A Tactical Chicks Teasure Hunt

The summer heat is overwhelming all over the country. No one wants to go out and play. So us gals at Tactical Chicks were trying to come up with some fun ways to play inside where it is cool - A Treasure Hunt.

We are setting the price of one item (one unit only) to zero—as in FREE! Somewhere on our site you will find an item that you can grab at no cost. Ready set, GO.

Happy hunting!

Leather holsters: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful

Never run a bluff with a six-gun. —Bat Masterson

There’s something about a leather gun holster that can’t be matched by any other material. It’s entrenched in our psyches as Americans with its roots in the gunslinger traditions of the old west.  Today’s leather gun holsters, like the old time gunslinger holsters, are rugged, strong, durable, and have a great look and feel.  The best modern leather gun holsters are handmade using old-time tradition mixed with new world craftsmanship.

The addition of modern hardware adds increased secure retention and comfort without the sacrifice of ready access. Years of design and redesign have resulted in lower-profile leather gun holsters that are especially suited to concealed carry.

For concealed carry, a leather concealed carry holster is often the best choice. Inside the waist leather concealed carry holsters conceal better than outside the waist leather gun holsters, but you may sacrifice some comfort as a tradeoff. Leather concealed carry holsters are more comfortable for deeper concealment than plastic injection molding holsters, but one-handed reholstering may not work with every leather concealed carry holster.

Leather gun holsters come in a variety of styles and finishes, including front and back pocket holsters, open top holsters, quick draw belt holsters, thumb break holsters, leather concealed carry holsters, middle of the back holsters, belt snap holsters, paddle holsters, inside the pants holsters, shoulder holsters, and inside the waist holsters, as well as mag carriers. Each one earns its own character as it ages.

A good leather gun holster can last a lifetime. Sometimes longer. If you doubt the durability of leather holsters, look on eBay: You will see examples of leather gun holsters that are 50 or 100 years old, sometimes more.

A quality leather gun holster will allow you to carry comfortably and safely. And you can’t beat the history.

Holsters for Women: Dirty Harry vs Dirty Harriet?

I don’t care what the men in the business say: fitting a holster for a woman isn’t any different than fitting a holster for a man. People come in all shapes and sizes, and while women tend to have a certain shape compared to men, the basic point is the same: find the right holster for the individual and their specific needs.

Fitting a holster for a body builder is not even close to the same as fitting one for a person who is older, softer, and rounder, or for one who is tall and lean, or maybe slighter and more average in build, or one with a little junk in the trunk, regardless of sex.

If anything, many of the descriptions I see online of how holsters don’t fit women properly have less to do with the holster and more to do with the gun and holster placement—if I give my 4’11 105lb mother an S&W .44 Magnum revolver, no concealment holster in the world—even one custom designed for her specific female shape—will give her either comfort or good concealment. (She just needs to strap that baby in a good drop leg holster and let someone make her day.)

Holster fit is a product of multiple factors, not just body shape, and putting too much focus on body shape when finding holsters for women does women a tremendous disservice as it draws important attention away from other equally important factors.

So in addition to your shape—man or woman—here are some other factors to consider for gun holster fit:

·       Safety. Always first. A good gun holster will protect the gun. Not just cosmetically or even functionally, but also from inadvertent hammer or trigger movement as well as safety disengagement.

·       Concealment. How much concealment do you need? Concealed carry needs are a matter of personal preference and state laws. (Always check state laws for concealed carry statutes.) Concealability is determined by a combination of your individual shape and your gun. Holsters can make concealment more invisible and more comfortable, but, as I mentioned above, unless my mother runs around in oversized thug duds, no gun holster in the world will give her good concealment with Dirty Harry’s gun.

·       Retention. Determine if retention is an issue. In addition to ensuring your gun stays in your holster properly, is it important to you that another person not be able to remove your firearm from the gun holster? (This is particularly important for people in law enforcement.)

·       Comfort. If it isn’t comfortable, you won’t want to carry often.  Or you’ll fidget or mess with your holster, which is neither safe nor subtle.

·       Durability. Find a gun holster that will withstand your lifestyle.

·       Ease of draw. The deeper you conceal, the lower your ease of draw will be. Determine where your balance point is for draw vs concealment.

·       Reholstering. Once drawn, will you need to reholster quickly and easily or is that really not a major concern?

Another consideration for gun holster fit is positioning. With an in-the-waist holster, for example, a slight shift of an inch or two in either direction may easily solve the issue of shape differences among individuals. Interestingly enough, positions that are comfortable also tend to provide better concealment, as when you position for shape you take advantage of natural depressions in the body form where a gun may be subtly placed. (Also, if you don’t cringe every time you sit, that certainly helps with keeping things under wraps.)

Material also plays a part. An injection molding plastic holster will never be as comfortable as a leather gun holster or a ballistic nylon gun holster, regardless of how much padding is on there or what your shape is (plastic will also damage the finish of your gun faster than any other material type). Leather holsters, while more durable, can sometimes be stiffer than ballistic nylon. You also have the option of putting a little moleskin on a pressure point.