Intended Purpose: I needed a carry setup for suit-and-tie occasions. My regular method of fanny pack carry would be an even worse fashion catastrophe wearing a suit and tie. By excluding other methods that had not worked for me, I wound up deciding to look at shoulder holsters.
K.L. Null SMZ: http://www.klnullholsters.com/
I first heard about this shoulder holster through THR. It was recommended as being inexpensive and comfortable for smaller pistols. I had tried conventional shoulder holsters and didn’t like them, but when I tried just holding pistols under my arm in the “upside-down” SMZ position, it seemed like this might work.
Sig-Sauer P232: http://sigarms.com/Products/ShowCatalogProductDetails.aspx?categoryid=10&productid=69
But not with any of my guns. They were all too large and/or too blocky. I tried a few different guns in gun stores by holding them in the SMZ carry position and found the SIG P 232 to fit nicely. It wasn’t necessarily the smallest gun I held, but the size and shape seemed right. Also, I am used to the SIG P-series manual of arms (even on 1911s I catch myself reaching for the decocker
).
Before buying anything, I talked to Ken Null on the phone. He confirmed that he had a lot of happy customers carrying P 232’s in the SMZ. Order placed. For the pistol, I wound up making a trade with SIGForum and THR member 9x18. Both he and Ken Null were great to do business with, delivering the goods as described and ahead of schedule.
Review:
Other than fitting the SMZ and practicing drawing, the first time I carried like this was driving all day to a wedding and back. It was perfectly comfortable and I had no problems with printing. Not being able to take off one’s jacket is a minor drawback of this method, but not a deal-killer. Seems like all carry methods want a good belt - the SMZ does too. Opposite of other carry methods, the SMZ wants to pull your pants up. Not as annoying as having your pants pulled down, I guess. Wearing the belt just slightly tight fixes this.
The SMZ does take a bit of practice to get used to drawing. You grip the gun by the grip, just as you would to shoot it, and then twist it outward. When you do this right, the gun pops free and it is easy to continue the motion toward the target. After a bit of practice, it works fine. I did have to learn to resist the urge to raise my left (off side) arm: the pistol is easier to grab on to and easier to draw out of the holster with the left arm in a normal position at one's side. The fact that it isn’t obvious how to get the gun out is potentially a plus: I think it would be quite difficult for someone to execute a gun grab successfully unless they had specifically practiced with this holster. Besides good retention, the SMZ has good trigger protection because the retention strap snaps through the trigger guard.
The only aspect of this carry set-up that took some trial and error was ammo selection. I was already leaning toward carrying FMJ to ensure good penetration with the marginal powered .380 caliber. So when I encountered feeding problems with JHPs, that helped me make up my mind. I carry American Eagle 95 gr FMJ with this pistol. It has been totally reliable with this ammo.
I’m not normally prone to spending money on cosmetic things, but then I saw a picture THR user Frandy posted of his P 232 with wood grips and had to have some. Nills like Frandy’s are out of my price range, but I found Denis Marschal’s website: http://www.marschalgrips.com These are very nice grips for about half what others charge for exotic wood grips. Denis is another good guy to do business with. The only thing I would do differently here is consider ordering them full checkered instead of having the SIG logo reproduced on them. Compared to the SIG factory grips, Marschal’s are considerably thinner, with a lot less palm swell. If I were just going to the range I might slightly prefer the SIG grips, but the Marschal grips disappear under my arm a bit better and I think they’d be more grippy if my hand was wet or sweaty.
The stainless P 232 shoots very well for me. I had shot aluminum frame 232s before and found the recoil to have a bit of a “sting.” The stainless model soaks that up nicely. I can shoot reasonably fast with this gun – not IDPA-winning fast, but hopefully fast enough. The group in the picture was shot at 21 feet, offhand, in pairs: bring the gun up from low ready, DA first shot, SA second shot, repeat. I like this drill with DA-SA pistols. I do this drill at a pace I call “take your time fast” – as quickly as I can while still maintaining deliberate controlled movements and well-aimed shots. I'm glad I decided on the 232 because I shoot it a lot better than the "micro" 9mms and 45s I have tried. I know other people can probably shoot these micro pistols, but I don't shoot them well and don't enjoy shooting them enough to get good with them. The 232 is the smallest pistol I can shoot well enough to have confidence should I ever need to use it.
Overall I am pleased the way this turned out. This is the first time I have put together a set of carry gear without wasting money buying at least one item that didn't work out for me (other than the JHPs).
What I Learned: one has to consider the gun, the holster, the carry method, the kind of clothing one will be wearing, and the intended carry situations, all at the same time, to come up with a system that all works together.
K.L. Null SMZ: http://www.klnullholsters.com/
I first heard about this shoulder holster through THR. It was recommended as being inexpensive and comfortable for smaller pistols. I had tried conventional shoulder holsters and didn’t like them, but when I tried just holding pistols under my arm in the “upside-down” SMZ position, it seemed like this might work.
Sig-Sauer P232: http://sigarms.com/Products/ShowCatalogProductDetails.aspx?categoryid=10&productid=69
But not with any of my guns. They were all too large and/or too blocky. I tried a few different guns in gun stores by holding them in the SMZ carry position and found the SIG P 232 to fit nicely. It wasn’t necessarily the smallest gun I held, but the size and shape seemed right. Also, I am used to the SIG P-series manual of arms (even on 1911s I catch myself reaching for the decocker
). Before buying anything, I talked to Ken Null on the phone. He confirmed that he had a lot of happy customers carrying P 232’s in the SMZ. Order placed. For the pistol, I wound up making a trade with SIGForum and THR member 9x18. Both he and Ken Null were great to do business with, delivering the goods as described and ahead of schedule.
Review:
Other than fitting the SMZ and practicing drawing, the first time I carried like this was driving all day to a wedding and back. It was perfectly comfortable and I had no problems with printing. Not being able to take off one’s jacket is a minor drawback of this method, but not a deal-killer. Seems like all carry methods want a good belt - the SMZ does too. Opposite of other carry methods, the SMZ wants to pull your pants up. Not as annoying as having your pants pulled down, I guess. Wearing the belt just slightly tight fixes this.
The SMZ does take a bit of practice to get used to drawing. You grip the gun by the grip, just as you would to shoot it, and then twist it outward. When you do this right, the gun pops free and it is easy to continue the motion toward the target. After a bit of practice, it works fine. I did have to learn to resist the urge to raise my left (off side) arm: the pistol is easier to grab on to and easier to draw out of the holster with the left arm in a normal position at one's side. The fact that it isn’t obvious how to get the gun out is potentially a plus: I think it would be quite difficult for someone to execute a gun grab successfully unless they had specifically practiced with this holster. Besides good retention, the SMZ has good trigger protection because the retention strap snaps through the trigger guard.
The only aspect of this carry set-up that took some trial and error was ammo selection. I was already leaning toward carrying FMJ to ensure good penetration with the marginal powered .380 caliber. So when I encountered feeding problems with JHPs, that helped me make up my mind. I carry American Eagle 95 gr FMJ with this pistol. It has been totally reliable with this ammo.
I’m not normally prone to spending money on cosmetic things, but then I saw a picture THR user Frandy posted of his P 232 with wood grips and had to have some. Nills like Frandy’s are out of my price range, but I found Denis Marschal’s website: http://www.marschalgrips.com These are very nice grips for about half what others charge for exotic wood grips. Denis is another good guy to do business with. The only thing I would do differently here is consider ordering them full checkered instead of having the SIG logo reproduced on them. Compared to the SIG factory grips, Marschal’s are considerably thinner, with a lot less palm swell. If I were just going to the range I might slightly prefer the SIG grips, but the Marschal grips disappear under my arm a bit better and I think they’d be more grippy if my hand was wet or sweaty.
The stainless P 232 shoots very well for me. I had shot aluminum frame 232s before and found the recoil to have a bit of a “sting.” The stainless model soaks that up nicely. I can shoot reasonably fast with this gun – not IDPA-winning fast, but hopefully fast enough. The group in the picture was shot at 21 feet, offhand, in pairs: bring the gun up from low ready, DA first shot, SA second shot, repeat. I like this drill with DA-SA pistols. I do this drill at a pace I call “take your time fast” – as quickly as I can while still maintaining deliberate controlled movements and well-aimed shots. I'm glad I decided on the 232 because I shoot it a lot better than the "micro" 9mms and 45s I have tried. I know other people can probably shoot these micro pistols, but I don't shoot them well and don't enjoy shooting them enough to get good with them. The 232 is the smallest pistol I can shoot well enough to have confidence should I ever need to use it.
Overall I am pleased the way this turned out. This is the first time I have put together a set of carry gear without wasting money buying at least one item that didn't work out for me (other than the JHPs).
What I Learned: one has to consider the gun, the holster, the carry method, the kind of clothing one will be wearing, and the intended carry situations, all at the same time, to come up with a system that all works together.
