A Perfectly Dependable Pistol

As mentioned in Sunday's range trip post, I've acquired a replacement pistol for my SIG P320s.

It's a Walther PDP Pro, complete with an ACRO 2 red dot sight.

The Walther Dynamic Perfomance trigger is really great.  Between that and the ACRO, hitting the target was rather easy.

So far with 250 rounds through last Sunday,  I'm just starting to get used to it.  Zero malfunctions so far, and with 18 round magazines, its easy to get ammo going through it to the target so you're shooting more and reloading less. 

Overall it fits the hand well, it comes up naturally when drawn, and the eye finds the dot immediately in the ACRO.  So far, so good. 

Now that I've put the smaller back strap on the PDP, it fits my hand better. I need to get back out to the range to try it out and see if that change improves things.

I also bought a Tenicor Velo 5 holster to carry it in. First time trying Tenicor.

The Tenicor Velo 5, interestingly, is shipped with the clips and camming bar unassembled to the holster. This seems weird but there is a link provided to a Youtube video on how to best fit the holster to your body. Very smart, that.

After sizing it appropriately following the steps in the video, I think it conceals the PDP rather well especially as it is very much a full-sized pistol: 

 

Don't mind the wrinkles too much. The Tenicor makes the Walther PDP disappear under just a plain t-shirt. I'm rather impressed.

The Velo 5 is also rather comfortable for carry in the holster.  No need for a wedge at this point, and the shape of it works very well to both conceal and make it comfortable to carry the PDP. So far so good, it's a solidly built and well thought out holster.

So far the Walther PDP is a worthy and reliable successor to the SIG P320.  Time and more range trips will tell to see if I can shoot better with the Walther than the SIG. 

An Excellent Holster For Both Quick Errands and Long Voyages

Keepers Concealment The Errand holster carried my Shield 45 down to Florida.

The Errand, a compact AIWB Holster, certainly provided both comfort and concealment.

Made of Kydex and designed to be carried AIWB, it also comes with a comfy foam wedge that helps both concealment and comfort.

I carried in AIWB for 20 or so hours each way driving to Florida, as well as out to restaurants and other perambulations. It was not bothersome while I was behind the wheel, nor in the passenger seat, nor while walking around and offered excellent concealment.

Under a sweatshirt it completely disappeared.

Under a polo shirt, once we hit warmer climes, there was enough of a bulge from the grip of the Shield that the spouse and kids picked up on it but no one else did. However, that they could pick up on it was enough to have me change to an inner shirt and a cover button down short sleeve shirt which solved that problem nicely. Voila, no more tell-tale bulges. Some people could probably carry it off with this just under a t-shirt with no bulges. I can't, at least not yet.

It fit the Shield 45 like a glove with a very solid fit, no sloppy sliding around. If you order you need to specify its for the Shield 45 not just the standard Shield. It comes with a very strong belt clip that fits solidly on the belt and stops the holster from flopping around.

It's a very solid high-quality holster that's easy to carry, also comes with excellent service and quite quick shipping, and Keepers Concealment is highly recommended when you're looking for a quality holster, especially as it passed the drive-to-Florida test with flying colors.

Propper Holster Concealment

Two items just recently arrived and are of considerable assistance in enhancing concealed carry.

The first, as the title of the post suggests, is the Propper Covert Button Up Shirt.

It's straight out of the package so it needs an ironing, but you get the idea. It's quite the excellent cover garment. Comfortable, breathable material, long and thick enough to both conceal the firearm and break up its outline with its pattern, and it has a raft of features.

Most useful is the fake button front.

While the top two buttons are real, the rest are a clever facade covering quick snaps that let you quickly open the shirt to access your firearm.

There are also velcro closures at the lower side of each seam that are easy to open to get access to a firearm that you may have on your hip.

In addition there are also two semi hidden chest pockets closed by magnetic closures that work quite well. Possibly useful for storing cash in a hidden location or important paperwork, but less valuable than the snaps and velcro.

Overall, the shirt is excellent for carrying concealed, and a full-sized M&P pistol hides beneath it with no issues at all. The only downside is it is very square-cut which is not my personal style and I look very blocky wearing it. For people that don't know me it won't be an issue, for people that do know me they'll likely wonder why the heck I'm changing my style of dress quite that much.

We'll see how it stands up to being washed and worn, but for now it's excellent casual concealed carry wear.

The second item that just arrived yesterday is a JM Custom Kydex AIWB holster.

To say this holster is carry-lifestyle-changing is an understatement.

Much more comfortable than the Vanguard 2 (which is still an excellent minimalist holster, don't get me wrong), it fits the M&P like a glove and completely changes how you go about carrying appendix style. I decided to get it after reading this extensive discussion on pistol-forum.com and decided to try it out.

The holster is made from a single piece of Kydex superbly molded to the shape of the pistol. Rounded edges prevent it from digging into your body and yet with the extra tuck option in rides in close and disappears under a dark loose t-shirt. It is both thinner and far more comfortable to wear than I expected.

I got it with the extra tuck option, and after a couple months wait I've received it and it makes carrying appendix position both more comfortable and much more secure than the VG2.

I didn't realize how much the holster would really improve carrying and it truly does: sitting is easier, holstering is much easier and safer, unholstering is faster, concealment is if anything easier, and the solid belt loop really keeps it in position. Most importantly, with the JM Custom AIWB holster, the front sight stops digging into spots most tender, which is really, really gratifying.

This holster is quite simply life-changing in terms of how much it improves safe and efficient concealed carry.

While everyone is different, if you intend to carry appendix style, a JM AIWB would be a really great choice and seems to work very well for most people who have ordered one, and it's worth the wait.

Note that I paid for both of these items with my own money and neither manufacturer requested nor knows that I'm doing this review.

Both the Propper Covert Shirt and The JM AIWB will really enhance your concealment of your pistol.

Prosecutor's Office Declines To Press Charges, Clears Detroit Officer In Backyard Dirty Dancing Shooting

Back in July 2012, I noted in regards to the Adaisha Miller shooting, that dirty dancing, floppy holsters and feeling a cop, rather than copping a feel are a bad mix.

The story then was that she was hugging him low from behind and squeezing him around the waist when the firearm carried by him off-duty in a floppy nylon IWB holster went off, probably from her inadvertently squeezing the trigger.

The investigation is now complete and the Wayne County Prosecutors Office is declining to press any charges against the officer.

The Detroit News: Detroit officer cleared in backyard shooting death

There's not a lot of information at the linked article as to what the results of the investigation were, other than that there was insufficient evidence for any charges. Most likely the investigation showed the evidence matched the story given at the time and that the shooting was a result of Ms. Miller's unintentional trigger manipulation resulting in her shooting herself with the officer's firearm.

It would be helpful if the report indicated that the investigation revealed the incident was indeed as originally reported, with the victim dirty dancing with the officer, grabbing him about the waist and accidentally firing his firearm. The story seems to match the July ballistics evidence that the shot hit her in the chest traveling downward, suggesting she was behind him and at or below waist level.

Regardless, it's a warning not to carry in a floppy holster where the trigger can be reached by another party regardless of whether they're dirty dancing, joking around, copping a feel or actually assaulting the firearm carrier.

I'd suggest at the very least carrying using a MIC Holster or the Vanguard 2 Holster. I think after wearing it consistently for months now the Vanguard 2 is even better than the MIC. But either will do if you're looking for a minimalist holster - and both of these are quite inexpensive and both cover the trigger completely, preventing a squeeze-off incident or other accidental discharges. Beyond those, there's tons of other solid quality holsters out there, whether from Raven Concealment, Blade Tech, Galco and many others. Even a simple and inexpensive Fobus holster would have prevented this incident.

Don't put a quality gun in a crappy floppy nylon holster and call it good to go. It's not, and you or others may pay the price as a result.

Vanguard 2 Review 2

After carrying the M&P 40c in the Vanguard 2 for awhile, I'm starting to appreciate the holster more and more since my initial positive review.

Now that I'm more comfortable with it, I've found that you can re-holster the firearm into the vanguard 2 without removing it from your waistband. Just take your time, line it up, and it fits right in with a comforting click. This works a lot better with wearing a pair of pants a size larger than you usually wear. Because I've lost weight I've got quite a few of those around now.

The pistol unholsters quietly without the snap that is heard when removing a pistol from the MIC holster.

It also unholsters very smoothly indeed, making a draw quite effortless. The nice thing about the Vanguard 2 with the strut/loop attached is the holster stays exactly where you put it. Whether appendix, strong-side carry or otherwise, the pistol remains right where you put it on your belt. You can shift it around for comfort a bit but its a lot more stable than using it with the cord alone. In short it's a rather excellent minimalist holster that's great for concealed carry. In short, I was getting a larger bulge from the iPhone hip case than from the Vanguard 2.

Here's the Vanguard 2 with a slim-fit cover garment:

The Vanguard with the cover garment raised:

And with just a very light t-shirt that wrinkles when it touches anything:

In short, you're pretty well concealed when carrying with a Vanguard 2 and even with only a light T-shirt, thought I'd suggest a darker color or patterned one at the very least over the original wrinkle T.

Darn good holster, very highly recommended.

Gear Review - The Vanguard 2 For The M&P Pistol Line

I had recently purchased a Vanguard 2 holster for the M&P pistol.

A minimalist holster, is superior over both the original Vanguard, and the MIC holster that I have for the Glock, by both fitting the M&P and having a belt loop and mount to allow it to be more firmly fixed to the belt than just by use of the cord alone.

The Vanguard arrived super-quickly and was nicely packaged:

Having used the MIC with the cord and liking it quite a lot, I was eager to see how the strut/loop system worked on the belt. Also MIC doesn't make holsters for the M&P just the Glock and it was time for a minimalist holster for my new M&P40c.

Here's a close-up - from back to front - holster, strut, belt loop - the holster goes inside and the belt loop on the outside):

On the belt:

As seen from the inside of the belt (if you were standing upside down):

The triggger guard goes into the sytem without the loud snapping sound of the MIC but seems to stay put very nicely. The hole is on the bottom of the holster when worn, tucked into your pants along with the rest of the holster and gun and the strut connects it to the lkoop on the belt, allowing for you to adjust the position of the holster yet it remains rather fixed in place unlike using just cord alone.

The pistol inside the trigger is then placed inside the waistband and only the outside loop is seen on the belt. As a minimalist holster, only the trigger guard is covered and it adds no appreciable width to the pistol, making concealment and comfortable carry a breeze.

The acid test was shooting from it.

Interestingly enough, a FAST drill with the M&P40c, from the Vanguard 2 was actually quicker than that done with the NTAC "normal" OWB holster, at 8.76 seconds vs 9.26 seconds. Of course, this was likely due more to gaining familiarity with the M&P40c and not boggling the reload, but the Vanguard 2 didn't slow me down.

The draw from the Vanguard 2 does feel different than from a typical OWB or IWB holster. The gun doesn't pull straight out of the holster, instead the Vanguard "rides" with the pistol as you draw, with the pistol breaking free slightly above where you'd expect. it's a "feeling" issue and doesn't hamper a smooth draw, but it does take a bit of getting used to.

Re-holstering a pistol with the Vanguard 2 or any similar minimalist holster is, in my opinion, a two-handed job if you're going to do it safely. No point rushing as, after all, you're re-holstering a loaded gun into a pretty narrow holster that you need to flip out of the pants, place on the trigger guard and then "flip" the gun and holster back into your pants. Slow as they say is smooth, and it prevents extraneous and undesired holes from appearing in your body. Why rush?

In short, the Vanguard 2 is a definite quality buy if you're looking for a minimalist holster for the M&P or indeed the Glock to assist in maximum concealment and decent comfort. The loop/strut combo is an enhancement over the string in terms of fixing the location of the pistol.

I'll have no worries carrying my new M&P40c or my full-size M&P9 in it and can recommend it.