14 July 17

“You can fool yourself, you know. You’d think it’s impossible, but it turns out it’s the easiest thing of all.”

Jodi Picoult

Holsters!

A good friend and maker of kydex holsters recently sent us an IWB appendix holster for Vicki’s G42.

It was wonderfully made, but would not allow smooth re-holstering. The problem was that Glock has put a block on the forward edge of the G42’s extractor that serves as a tactile “loaded-chamber indicator.”

When the pistol is unloaded, it re-holsters smoothly, because the loaded-chamber indicator is depressed. But, when loaded, the loaded-chamber indicator is elevated, because there is a round chambered. The elevated block then hits the edge of the holster and prevents quick and smooth re-holstering.

Of course, we don’t holster empty guns, so this problem became evident to us immediately!

Plastic models used by the holster-maker to construct the G42 holster were modeled after an empty pistol, so the holster-maker did not notice the issue at the factory.

“Loaded-chamber indicators” take several forms. S&W’s M&P uses a visual peep-hole. Springfield Armory’s XD’s version is a small “teeter-totter” on the top fo the slide. Neither of these affects holster fit.

Glock’s “extractor block” does, at least in some cases.

The interesting point here is that we were the first customers to report this issue to the holster-maker!

He has been making this style of G42 holsters for months and has had no complaints, until now!

My conclusion is that many of his “customers” are not actual “users.” They either carry guns with no round chambered, or don’t carry at all!

Either practice represents a form a self-deception!

/John