $10 donations, this would not have happened. As has been stated, I took second place by THREE DOLLARS.

And, I’m not at all trying to gloat. If I could have hand picked two bloggers to share the top three with, I’d be hard pressed to choose any better than JayG and Stingray, and I’m looking forward to seeing them this weekend. Although our totals were a mere three dollars separated, had Stingray and I pooled our donations, we still wouldn’t have touched JayG’s staggering total. Good job, gentlemen! I want to thank Larry at Last Refuge, Erin Palette, and definitely A Girl, but most of all my lovely wife who goes on all my crazy adventures with me for all their promotion and support. Also, many thanks to Kelly and his friends for coming up with this brainchild in the first place, and for persevering and nurturing it into what it threatens to ultimately be.

Which brings me to my next point. Last weekend I picked up a third camera tripod, and we’ll make sure all the batteries are fully charged so we can get the promised video footage of Jennifer shooting the M82A1 in skin tight PVC. And, I’ve been putting my own outfit together, which does include a black dress and some… accessories. Should be good. I don’t know what the heck we could possibly do to top this next year. We may have to start planning in a few weeks. Not only is this an awesome cause, it was a whole lot of fun! Thanks again to all of you!

KTKC – That’s My Final Offer

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Alright people, I’m in a pretty solid third place right now, not too far behind Stingray. JayG has handily whupped the lot of us in this deal. I told you that you’d get catsuit videos if I made first place. That goal seems loftier and loftier as we head towards the finish. So, how about this: If you put me in second place, we’ll still do the video of Jennifer in PVC with the M82A1. As of this writing, that’s less than $500. However, if we get our Christmas miracle and I finish in first place, not only will we do the Jen in PVC video, but at Blogorado, at the Sooper Sekrit Raynge, I’ll shoot in drag. Forget the kilt, I will put on a skirt or a dress, or something pretty. :P There will be photos. There will be video. It will be hilarious. We are close to the end, but this thing is not over yet. You can help by donating here. The donation website has been acting a little overloaded the last few days. Probably a good thing. If it’s giving you trouble, please be patient and try to reload it. Thanks again!

Monday – Weekend Kilt Recap

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This weekend, I was kilted, as I have been this month. I’ve completely given up on trying to convince “Mom” at the liquor store that the kilt is anything but a skirt. She’s from Korea and only has so much grasp on the English language. She at least thinks the goal of cancer reasearch/awareness/preparedness is noble. I got compliments from several strangers at Target and from a few people at church yesterday. Yes, I wear my kilt to church. And, sit in the choir loft in it. But, you good people deserve to see some pictures. I had to do some work on the car on Saturday.

And then, I mowed the lawn.

Of course, I actually enjoy grilling dinner.

Ahem. I said I enjoy grilling dinner.

That’s more like it! My friends, your donations these last couple of weeks have been so incredibly generous. Thanks to all of you who have donated. As of this writing, you have donated a total of $990.00, which is awesome! Stingray has managed to pull ahead of both Kelly and me in the running. Remember friends, if I finish in the top three, we’ll publish high-resolution pics of Jennifer in the PVC catsuit. If I win first place, you get the video depicting .50BMG recoil-induced butt jiggles. Right now, it would only take me $250 to overtake both Kelly and Stingray for second place. It would take a bit more than that to swing first, but that’s not a complete impossibility even still. In addition to all kinds of hair removal, and to “up the ante” from the sexy PVC pictures and/or video, JayG has offered to spend some time in a pink kilt and Stingray has offered to sing us a song. Humiliation? is that what you want? Do I need to put that catsuit on myself? When you donate, add a note with your opinion on the matter. Like, “Yeah Evyl, we want to see you squeeze into that thing,” or, “FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY DO NOT PUBLISH PICS OF YOURSELF IN SKIN-TIGHT PVC!!!” What the other guys keep promising but fail to acknowledge is that you simply can’t shame the shameless. You want to see me do something stupid in return for your generous donation? Bring it on!

Please donate here!