This is my first post. I've been lurking here for a few years but never felt I had anything to contribute. Now I do. I'm writing to caution everyone against pocket holsters that don't really grip your weapon.
For the last couple of years I've been pocket-carrying a Ruger LCP in a Recluse holster. The Recluse provides excellent retention but although it's very low profile, I feel that it prints badly. I got the front-pocket model and since it has very squared-off corners and edges and is holster-shaped, no matter what pants I wear I have a noticeable gun-shaped outline in my pocket.
So a couple of weeks ago I bought a DeSantis Superfly. Initially I was very pleased-it worked as advertised. The outside of the holster adheres to the pocket and, while you could tell something was in my pocket, you couldn't tell what it was.
Last night at about 9:00 I was relaxing on the couch with my girlfriend and came to the sickening realization that while my holster was in my pocket, my LCP was not. Just for the record I was wearing Dickies work pants-much like flatfront khakis-not loose, not tight. I made a quick, frantic search of my house and van and came to the realization that I had to make the terrifying, humiliating call to the client whose house I had been working in all day and tell him that there was possibly an unsecured, loaded gun with no safety somewhere in his house with his two sons. Now, I was pretty sure the gun would end up being somewhere in my house or yard, as I habitually pat all my pockets when I get in or out of my van, but the Superfly has enough rigidity and the LCP is light enough that it doesn't feel that much different with the pistol in or out of the holster. And in any case, I couldn't gamble the lives of a 7 year old and a 4 year old on being "pretty sure." So I called my client and went back and searched his house thoroughly. No luck. With that out of the way I went back to my house and performed a more thorough search and found it. It had fallen out of my pocket on the couch and become entangled in a blanket. We had lifted up that blanket twice in the initial search but as the name suggests, it's a light, compact pistol and it escaped detection. .
That hour or so between the discovery that the pistol was missing and the discovery of the pistol was the most terrifying of my life. What if one of those kids had already found it and hidden it in his room before I discovered the loss? That's something I might have done at age 7.
Turns out everything was fine. My girlfriend is experienced with firearms and I don't have kids, so no one was ever in any danger. But the possibilities are terrifying. And the whole experience could end up costing my company tens of thousands of dollars. I own a low-voltage contracting company and the client is one of my builders. He's a gun-owner himself and was very understanding but I'm sure his wife is livid (and rightfully so). And we all know how influential wives can be.
My takeaway from this: the Superfly went straight into the trash. I had never thought about it, but the opening in the holster and the slash pockets on a pair of khakis line up perfectly to dump the LCP right out when seated. I will also never carry into a house with children again, although I certainly don't judge anyone who makes a different choice. And I'm back to the Recluse-printing and all. It's a very well-designed holster and I'm confident that it won't come out of my pocket unless I want it to. Today I'm emotionally drained but very relieved.
For the last couple of years I've been pocket-carrying a Ruger LCP in a Recluse holster. The Recluse provides excellent retention but although it's very low profile, I feel that it prints badly. I got the front-pocket model and since it has very squared-off corners and edges and is holster-shaped, no matter what pants I wear I have a noticeable gun-shaped outline in my pocket.
So a couple of weeks ago I bought a DeSantis Superfly. Initially I was very pleased-it worked as advertised. The outside of the holster adheres to the pocket and, while you could tell something was in my pocket, you couldn't tell what it was.
Last night at about 9:00 I was relaxing on the couch with my girlfriend and came to the sickening realization that while my holster was in my pocket, my LCP was not. Just for the record I was wearing Dickies work pants-much like flatfront khakis-not loose, not tight. I made a quick, frantic search of my house and van and came to the realization that I had to make the terrifying, humiliating call to the client whose house I had been working in all day and tell him that there was possibly an unsecured, loaded gun with no safety somewhere in his house with his two sons. Now, I was pretty sure the gun would end up being somewhere in my house or yard, as I habitually pat all my pockets when I get in or out of my van, but the Superfly has enough rigidity and the LCP is light enough that it doesn't feel that much different with the pistol in or out of the holster. And in any case, I couldn't gamble the lives of a 7 year old and a 4 year old on being "pretty sure." So I called my client and went back and searched his house thoroughly. No luck. With that out of the way I went back to my house and performed a more thorough search and found it. It had fallen out of my pocket on the couch and become entangled in a blanket. We had lifted up that blanket twice in the initial search but as the name suggests, it's a light, compact pistol and it escaped detection. .
That hour or so between the discovery that the pistol was missing and the discovery of the pistol was the most terrifying of my life. What if one of those kids had already found it and hidden it in his room before I discovered the loss? That's something I might have done at age 7.
Turns out everything was fine. My girlfriend is experienced with firearms and I don't have kids, so no one was ever in any danger. But the possibilities are terrifying. And the whole experience could end up costing my company tens of thousands of dollars. I own a low-voltage contracting company and the client is one of my builders. He's a gun-owner himself and was very understanding but I'm sure his wife is livid (and rightfully so). And we all know how influential wives can be.
My takeaway from this: the Superfly went straight into the trash. I had never thought about it, but the opening in the holster and the slash pockets on a pair of khakis line up perfectly to dump the LCP right out when seated. I will also never carry into a house with children again, although I certainly don't judge anyone who makes a different choice. And I'm back to the Recluse-printing and all. It's a very well-designed holster and I'm confident that it won't come out of my pocket unless I want it to. Today I'm emotionally drained but very relieved.
