On the Privateer holster, are the "grippers" different than the usual Pull-the-Dot snaps? If so, how? I like the holsters but do not like the snaps as they are hard to snap over a well-fit belt and can appear to be snapped when not. As such, I tend to use such holsters as sewn loops, threading the belt through the holster.
The ones Wes uses on his Privateer holsters literally are Pull-The-Dot snaps. For them to be properly actuated and engaged, theres a correct angle of engagement. And I thnk that they way that you're using yours is actually the technique that Wes prefers to be used-that the grips are engaged as much as possible, with ungripping and re-gripping being minimized. As I recall, his suggested guidance is that the grippers be un-gripped only when there's a need to expeditiously remove the holster, but that their normal mode is for the grips to be engaged exactly as you are.Originally Posted by farscott
My initial concern is that while I would engage te grips, body or clothing shifts against heavy concealment gernments would unsnap a grip-mostly the rearmost one. Time, and the grip inner spring apparently taking a "set" seems to have cured this tendancy to have unintentional unsnapping. Wes's method of loop costruction is that even if unsnapped, it's unlikely that the holster would come loose or become unsecured against your body, even during the draw process. Apparently there's a bit of a break-in process for both the grips and the leather loops, as a little wear-in more easily facilitates threading a belt through the loops when the Pull-The-Dot grips are engaged.
The Castaway holster is a mid-ride, esentially the same as his Highwayman in terms of construction, positioning and cant, but with the Pull-The-Dot belt loops as opposed to the Highwayman, which has the belt manuvering through integral cuts in the leather holster body itself. Given a choice between the two, I'm slightly more inclined to go with the Highwayman's way of engagng the belt, but for those who may need to remove and then re-don their holster during the wear period the Castaway may be a better choice. https://www.privateerleather.com/cop...owb-holsters-1
https://www.privateerleather.com/cop...owb-holsters-1
And he has other alteratives-his quality is excellent and consistant in my experience. If you're looking for a leather holster, either for classic, aesthetic or practical reasons, his are well worth a look-I highly recommend them. Wes is great to work with as well, and has reasonable turn-around times.
https://www.privateerleather.com/
Thank you for the very informative reply. I am perusing the Privateer web site, trying to make some decisions. My usual holster of choice is the Sparks HR-LTD (essentially a VM-2 with a waterproof membrane and two layers of thin smooth leather) for IWB with a 1911. With a Glock, I prefer the more aggressively canted Criterion. 2020 played havoc with my training ammo supply as I spent most of the year and ammo supply getting up to speed on the EDC X9. I was also experimenting with the EDC X9 in a 1911-length Criterion since the grip frame is more like a Glock But my 9x19 training ammo supply was most depleted, and I transitioned back to the .45 ACP 1911. Now that the supply seems to be a bit better, I am getting ready to go back to 9x19. An EDC X9 holster like the Criterion is what I am leaning towards. Of course, I could just order a four-inch Criterion from Sparks or use the five-inch holsters I have, but I am thinking over the options.
Wes at Privateer is pretty responsive to emails, you may want to query him directly. He's aware of our discussions on this and on the 1911forum. Feel free to use my name in vain as a refernece point.
And I hear you on ammunition. I usually shoot revolvers 2 months out of the year-with .38 Special and/or .357 mgnum going for north of $1 a round (and that's for genaric practice stuff...), any dedicated revo use is pretty much out the 2021 window...
Ammunition and personal/professional comittments are leading me to concentrating on my 1911, High Power, Glock and SIG P320 for the bulk of 2021, unless the ammuntion situation signinficantly clears up. And, realistically, concentrating of fewer rather than more platforms is probably a better thing to do anyhow...
Best, Jon
In the grips that I've experimented with over time with my 1911s, the two that really stood out for me were the VCD thumbscoop model and the BH Spring Solutions walnut Master grip. While the VCDs are the obvious best value, I appreciated the grain and finish on the BH Spring Solutions checkered walnut single diamond grips. The VCDs stood out with their increased grippiness and large thumbscoop, the BH SS ones for the subtle but extraordinarily effective vestigal thumb rest on the sides-particularly effective was the one on the right hand grip when shooting support-handed only, as it really stabilizes the gun in hand.
Yeah, you guys know where I'm headed with this...I've mounted the VCD olive drab thumbscoop left grip, and BH Spring Solution's right grip. my thoughts being that this would give me the best of both worlds. The VCD left seems to provide the primary hand-to-receiver grip (with the support hand), and the BH SS grips look decent, and provide an excellent stabalizing vestigal thunbshelf for support hand only shooting.Looks are...interesting (but realistically, most observers and shooters are only going to see one side of the gun at a time.
Seems to be excellent in dryfire practice; I'll get some livefiring scheduled, but the combination seems to be quite effective and comfortable.
Best, Jon
I recently shot the SIG in our Washington State IDPA Championship, a Tier IV IDPA match. The gun ran like a proverbial sewing machine, the operator, we;;, let's just say that I had a great time, had a great squad, and successfully avoided being DQ'd. There's room for improvement for JonInWA...
For the ladt year or so, I've been running my FN High Power with the BH SS/RDIH SFS system. As I detailed in the High Power thread, I was a reluctant, very reluctant participant in experimenting with the SFS setup, thinking that it basically was a solution in search of a problem.
After finally (the kit sat on my desk gathering dust for 6 months) deciding to try it (out of a sense of objective fairness, as well as yielding to the continued {and unrelenting} persuasion of one of the BH SS partners, I did in fact install it. And rapidly concluded that I was flat-out wrong, that there were some tangible and worthwhile advantages to the system. And, like most BH SS components and kits, it was a drop in proposition, easily installed by the individual High Power user (and if you didn't like it, easily removed and restored to OEM configuration).
So, after State, I decided to see how the SFS system would perform in a 1911. My 1911 for the experiment was my venerable (and long suffering) 2006 vintage Generation 2 SIG GSR XO. The GSR/SIG-Sauer 1911s are Series 80 guns, so my kit was appropriate for the Series 80, adding 2 components (a plunger lever and a trigger bar lever) to the basic SFS kit.
https://bhspringsolutions.com/index....11s-series-80/
The kit comes nicely boxed with detailed instruction sheets, but your best bet for understanding and installation are the following two YouTube videos:
1. BH Spring Solution's video, "1911 Fast Safety SFS Demonstration,"
2. "BEST Series 80 Reassembly Video" (it's predecessor, "BEST Series 80 Disassembly Video" is equally excellent if needed)
Necessary tools are minimal; appropriate gunsmith screwdrivers (for grip screw removal) appropriately sized punches, Wheeler Engineering Universal Bench Block (armorer's puck), and appropriate lubricants. While my personal SIG already had installed the BH SS/RDIH Extended Slide Stop and Ambidexterous Magazine Release, if you don't have those and desire them order the "Tactical" level SFS kit, which is the one I provided above.
I'm a huge believer in the inherent qualities and consistancy of BH Spring solutions springs, so the kit essentially fills out re-springing my 1911, as I'd already used their springs for the RSA and magazine release; the kit includes a new, stronger mainspring and plunger tube springs, both critical to the SFS system. The Wheeler Engineering block is particularly welcome in facilitating the mainspring housing spring switchouts.
Although I'm a huge proponent of regular firearm cleaning and lubricating (as in, after each use), this was the first itme I've done a detailed disassembly and reassembly of the 1911 receiver. It's actually quite straightfoward and easily executed, and a relatively little know fact is that the 1911 was designed with the ability for a user to perform a detailed disassembly and reassembly with absolutely no necessary other tools; the various components can serve double-duty as the requisite tools.
Disassembly went swimmingly. However, when I got to the point on reassembly/installation of the SFS components, specifically the Series 80 components, things came to an abrupt standstill. The short version is that the provided BH SS/RDIH Trigger Bar Lever was thicker, significantly so, than the OEM SIG part, and it was only with extreme difficulty that I could get the triggerr bar emplaced adjacent to the sear/disconnector components. And, when installed, it was simply too tight to successfully align the three components for the insertion of the sear pin.
Discussions with BH SS revealed that if you had a Colt Series 80 for SFS installation, then yes, you needed the provided BH SS/RDIH Trigger Bar Lever and Plunger Lever-for other manufacturer's 1911s with the Series 80 setup, you need to ascertain the following: If Colt or exact copies of the Colt Series 80 components, you'll need to use the BH SS/RDIH Series 80 components; if not, just continue with using the Series 80 components inherent to the gun. Basically, if you try to install the BH SS/RDIH components, and they don't fit, stick with the gun's OEM Series 80 components; No harm, no foul. You'll also need to use the stronger supplied BH SS/RDIH mainspring and plunger tube springs.
Once I switched to the OEM SIG Series 80 components, everything installed and worked superbly.
While the kit includes a necessary BH SS/RDIH hammer assembly, and can facilitate a shorter "GI" grip safety, I deliberately chose to remain with my OEM Caspian grip safety; I appreciate the vertical fin, because wherever the web of my hand hits the grips safety, it'll deactivate it.
BH SS partner Mark Howe demonstrates and recommends some judicious re-bending of several of the tines of the sear combination leaf spring; I induced a more foward bend to the left tine (controlling the sear) and the far right tine (applying pressure to the grip safety). I was a tad bit more conservative then the bends Mark performs on the video. I also have a Wilson Combat Bullettproof sear spring enroute, but decided to experiment with the OEM one.
Re-assembly went very smoothly-watch the videos, though. They were a huge help to me (and the BEST videos use a stainless steel 1911, which makes things easily visible) Again, the Wheeler Engineering Universal Block is worth its weight in gold, particularly with assembly steps concerning the mainspring housing.
The BH SS/RDIH kit provides a set of replacement manual safety levers; the left is well-shaped and metal, the right well-shaped but polymer (which BH SS is considering switching to metal-a highly recommended change, and the polymer right lever is attached by a flange to the safety lever axle, so I question the long-term viability of the polymer right side safety lever. If mine successfully irritates me, I may simply take it off and dress the flange so that it's flush with the frame, and run mine as a singler-side manual safety.
So-mechanically, the system works very nicely; trigerpull is nominally heavier than the triggerpull as provided on mine by the SIG Custom Shop, but it's crisp and without creep. The ergonomics of the replacement safety levers are excellent.
My initial thoughts:
-Carry comfort is significantly enhanced with the SFS as the hammer forward position (but cocked-and-locked) hammer is not protruding into your side as with the traditional hammer position at cocked-and-locked.
-The safety levers are capable of only manually off-safing the gun-on safing is accomplished only by manually moving the hammer forward; the safety levers automatically cam into their upright on safe position. Conversely, you can ONLY activate on safing by mechanically moving the hammer foward, as the safety levers have lost their operator-induced upward on-safe motion. If you're one of those who likes to on-safe between strings of fire (but before holstering the weapon when all finished), you're probably not going to like SFS. Of course, mechanically moving the hammer forward isn't a big deal, but it's another muscle memory to learn. It's easier to do with the more vestigal GI beavertail than my swept beavertail; I have to grasp the hammer by its sides to move it foward, using both thumb and forefinger.
-The SFS is a far safer way to get the hammer forward, especially with a loaded cartridge in the chamber.
I'll run it and let everyone think of my continued impressions.
Best, Jon
Last edited by JonInWA; 07-03-2022 at 06:03 PM.
I recently added two components to the SIG-a set of VZ Operator II Palm Swell G10 grips, in Hyena Brown, and concurrently wanted to run some of High Desert Cartridge Company's remanufactured .45 ACP cartridges through it.
https://vzgrips.com/products/vz-oper...911-grips.html
https://highdesertcartridge.com/
I ran the gun with the grips an cartridges through a 50 round familiarization session, and then competed with it in a sodden, rain filled Tier 1 club IDPA match (where only half the shooters that had signed up actually showed up...). I had a great time, being adequately togged out for the weather, and it was a great environment to test in as well. At least the temperatures were mild, being in the high 40s and low 50s.
First-the cartridges. They're excellent, well remanufactured with quality low flash and low smoking powder, and exceptionally consistent and accurate. One of our own, Dagga Boy/Darryl Bolke is affiliated with them, especially regarding their revolver rounds (which I'll be testing in the near future), and I'm very impressed with them, and look forward to continued usage-their pricing is excellent, too. I had excellent accuracy in both sessions (both square range and at the IDPA match itself) with them, and absolutely zero malfunctions or hiccups of any sort. They were used in Check-Mate Extended Tube magazines, one set with hybrid feedlips and another set with semi-wadcutter (straighter) feedlips-while both sets had extra power springs and skirted followers, one set had a dimple on the follower, the other did not-feeding and operation with both sets wes excellent and totally problem free. The magazines were dumped in puddles repeatedly throughout the match as well, and at best cursorily wiped off before reloadings.
The VZ Operator II grips have been out for awhile, and play to good reviews. I wanted to try a set with the palm swells, beveled bottoms (I don't use magwells) and a Super Scoop on the left panel to aid in speedily accessing the magazine release button. While as I've discussed previously in the thread I've had excellent results with other very credible grips, these grips are exceptional. Made of G10, you're not going to have any swelling or much normal wear issues with them, and VZ uses an aggressive golf-ball type of stippled texturing on the front third, which shifts to a less aggressively ripple texture on the back two thirds, and the palm swelling starts about a quarter of the way down on the grips, beneath the thumb scoop.
I found all of the factors provided for an exceptional grip experience, especially in the wet weather. G10 has a chalky texture to begin with, and the golf-ball divots and rippling textures really anchor the gun in your hands. The match featured plenty of free-style and single-handed shooting (both dominant- and support-hand only), and I had excellent control of the gun throughout the match.
I found the Super Scoop to be ideal in providing swift and natural access to the magazine release button. For my thumb shape and hand ergonomics, I much prefer a large thumb scoop as opposed to the more vestigial ones (or none at all). The thing is deep enough to resemble a snowboarder's half-pipe-I really like it.
Of additional note, in checking my noted and logbook, I found that this was the first match that I've run the gun since equipping it with the BH Spring Solutions/RDIH SFS system, and I both like it and had zero operational issues or difficulties with it. Trigger pulls are excellent, about 4-5 # weight (and the SIG has the Series 80 drop safety system), and the BH SS/RDIH extended slide stop is much preferred for use as a slide release.
I'll also note that the VZ grip's palm swells are suitably positioned to provide excellent control during single-handed shooting, both in how they fill your palm and in providing a subtle thumb shelf, which is particularly desirable (for me, at least) in non-dominant handed shooting.
Best, Jon
Sponsored by Check-Mate Industries and BH Spring Solutions
Certified Glock Armorer
In the match, I used my Privateer Leather Castaway leather holster, which provides an excellent feel and operation, which Wes Dahl made specifically for my SIG GSR profile.
I have a number of Wes' holsters, and they continue to be my recommended holster for a leather holster. Their boning, attention to detail, fit and finish is exceptional.
For magazine pouches, since I was shooting in IDPA CDP (Custom Defensive Pistol) division, I needed to have pouches providing for 4 magazines; one for my initial chambering magazine (the "Barney" magazine), one for my initial administratively loaded magazine at the "Load and Make Ready" command, and, since I was using 8 round magazines, 2 reload magazines.
For my Barney and initial magazine, I was t&e'ing from Amazon a Votagoo Gear Dual MOLLE adjustable magazine pouch, which features polymer inserts for the magazine, and a bungee cord rigging for adjustability, with both belt loop straps and MOLLE webbing slots. The belt loop straps were an abject operational fail, as mid-match both came unmoored from the pouch body, and only friction between my body and the belt kept them secured at all-and loosely at that. After the match, I simply cut the fabric loops off the pouch, and replaced them with a set of Tactical Tailor Malice Clips, as other then the loops I liked the pouch, as I found that the magazines were both securely held and easily extracted in operational use. With the Malice Clips, I'm comfortable in using them and recommending them.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP5K1B3K?th=1
I also used a Tactical Tailor Magna Light dual holster, which I've found to be excellent, with rare earth magnets sewn in the holster securely gripping the magazines when used in an open top mode.
https://tacticaltailor.com/fight-lig...tol-mag-pouch/
These have served me well for years for duty, IDPA, and EDC magazine carry.
While I didn't use it at the match, VZ had provided me with their new Universal Belt Holster,
https://vzgrips.com/products/vz-univ...r-holster.html
I've used it extensively in the past month, and while I was initially pretty skeptical (I thought that the leather at the holster mouth was insufficiently stiff and un-reinforced to allow for one-handed holstering/reholstering), I found that in actual use it worked quite well with my SIG GSR, a Colt Series 70 Reproduction, and my FN MK III High Power. It's a somewhat minimalist belt slide/bikini-style holster, it has sufficient body to provide coverage and support for 1911s and High Powers in EDC use, and provides a very slim, non-protrusive profile. I found that while my initial daily holstering might take a bit of manipulation to get the gun in it, once in the leather retained a memory of sorts, and reholstering after draws was easily accomplished single handedly. It's a good EDC concealment holster, but I probably wouldn't necessarily recommend it for duty or match use with frequent draws and reholstering-but I'm willing to try it in a future match to give it a fair assessment in that venue.
Best, Jon
Sponsored by Check-Mate Industries and BH Spring Solutions
Certified Glock Armorer
Thanks for chronicling your journey with this particular gun. It's been very interesting.
We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.......
Next on the t&e journey is to experiment with full-length guide rods. Pretty much everything I read says they're a "meh" and other than providing a slightly smoother cycling feel during slide reciprocation, they're not really going to do much qualitatively in terms of improvements. A friend has given me an aluminum 1 piece (probably a Briley), and a tungsten 1 piece, and a suitable holed recoil spring plug.
I quickly discovered that if nothing else, using a holed plug really makes you want to get a bushing wrench (which I actually got today-I had one, but it was in my range bag that was stolen a year or so ago, and since all of my 1911s have the GI set-up, it wasn't a high priority replacement-until it became one yesterday...).
I probably won't use the tungsten one; IDPA rules forbid it, and even if it wasn't materially precluded from use, I suspect it's weight would take my 1911s over the 43 oz IDPA limit. While a 1 piece makes the most sense (you'll only need one tool to field strip (the bushing wrench), I'm tempted to try a Clark or EGW 2 piece, which will by definition require both a bushing wrench and an allen wrench....just because.
Any thoughts or recommendations?
Best, Jon
Sponsored by Check-Mate Industries and BH Spring Solutions
Certified Glock Armorer
Reply With Quote
