Yay!

[tt0511]

My wife and I just found our permits in the mailbox!

Applied and printed on 2/2/10, received permit today on 3/3/10. What's that? 29 days?

Now we're gonna take a walk to Wally World to break in our carry rights while we do some shoppin'.

[Guest pjblurton]

Rock on!!! Congrats!

[Il Duce]

congrats

[Guest Al56]

Congrats to you and your wife tt0511:)

[JPS]

Cool! Good for you making the Wally Walk together!

[tt0511]

We went several places last night. Went to get me a hair cut, wife went to the grocery store during that. Then we went to the bank, Lowe's and Wally World. I don't believe anyone noticed. No one said anything, and I figured if anyone would notice it'd be the hair stylist since she got the closest view with me sitting down and getting up out of the chair.

It will take some practice getting used to wearing a holster, mag pouch and knife. I was kinda surprised that my holster was not very comfortable last night at all. I hope it was because I had my Dockers on from work and had on business/casual attire. Those pants are a little too conforming around the waist area. It wasn't as uncomfortable when I wore it around the house one night with jeans on. Those jeans are looser than the Dockers I have.

I think the main problem was the dress belt that was skimpy and had to be a hair too tight to get latched. So, I picked up a 1.5" wide Wrangler belt while at Wally World. It was the stiffest wide belt they had. It will have to hold me until my custom leather order comes in a couple of months or so from now.

The holster I'm using until I get my leather order is a knock off of a Milt Sparks Summer Special 2 with the double belt loops. When we got home, I was curious so I tried on my wife's MTAC holster with her H&K gun and it was a little slimmer and a little more comfortable than the leather. So, I did a price comparison between Comp-Tac's MTAC, gun belt plus mag pouch and my custom leather order. There's $101 difference with shipping (Comp-Tac is less costly). That kinda has me wanting an MTAC. That and the delivery time difference, ...which is HUGE right now.

My two concerns about the MTAC are:

1) the sweat shield (the leather between the rear of the slide and the body), poked me in the love handle pretty badly when I sat down wearing it. This was not pleasant. It was also a bit difficult to draw from and pulled the holster completely out on the first try. I hope this will get better after some breaking in because that could result in some serious consequences in a real self defense situation!

2) I have a S&W 1911. The frame is Scandium and is blued or painted. The slide is stainless with a matte finish. I know leather will wear along the lines of the gun, but I don't think that kind of wear looks all that bad. I've seen several pictures of this kind of wear online. I've read that the kydex/hybrids can be rough on the finish where it contacts. I think I prefer the more gentle looking wear of leather over the defined wear of kydex on a 1911. But, I haven't seen pics of wear on a 1911 from a kydex holster so I can't be sure how big the difference is. Just going on what I've read in forums. I did look on the 1911forum.com last night at a thread of people posting their EDC rigs. Pretty much every MTAC I see with a 1911 in it, has a full stainless 1911, ...no blued 1911s in MTACs. That made me wonder about the wear even more.

With those two concerns in mind, what would you guys do/have to say and what is your opinion? There's a significant money savings if I go with the MTAC, and I like how it rides low along the pant line. Mostly I'm concerned about the wear of the MTAC on my 1911. I know there will be wear on the gun. I get that. I just don't see a reason to throw all discretion to the wind and trash it just "because" it's a carry gun. I'm also concerned about the holster staying put when drawing.

Edited March 4, 2010 by tt0511

[LagerHead]

TT, don't worry too much about staying put while drawing. I carry every day in a Don Hume $26 IWB holster. It is very comfy, rides very low, and stays put while drawing. If I'm not mistaken the MTAC will have loops to wrap around your belt, making it even more secure. Just get one that rides really low and you'll never look back. My $26 holster is the reason I no longer carry OWB, except on rare occasions.

[trblmkr13]

I felt like a kid at Christmas when mine showed up Congrats!

[Kegger]

I carry in a Spartan, about the same as the MTAC.

When my gun was blued the wear wasn't too bad, and that's with Taurus's crapty blue job. Shouldn't bother yours in the slightest.

[DWARREN123]

The Wally Walk is on!

Congrats to both of you.

Edited March 8, 2010 by DWARREN123

[jcj]

Applied and printed on 2/2/10, received permit today on 3/3/10. What's that? 29 days?

Congratulations! This gives me some hope. Applied on 3/2, printed on 3/4. Maybe there's hope for early April.

[Almond27]

Congrats on you and your wife's HCP. Hoping to get mine soon, here in about three months or so.

[kb4ns]

Congrats! If you're like me, you'll end up with a whole drawer full of holsters and only actually use one or two of 'em.

[Guest Eagle Eye]

My wife and I applied and printed on 2-11-10. HCP in mailbox today! 25 days! Unfortunately my wife's but not mine. Maybe tomorrow?

[Guest pws_smokeyjones]

Congrats. I have been carrying a Sig daily in an MTAC for a little over 4 years. Its a standard black P229. there is a tiny bit of wear but nothing that really bothers me. The wear seems to be a little more pronounced on the inside that touches the leather of the MTAC than on the outside touching the Kydex.

As for the backing on the MTAC poking your love handles, eventually the MTAC will soften and form a bit to your body and make that less noticable. you will also want to experiment with placement around your waist. I find having it just slightly in front of my hip bone makes a world of difference when seated in a vehicle.

you are on the right track by getting a solid gun belt - it will be well worth the wait. Those department store belts might look nice, but they just don't hold a candle to a thick gun belt.

In short, sounds like your thinking is solid and I wouldn't worry about holster wear. Unless you are going to be drawing your weapon constantly, it will take a long time of 'just riding around' for there to be any noticeable holster wear.

[tt0511]

To give an update, I had custom leather ordered for my belt, holster and mag pouch. The delivery time was still 12 weeks out from this Monday and I decided I need a functional carry rig NOW.

So, based on some recommendations on the 1911 forum, I ordered a Tucker "The Answer" holster, a Comp-Tac belt and mag pouch. Since ordering the Tucker holster, I was surprised to find some negative comments about the Answer holster on this forum (could have been the Silent Thunder but the issue was with the leather lining). Something about the leather lined kydex being a solution looking for a problem. I don't know about that, but on the 1911 forum and other forums there were lots of threads I found where people weren't happy about their kydex holster aggressively wearing away at their gun's finish. (I'm sure this is not a problem with a polymer framed gun but with a blued 1911 frame...).

Anyway, I prefer the look of leather wear on a gun from the pics I've seen online, so I decided to go with the leather lining. I would prefer the custom 5 Shot leather I had ordered but I just need something much more quickly than 3 months. I haven't read but one or two posts on any forum of people who weren't very happy with their "Answer" holster, and lots of people were recommending them. With the warranty and the quality of the build, I figured it is worth a try. I would imagine the leather lining will also make the gun "seat" well in the holster and prevent it from moving around. If I end up not liking the holster, I'll send it back and get an MTAC and deal with the wear.

I'm brand new to CCW and my gun is new. I understand a carry gun is a tool and is going to experience some wear and tear from daily carry. But, that is different than just saying "oh, screw it! To Hades with the gun's finish", lol. I still want to do what I can to take care of my gun. I try to take good care of all my stuff. Hopefully I made a good choice in my carry rig. I can post a review of the stuff when it comes in and I wear it a bit if anyone is interested.

Edited March 11, 2010 by tt0511

[Guest kirkosaurus]

My wife and I just found our permits in the mailbox!

Applied and printed on 2/2/10, received permit today on 3/3/10. What's that? 29 days?

Now we're gonna take a walk to Wally World to break in our carry rights while we do some shoppin'.

brother T,

I didn't know you guys had gotten your permits last time I saw you! Awesome!

[tt0511]

brother T,

I didn't know you guys had gotten your permits last time I saw you! Awesome!

Sweet! That means my beginner's "concealment-Fu" is working.

Now, you just need to buy a house down the street from us and we'll be good to go!

[Guest Glock23ForMe]

Check out HighNoonHolsters.com. They have some nice ones, and they are really economical as well.. Going for the "Bare Asset" personally.