Tucker's "The Answer" IWB

[tt0511]

In my search for my first real holster, I know I read on this forum and found that some are not fond of the idea of the price or the leather lining in the holster. Nevertheless, I feel this review may be useful for others and decided to post it here anyway. If you are a hater of the holster or the idea, all I ask is that you don't blast me. I wanted a leather lining for a couple of reasons. 1) I have read lots of reviews of people freaking out over kydex wear on their 1911. This, even when they DO understand that a carry gun is going to get wear, even in leather. It just seems that there are many more complaints about wear on 1911s from kydex than from leather. 2) I looked at many photos of holster wear and found that I much prefer the worn look of a gun carried in leather as opposed to the spotty wear of a kydex holster. The leather wear, in my opinion, adds a bit more character to a gun. Just my personal preference, no right or wrong here.

So, here we go:

I needed a functional holster quick and was persuaded to try The Answer by Tucker Gunleather based on quick delivery time compared to custom all-leather options. Quoted shipping date was 3 weeks after order. The order shipped after 4 weeks, so a little longer than quoted but not bad. Rob Longenecker was pleasant to deal with and has a good attitude. I wrote after 3 weeks to check the status of my order since I had not received a shipment notice and Rob was kind rather than irritated by my inquiry. That is much appreciated having dealt with whiners in business who snap just because you ask the question.

As far as I can tell from being a newcomer to the 1911 and the CCW crowd, this holster is of the highest quality materials and craftsmanship. It just looks and feels solid.

Sorry for the poor quality on the first few pictures. I don't have a camera stand and it's hard to be still taking pictures while posing for the mirror.

The Tucker Answer is one fine holster in my opinion. I was originally concerned about the leather thickness due to some comments about that I read on forums. This turned out to be laughable when I received the holster, saw it with my own eyes, and compared it side by side with my wife's Comp-Tac MTAC. The thickness is not at all a worry or issue. It is very comparable to the MTAC and I see no possible way anyone on the planet could tell the difference between the leather thicknesses in fit, concealability or comfort.

The suede backing on The Answer is just unbelievably comfortable. I could not imagine a holster could be this comfortable but I can definitely tell the difference in the suede backing and typical leather. It also helps hold the holster in place and movement is negligible.

Initially, I thought the holster would take weeks of regular wear to conform to my body and become more concealable and comfortable. The first time I tried it on, I was wearing Dockers dress/casual pants and the "wings" of the holster did stick out like a sore thumb. I wore it around the house that night to get the process started. I was impressed to find that when I took it off the first night, after only 2-3 hours of wear the holster had already formed a well defined radius to my body shape. As a matter of fact, it was already more formed than my wife's MTAC and she's been wearing that for quite a while now. Now, after only about two full days of wear, the holster is as you see it in the pictures. The pictures were taken minutes before this post.

I did have to adjust the screws to tighten down the kydex sheath so that the trigger guard of my 1911 stopped where it is supposed to. That took a little trial and error and it may still need a tweak or two to get it just right. But that is no problem.

I ordered mine with the slim-line belt clips and I'm glad I did. They camouflage very, very well over my black gun belt and aren't that noticeable at all. They turn under the belt and hold the holster in place during a "draw". They are very effective.

As I have read on this and other forums, I thought the real, usable "tuckable" feature of holsters that are deemed "tuckable" was really impractical and that it couldn't be pulled off in a real life situation without wearing clothes that just looked stupid. Well, I was proven wrong. This past Sunday I wore my Tucker and 1911 inside my Docker pants with an undershirt and tucked in long sleeve button down dress shirt. It did take a little work positioning the holster in just the right place to avoid a bulge at the hip. I moved the holster back a bit. Without being very attentive, there was no way to notice. No one at church noticed a thing, ...not even my fellow CCW'ers had a clue I was carrying that day. Even after I told a friend who has a Supertuck, ...he said "where?, ...Ok, give me a 360 turn around". His final response was that he couldn't tell a thing. So, with a little attention to detail, carrying in a tucked fashion is very possible.

Also, I was surprised to find how much tighter to the body The Answer hold my 1911 compared to the Summer Special clone I have. You can see in the pictures of me wearing The Answer just how tight to the body the grip is held against the body. There is no flopping around at all. It is extremely secure and stays put.

I just wanted to share my experience in case it may help someone else. I am a very happy customer and I would not hesitate to do business with Tucker Gunleather again.

[krunchnik]

Thanks for the great write up on the Tucker holster.I was looking at these a while back.They look like they are a well made product.Might have to give one a try down the road a bit.

[tt0511]

Thanks for the great write up on the Tucker holster.I was looking at these a while back.They look like they are a well made product.Might have to give one a try down the road a bit.

I can highly recommend it. Make sure you give Tucker's no B.S. warranty a look too. If you don't like one of their products, they don't want you to have it and they want to give you a refund. That's hard to beat.

[Guest oldsmobile98]

Thanks for the writeup!! I have a Texas Heritage Revolver IWB for my S&W 620, and I like it a lot.

Rob provides excellent customer service.

Tucker makes fantastic holsters.

The warranty rocks.

They made my first holster. I fully expect they will make my second holster as well (gotta get the gun first, though).

[MacGyver]

Thanks for that good review