Shooting Gear Reviews - The Stormcrow Group

Shooting Gear Review: Magpul Dynamics The Art of the Precision Rifle

Feb 142012

Overview

Magpul’s latest instructional DVD, The Art of the Precision Rifle, will either bore you to death or quite possibly be the best modern long-range shooting DVD on the market. It depends on how much you like checking velocities, distances, and windage. And doing math. And inputting barometric pressures into a PDA app. It’s not a video for everybody, but it sure is if you love reaching out and touching targets beyond 400 meters.

What I’m trying to get at is that this isn’t your usual Magpul Dynamics video. There aren’t the same tactical weapons manipulations, shooting under cars, and “punching out” of rifles. There isn’t the odd smattering of students as in Tactical Carbine I one, or banking choppers of Aerial Platform Operations. Chris Costa isn’t barking out reloads and weapon clears. Travis Haley isn’t unloading a full Kimber without an inch of muzzle flip. I don’t think I heard a single “Bust em”, “Gun!”, or “Feed it!” in all five dvds.

Call it Magpul Dynamics for the scholar. The extremely long-range, I-spend-all-day-on-my-stomach-in-the-grass scholar.

The major difference in this DVD set that will clue you in on this is that the teachers are now the students. Chris Costa, Travis Haley, Steve Fisher, Mike Oliveira and Caylen Wojcik (of other Magpul DVD fame) are there to serve as the technically competent shooter academy. Who’s the new professor you may ask?

Todd Hodnett. A man who looks like a badass, speaks like a sage, and has a beard that would put Chris Costa’s to shame. All that and he’s humble to boot.

When describing his past work doing long-range hunting, he admits that he was just getting lucky with certain shots. It wasn’t until he meticulously broke down his form, the science, and the limitations of his gear, did he come up with much of these techniques. From popping coyotes and deer, to now instructing some of the best soldiers and LEO’s in the world. Hodnett has brought a lot to the table.

Concepts

This DVD set brings much of this information to the viewer and an easy to watch and easy to learn format. This comes with the price of sometimes being excruciatingly drawn out for some. For others, they love watching each shot at 600m miss, Hodnett calling out the mil hold-over corrections, and the resounding “pang” of brass on steel.

For a novice long distance shooter like myself, I found the DVD’s quite informative, save for the fact that my brain felt overheated after even the first DVD. The introduction and explanation of topics like zeroing and holdover are known by most people. Hodnett goes the extra route of explaining intuitive ways of zeroing rifles, truing them, using ballistics calculators, and expanding the skills of the shooter by not only controlling the weapons system with form, technique and trigger control, but reading the terrain, environment, and atmospheric conditions.

I found his explanation of holdovers, Horus reticles, mil-dots, and mils one of the best delivered lessons I’ve seen in a DVD. This is a fundamental concept that’s often the most difficult to grasp and master, and is the basis for any further sighting and shooting you’ll do. It did take me a few rewinds to really put all the knowledge together, but its better than anything else I’ve seen or read before.

There’s literally so many lessons packed into the first DVD that would put most self-proclaimed “complete” instructional videos to shame.

Another overlooked facet of this DVD is the benefit of having the instructor cadre become the cadets: They ask questions. And not just basic questions. They ask specific and technical questions that you wouldn’t find if the class were made up of basic shooters.

The 3rd DVD has some informational material on snipers in the military and LEO realm, along with some useful exercise ideas to practice in the field. The 4th DVD is a run down and seminar on gear and different types of rifles (as per usual with Magpul videos). The last DVD, is a hodge-podge of segments that touch on unconventional positions, another reticle system, and a hilarious blooper reel.

Production Quality

The fine people at Magpul do a great job editing and enhancing their footage. However, don’t expect too many over-the-top, high-speed, low drag demos and cut scenes in this. What it lacks in this department, it delivers in providing instructive and creative footage to enhance the lessons. For example, when showing a shot on say, a steel head target at 600m, they will shot the target with the shooter’s reticle and hold over. They’ll show a miss or the hit of that particular shot. When a correction is called, they’ll show a reticle move over the proper mil and fire again. Of course this isn’t the real view through the shooter’s reticule, but it’s an added and necessary visual aid in enriching the lesson.

The sound and video are top notch. The audio does a good job buffering and eliminating wind noise which can be visually seen in the background as 99% of the video is shot perched on a knoll or ridge in the desert.

Lasting Impressions

Like I said before, for anyone who has a keen and determined interest in precision shooting – Art of the Precision Rifle might be your Holy Grail. It takes the time and effort to elaborate on fundamental concepts, while offering intuitive and modern approaches and techniques. It truly is a milestone release for long-range shooting, that no one else except for Magpul Dynamics can currently deliver.

Shooting Gear Review: Make Ready With Travis Haley Adaptive Carbine

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Jan 242012

Image Copyright Panteao Productions

Do you know the differences of zeroing at 25, 100, 200, 300 yards? Can you show your point of impact rises and falls within and beyond your zero?

Fanboys rejoice. Travis Haley is back again with Panteao Productions Make Ready: Adaptive Carbine

Content

Accessories – strip them off, focus on fundamental weapons manipulations, then start adding back the accessories where your hands are NOT.

Climb the ladder of excellence any chance you get, focus on your fundamentals every time you shoulder your rifle.

Balancing speed and precision, putting rounds as fast as possible into combat effective zone. Pushing failure point.

Admin reloads, tactical reloads, speed reloads. Moving and shooting. Shooting and moving.

This DVD does not waste time giving you what you need to know. It’s a very excellent no-nonsense guide to running a carbine efficiently and effectively. He doesn’t go into 3 basic fundamentals as he does in Adaptive Handgun. Zero to little time spent on proper hands, eyes, feet. Much of the lessons assume you’ve shot a carbine before, but you’re looking for a new way to do it. But as you go along, some of the basics find their way co-mingled with other lessons.

Like Adaptive Handgun, Carbine gives a newer approach to identifying weapons malfunctions by trigger conditions. Not necessarily tap, rack, bang. ID first, deploy the RIGHT action. “Lock, strip, rack, rack, rack, gas it up and go”. The ubiquitous Tap, rack, bang won’t remedy a double feed, but will just result in wasted time and wasted action. To quote Travis, “remember the diddy.”

Call it remedial Tactical Carbine. Tactical Carbine Redux. Very much similar to Tactical Carbine I in lessons, but Tactical Carbine II in tone, this DVD is like a study guide than the actual textbook. Good for when you don’t want to go through the entire breadth of Magpul DVD’s but want to get to the meat and bones of the lessons taught. But there is a stress on this being ADAPTIVE carbine. Meaning, sometimes not all the techniques even they teach are the be all end all. Sometimes the shooter needs to change their manipulation as a situation allows or permits. Maybe this is in part response to us all taking Magpul Dynamics as dogma, even I’m guilty of it!

Quality

Although it doesn’t have the flashiness and drama of a Magpul Dynamics video. This is definitely an instructional video and not as much entertainment. Don’t lie to me and say you sometimes just don’t put in a Magpul video JUST to watch it…I’m talking about all you guys who bought Aerial Platform Ops!

Pantaeao Productions does a decent job at putting together the movie. The camera angles are good, they show what needs to be shown, especially when it comes to capturing close-up detail such as weapon malfunctions scenarios.

Travis Haley is an excellent instructor and teacher. I listen to a lot of public speakers and give presentations myself on a regular basis. Haley definitely commands authority when he talks, it’s a very effective teaching style. He speaks deliberately and doesn’t ramble. It goes hand-in-hand with his theory on economy of movement, no wasted actions and no wasted words.

Lasting Impressions

There’s plenty of things that I didn’t mention or go into as much detail has Haley does in the DVD. It’s definitely worth checking out if you like his teaching style and his other DVD’s. Or, if you haven’t pulled the trigger on MD’s Tactical Carbine, or are a new AR15 shooter, I suggest watching Adaptive Carbine and starting right.

And before anyone takes offense I say fanboys jokingly, I myself, am a fanboy, closet mall ninja, and certified gear junkie.

Shooting Gear Review: Weatherby PA-08 Upland Pump Shotgun

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Jan 072012

There I am, standing in front of a wall racked with over 100 long guns. The array is vast. The prices span the spectrum of dirt cheap to ridiculously overpriced. I’m still working up from the bottom, but I want a shotgun.

What to choose? What to choose?

I had gone into the store with the intention of focusing solely on the Mossberg 500 Field and Remington 870 Express. These were in my budget of around $300. I was looking mainly for a field grade shotgun, capable of waterfowl and upland bird hunting, as well as a competent skeet shooter. Didn’t really need a home defense shotgun or a deer-slayer, since I have a pistol and compound bow to take care of those needs.

I handled both the Remington and Mossberg back and forth for a good hour, trying to choose which I liked better. But I found myself forcing myself to like one or the other, when in the end, I didn’t really like either. I was about to decide on the Remington 870 because the action on that specific shotgun felt smoother, when I noticed a glossy, almost cherry red stock nestled amidst the other guns. I asked to take a look.And immediate fell in love with the Weatherby PA-08 Upland Pump.

Normally, shotguns at this price range are known to be brutish. Not so much with this one.

I imagine Weatherby being slightly disliked by Mossberg and Remington. Much like the new guy in the office, with a bounce still in his step, hustling and bustling, trying hard and getting lot’s done. He puts the veterans to the game to shame, who are thoroughly entrenched with the way they do it and the amount they’re putting out. Well, I hate to break it to them, but Weatherby is changing the budget-shotgun game with something this beautiful.

Overview

The Weatherby PA-08 Upland Pump is at a price point just above the 870 Express and 500. It is very similar in many respects; however, it does offer better features in finish than its competitors. The shotgun I purchased is a 28” ribbed, chrome-lined barrel 12 gauge, with a glossy walnut stock and glossy blued black finish. Hold it next to a Mossberg 500 with its fake-looking walnut stock, or a Remington 870 dull matte finished breech and barrel and you’ll feel ashamed you ever even considered bringing them home to Mom. With a 28” barrel, the Upland comes in at a total length of 48” with a 14” length of pull (same on any length/gauge). Weatherby also offers a 26” barrel model, which brings the total length down 2 inches in turn. Surprisingly, both of these 12 gauge models weigh the same, at 7.25 lbs. They also put out a 20gauge line, which keeps the barrel measurements the same but knocks off a pound in total weight.

Initial Impressions

As I said before, I immediately fell in love with this gun. It feels light and nimble in the hands, despite having a 28” barrel. Any person I hand it to comments on its lightness and balance. Shouldering it, at least for me and my body type feels very natural. When practicing shouldering the Remington, I had an issue with choking too far down on the fore grip. No matter how many times I tried changing it, this was also the presentation that felt most natural, which felt quite unnatural to me. I chose from one of two identical shotguns this particular store had, going for the tiger-stripe like wood grain on this one. You can really tell how much a gloss finish brings out the beauty of walnut. It also has a few extra gold accents that add to the classic appeal and timeless character of this gun, like the gold finished trigger, Weatherby branding, and sight bead. I know this is a gun that I’m going to beat the hell out of, but already I know it will be passed on to my kids someday. That way I can save the Ruger Red Label I’ll get someday aaaall to myself.

In the box came the standard owner’s manual (somewhat lacking in readability), federally mandated cheapo shot-lock, and 2 extra chokes (Modified and Full) and choke wrench to accompany the Improved Cylinder already mounted in the gun.

Assembly and Quality

Some people might notice first that this gun is made in Turkey. That might turn some people off. I don’t really mind that much since most Weatherby’s have been made in Turkey since the company started outputting a wider array of firearms in the 1980′s (the company was founded in the 1940′s). I’m all for being made in America, but the features offered in this compared to it’s American-made competition made it a no brainer for me to venture overseas.

Take down of this gun is fairly easy as its a matter of unscrewing the tube cap, cycling the action and pulling the barrel. It also incorporates a drop-down trigger, so you can clean this gun inside and out in record time.

It is a bit tight and finicky trying to seat the barrel and slide back together, but I found that racking the slide half-way out just a bit is enough to align the barrel and lock it home.

Although assembly takes some getting used to, that just means that this thing fits tighter than a drum. There’s absolutely zero unnecessary rattle and shake in this gun. The fore grip will always rattle a bit, but its surprisingly less than the amount of knocking you get on the Mossberg’s.

In The Field

I’ve carried this out into the woods and to the swamp on two occasions in search of waterfowl. Unfortunately, we saw like 2 ducks and no shots. However, it did give me a chance to realize this gun really needs a sling if you want to take it to the swamp. Although 7.5 lbs isn’t a intolerable, it gets heavy if you’ve got a long trudge out into the stink. I found myself carrying this cradled across my chest a lot, or straight across one shoulder. Carrying it this way, you also get a good idea of what a 4 foot wingspan feels like out in the woods. Many waterfowler’s will probably not even consider this gun for duck hunting, given the bright glossy finish. But, I, unfortunately, can’t afford a Benelli SuperVinci in Max-4 just yet. So it’s coming to the marsh with me.

So far, I’ve put about 100 rounds of Remington Game Loads through this gun while shooting clays with my friends. It handles very well and became the go-to shooter that day between all my friends. Pointing and sight alignment are much easier on a barrel of this length, as it feels like you’re pretty much reaching out and touching the clays with the bead sight.

I’ve had two jams using this ammo, but it may have been me short-stroking or definitely me loading improperly. I managed to load a shell in the tube, but not push it fully in and seat, which caused the already loaded shell to eject this one back out as the load port flap was coming down. Very interesting jam. I don’t know if this will continue happening.

The action, although buttery smooth indoors, began to stick a bit outside in colder temps (it was 40F when we were shooting clays). The gun still requires some breaking in, as my desire to rack it continuously while watching TV isn’t very polite for my girlfriend or dog.

Observations

Aside from the finicky barrel reassembly and two jams, the gun has been pretty good so far. I would say the gloss finish on the stock is a bit thin though. I managed to nick it with a disassembled barrel and scratched it very easily. I’ve also put a couple more bringing it out to the range and wetlands. They are small, but a small scratch is still very noticeable. I guess I shouldn’t complain given that this gun is by no means a relic or safe-queen. It’s going to get plenty more dings.

One more thing that I’m a little concerned about is parts availability. Given that these are made in Turkey, and given the current instability arising in Turkey’s neighborhood, I’ve been trying to order an extra trigger assembly and parts should ever I need them. I’ve been hard pressed to find some answers in this, so if any readers out there now, I’d be much obliged.

Lasting Impressions

Like I said before, for anyone looking for a first shotgun, an extra gun to bring to the local shooting club, or just a budget-friendly shotgun that doesn’t look like shit, the Weatherby PA-08 Upland Pump is for you. Style and functionality at a good price bring a lot of value to this gun.

Shooting Gear Review: Make Ready with Travis Haley: Adaptive Handgun DVD

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Jan 032012

Didn’t you hear? Travis Haley, the mastermind behind Magpul Dynamic’s wildly successful training DVDs and programs, left Magpul this year to start his own consulting and training group, Haley Strategic. With Haley Strategic in cooperation , he has so far put out two DVD’s: Adaptive Carbine and Adaptive Handgun, with Adaptive Kalash on the way. I was able to borrow a copy of Make Ready with Travis Haley: Adaptive Handgun DVD for review, which is the most recent DVD to be released. So here is my take on it.

Initial Impressions

Anyone who has seen a Magpul Dynamics training DVD knows that Travis Haley will bring it. Although being a god among mall ninjas and arm-chair commandos, at least Travis Haley has the experience and no non-sense knowledge to give useful information and instruction.He also has a very efficient and mechanical demeanor, while still being down-to-earth and a shit-you-not kind of guy. I hate DVD’s that emphasize flash over real-world insight. You can see this in the new concepts they introduce in their training, from the thumb-forward carbine grip, reloading and troubleshooting techniques, and weapon modifications. I expected less of these advanced techniques introduced in Adaptive Handgun, as it appeared to be more of a basic fundamentals training video.

Training

“Driving a rifle is like driving a car. Driving a handgun is like driving an airplane.” – Travis Haley

I was half wrong and half right in saying this was a basic fundamentals video. Yes, the video focuses on establishing the core fundamentals of shooting: eyes, grip, and stance. From these basic foundations, many more techniques are extrapolated. So it’s far from basic.

When instructing grip and stance procedure, Haley continues to teach the isosceles stance, which I personally prefer over weaver. He includes the grip demonstration found in Magpul Dynamics Art of the Dynamic Handgun in which he fires a gun uses varying grips, one hand, off hand, low tang grip, uneven two hand grip, etc. It really drives home the importance of your grip when managing recoil and employing effective and non disruptive trigger control.

The beginning of the DVD shows many things that can be found in the Magpul predecessor; however, later on there are some interesting exercises shown. Tactical and administrative reloads are the same; however, malfunctions troubleshooting is very new and interesting. If you’ve ever seen Clint Smith’s handgun dvds, or many others, the general malfunction panacea is to “tap, rack, bang” method. If that doesn’t work, then remove the mag, rack-rack-rack, insert fresh ammo and try to fire again. This method is prescribed no matter what malfunction occurs.

Haley, offers his own take on weapons clearing, by lumping them into only a few major failure categories. Rather than prescribe the same method to fix every malfunction and possibly wasting time, he takes a moment to assess the failure and its symptom and deploy the best medicine for the job. Rather than a cure-all. It’s also based on not considering the viewer or shooter a complete idiot, and he explains the only reasons a handgun can fail (besides mechanically broken) and how to assess them. A trigger that clicks is caused by different problem than a trigger that is mushy. Why tap a magazine on a mushy trigger when it doesn’t help the problem? That’s wasted movement when seconds count. It’s a very interesting and refreshing take on clearing malfunctions which will probably take hold very quickly.

There are also several shooting exercises and drills he explains how to do to reach the users failure point. These methods seem very handy and designed to build strong fundamentals. Of these, a walk-back drill consisting of trying to put a number of rounds in an 8-inch zone within a certain time will be very useful for quickly breaching that failure point. Another drill utilizes a target which is available for free printout on his website. He explains how to assess and read each shot to identify when and what wrong in your fundamentals. More exciting are the KIM drills (Keep in Memory), designed to coordinate the three fundamentals of eyes, grip, and stance. These involve being given a card which may have on it an order of colored targets to turn around and shoot, all under a timed environment. This is to induce stress and really push your skills. What’s best is that Haley teaches you just the basics on creating these sorts of drills, which really arms the viewer with the ability to go out and be creative.

These are just a few of the concepts introduced. On top of these are moving to fire skills, accuracy and target acquisition, as well as handgun and holster selection.

Production Quality

The production quality is pretty good. I wouldn’t say its as flashy as the Magpul Dynamics videos; however, I think the lack of many edits and cut-scenes aids in the 1 on 1 instructional feel of the video. What the production company Panteao could have done better was get rid of the stupid Panteao branded scene introductions. It reminds me of a video game load screen with a flaming “P” logo emblazoned in the corner.

There are a few editing mistakes that I noticed, but they hardly noticeable. One thing that was annoying, and it may only be my Sony TV’s LiveColor feature, was the fast contrast balancing going on whenever a cloud passed overhead in the video. It’s something I’ve noticed a lot mainly because of my TV, so your results may vary. Unless you have a Sony LCD with this god awful feature.

Observations

For any fan boys out there looking for new gear to spy on, you’ll be disappointed. There are no tacticool chest rigs, ACOGs, and Arc’teryx to oogle over. He mentions a few types of holsters, including a drop leg and his multicam belt holster. He does exclusively use a Glock, which will probably boost sales a bit (not as much as Raven Concealment holsters after Dynamic Handgun came out!). I also saw that Haley Strategic has created a new Skimmer 1911 trigger for Glocks, which look pretty sweet too, but it’s not mentioned in the video. Look to these to be more prevalent than the Kimber 1911′s and Smith and Wesson M&P’s seen in previous DVD’s.

I like the fact that tactical gear and accessories are kept to a minimum in this DVD, it again aids in the 1 on 1 nature of the video while also grounding it as techniques that you don’t need a race gun to do. It’s for the average person to master, not the high speed operator.

Conclusions

This video is definitely replayable and a keeper. My friends and I plan to rewatch the movies to recreate the training drills and create our own. I know that my skills and fundamentals always need work, especially when it comes to grip. I’m constantly battling to find that sweet spot of proper tension, elbows and shoulders and stance.

I’m also considering buying a copy of my own to pass on to my father, that’s how useful I think this video is. It’s because it gives you skills necessary to push your ability further beyond the DVD, which many DVD’s don’t do. It’s much like the old adage of teaching a man to fish. Continuously improve and push your limit. That’s all I have to say.

Thinking about purchasing this DVD? Consider supporting this website by purchasing it from any of the following retailers:

Amazon.com

Brownell’s

Shooting Gear Review: Crossbreed SuperTuck Deluxe IWB Holster

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Dec 302011

What drew me to the Crossbreed SuperTuck Deluxe at first was the mere fact that it was one of the few holsters on the market that would fit the Walther P99c I was trying to conceal. Moreover, being a lefty, it was pretty much the ONLY concealable holster that would my P99c and be a dedicated southpaw holster. So that’s what drew me at first, what kept me hooked was the comfort and quality.

Overview

The SuperTuck Deluxe has been around for a few years now. It’s not the prettiest or most tactical looking holster by any means. Companies like Blackhawk and Raven Concealment can hook you up with that Tacticool fix. What Crossbreed holsters lack in looks, they make up for in comfort and functionality (call it Ugly Girl syndrome?). A dinner plate sized piece of leather with some kydex and steel clips mounted on it. That’s it. It’s the PB&J of in the waist band holsters. But, just like the PB&J, its hard to think of something that works better.

Initial Impressions

The holster took a few weeks to come in the mail. This is what happens when each one is hand-made by one of 7 craftsmen right here in the USA. The quality shows in the workmanship, which I was immediately impressed with right out of the box. The package came with a Crossbreed business card, info sheet on adjusting the kydex sheathing, and also a pamphlet about Crossbreed’s lifetime warranty. Most people rag on this holster for being downright ugly. Honestly, I don’t think it’s that bad. The small touches like the formed logo crosses on the belt clips and the embossed logo on the top of the leather help polish the turd, if you catch my drift.

Materials

The build quality of the holster is very good, even though it’s pretty simple. The spring steel belt clips feel strong and should provide good tension for a long time (I heard there was an issue with them losing tension before a design change). The kydex sheath is much thicker than from what I’ve seen in other kydex gear, like some knife sheathes. It feels solid with some flex (ridgiflex!). The kydex is very well molded, so much so that I can see the Walther P99 logo embossed on the interior of the kydex!

When ordering, I opted for a 45 degree forward “FBI” cant and for the upgraded horse hide leather that comes in the natural color. I thought this would blend into my Indian perm-tan, but its unfortunately much lighter than my stock skin tone. Either way, the leather is of top quality and has a nice supple feel. The reverse side is obviously not smooth, but has a rough stippled surface (normal for leather). I like the feel of this against my skin as opposed to hard, cold plastic.

I also considered opting for the “combat cut” which cuts away some of the leather around the grip, for a lower profile and smoother draw action. However, the mere fact that I’m paying more for less leather, and it’s a permanent solution to a problem I don’t have yet (problem: excess leather interfering with draw) I decided against it. Crossbreed themselves recommend not getting it if you’re unsure, since you can always do it later.

Fit and Comfort

Anyone who owns a Cross Breed knows its probably one of the most comfortable IWB holsters out there. What many people don’t realize before buying an IWB holster is that if you wear fitted jeans like I do, you will run into some incompatibility with your pants. Why? Because you’re now including the width of your handgun plus about a quarter inch in holster material. If you’re exactly at your waist size, its going to be tight. This means you’ll either need to buy a few new pairs of jeans, or wear your jeans higher at your “true waist” and not your hips.

Other than that initial fit issue, the holster pretty much disappears on your waist line. You will literally sometimes forget your wearing it aside from the weight of the gun on your belt (remember to buy a quality belt).

In The Field

Something to note with an IWB is that you won’t necessarily be able to wear it at the 3’0′clock position on your hip like you would on a belt holster. Because the holster needs to conform to your waist and pelvis, it can’t wrap around the edge of your pelvic bone (unless you’re trying to concealed carry a rubber gun..). It also prints excessively at this position as you have the butt of your gun easily poking out the back of your shirt. You will have to play around with exactly where you want to carry it. I carry mine at about the 8’0′clock position (remember, I’m lefty) and this sends the gun butt almost across my back, where it hides well.

Always remember with a concealed carry holster to train with it at the range! This is how you’ll be carrying it when you want to deploy it in a life and death situation, be sure you’ve got the muscle memory in place to confidently draw from this position.

Observations

I noticed when I first test fitted my gun in this holster that it didn’t hold securely when I was holding it. I almost thought I got a defective holster. What i didn’t realize, and I’m glad I did before I called Crossbreed up, was that when you have the holster mounted inside your belt and holster the gun, it holds perfectly. This is because the extra tension created by wearing the holster from your belt, your pant waistband and by bending to conform to your body creates the extra amount of tension necessary to lock the gun into place. Try this out before you bust out your heat gun or call up Crossbreed to have it fixed. You’ll be surprised how much the tension changes.

The conformity of the leather also changes the more I wear it. It has more or less adopted the curvature of my waist from wearing it, so much so that it holds its shape now even when unholstered. I like this, it’s like a good pair of boots. The leather facing itself is showing some wear from my barrel. You can see it in the photo below.

It’s not really a flaw or complaint but just something I noticed. A flaw that I did notice, was on the back of the leather, there is some six digit number written in pen ink on it. Maybe this is the 31,346th holster made? Maybe it’s part of someone’s phone number? Who knows, but it’s a bit distracting and takes away from an otherwise immaculate build quality.

Mystery digits

Lastly, I read that there was an issue with Crossbreed’s belt clips bending out over time and loosing tension. I think they’ve addressed this issue and started using a stronger spring steel. My clips have yet to budge from their initial conformation.

Lasting Impressions

I’m very satisfied with this holster and recommend it to all my friends looking for a concealed carry holster. I know Crossbreed has increased their lineup of handguns they can mold kydex for, and the mere fact that they have a Walther P99 pattern means they can pretty much do it all. Yes, its steeper than an Uncle Mike’s, but worth the price for comfort in my opinion. Try it out!

Tight groups!