IWB Holster Type - Appendix vs 3 O'clock Position

We'd like to explain the differences in our inside the waistband (IWB) holsters when made for the appendix position versus the 3 o'clock position (aka "strong side"). While the holster shell itself is basically the same, the final configuration is a little different for the two carry positions. 

For the appendix position, the holster is equipped with a concealment wing (aka "claw") as well as a rubber comfort puck on the back of the holster which is our version of an easily removable wedge. The concealment wing rotates the grip of the gun into your body for better concealment (less printing) by leveraging against the back of the belt. The wedge tilts the rear of the gun's slide in towards your body above the belt line for better concealment (less printing) and it also potentially reduces uncomfortable hotspots against your skin that might be caused by any irregular or abrupt edges of the holster itself.

Configured for Appendix Carry with a wing, a wedge, and a modified FOMI belt clip

For the 3 o'clock position, the holster does not come with a concealment wing or a wedge. There would be a lot more belt tension against the concealment wing at the 3 o'clock position and the increased pressure would likely cause the wing and/or the holster to crack and break. The wedge is simply unnecessary for the 3 o'clock position and would actually be very uncomfortable if it was installed on the holster.

Configured for 3 o'clock without a wing or wedge, and a standard FOMI belt clip mounted with a cant

Holsters made for weapon lights use a FOMI belt clip which can be adjusted for cant or ride height with the multiple mounting holes on the holster. Holsters that are made for no weapon light come with a polymer drop clip (pictured below) that is adjustable for ride height, but not for cant. A larger 1.75" polymer drop clip can be used with a 1.5" width belt to allow the gun to naturally cant when worn at the 3 o'clock position.

Appendix on the left with a wing and 3 o'clock on the right without a wing

Check out our website for more details and pricing on all of our products!

http://www.rfvtactical.com/

Beavertail Re-contouring

We've recently added beavertail re-contouring to our list of stippling service options. This service is primarily meant for the larger Sig Sauer X-series grip modules, but we can also do this for other handgun frames/grips if it is applicable.  What we do specifically on the Sig X-series grip module is round off the bottom edge of the beavertail itself. We can also thin down the sides of the top/back of frame leading back to the beavertail as seen in the photos below. These two modifications essentially give you the same look and feel as a factory XCompact grip module in that area, which is much more comfortable in the hand and allows for a slightly higher grip on the gun.

Check out our website for more details and pricing on all of our products!

http://www.rfvtactical.com/

Sig P365 XMacro Grip Chop and Texture

Here is a Sig P365 XMacro grip module that we chopped down to accept the 12-round XL magazines with our Concealed Carry texture. The XMacro grip looks and feels great compared to the smaller XL grip, but its kind of long for concealed carry with it's 17-round magazines. Chopping the grip down to the XL size makes it easier to conceal, while giving you a real 1913 accessory rail instead of Sig's proprietary P365 rail, and you also get interchangeable backstraps to customize the fit! You can also still use the 17-round XMacro magazines with the sleeves for the XL grip. 👍

Check out our website for more details and pricing on all of our products!

http://www.rfvtactical.com/

Dehorning Metal Parts for Cerakote

As an extra cost option, we can dehorn the sharp corners and edges of metal handgun frames/slides and their associated parts prior to refinishing them with Cerakote to increase the durability of the coating by reducing potential wear spots. The amount of material removal for this is very minimal and isn't noticeable after refinishing, but it goes a long way to keeping the Cerakote from wearing off in those spots as well as providing some comfort along sharp edges that contact your hand when gripping the gun or against your body when in the holster.  Below is an example of a metal frame and slide that we dehorned before refinishing.

Check out our website for more details and pricing on all of our products!

http://www.rfvtactical.com/

Holsters with Integrated Mag Carriers

At RFV Tactical, we've never been much of a fan of holsters that have integrated magazine carriers. Part of the reason for this is that the "side-car" style of holster and mag carrier is typically made specific for a particular gun and it's associated spare magazine and is only applicable for appendix carry. Our main focus has always been making holsters and mag carriers that are as universal fit as possible, so a gun/mag specific holster combo wasn't something that we were really interested in making.

When side-car style holsters first came out (pioneered by T.Rex Arms) they were a one-piece rigid design, which seemed like it wouldn't be comfortable for a lot of different body types. This is the main reason we have always made mag carriers that were separate from the holster, as we know that there are a lot of people that prefer to carry a spare mag on the outside of their belt near their hip, or they don't carry a spare magazine at all.

The side-car style holster later evolved into a two-piece design (pioneered by Tier1 Concealed) that allowed some flex between the holster and the mag carrier using a strip of leather or a bungee cord woven between holes to connect the two pieces, which increased the comfort level for different body types.

While the newer flexible designs appear to be much more comfortable, we had never really given any consideration to coming up with our own side-car style holster and mag carrier combo until we recently started carrying full-size heavier all steel handguns regularly.

We are always trying new things behind the scenes to improve our products, so we started working on a way to attach our existing universal fit mag carriers to our existing full-size weapon mounted light indexing holsters without changing the design of either just to give everyone (including ourselves) another option. We use a 1.5" wide strip of rubberized nylon webbing to attach the mag carrier to the holster to be as flexible as possible for maximum comfort. One side of the nylon strip attaches to the mag carrier via existing holes and keeps the mag canted at a 10 to 12 degree angle. The other side of the nylon strip attaches to the holster via a vertical line of holes drilled into the holster's oversized sight channel. These holes provide three different positions of height adjustment for the mag carrier that will also affect the cant of the holster in relation to the mag carrier. 

Due to the attachment method on the mag carrier, the only option for a belt clip is the polymer drop clip pictured below, however that clip is actually what we recommend for IWB-only carry for the mag carriers anyway.

We have found that locking the holster and mag carrier together substantially increases the overall stability by spreading out the contact points on the belt to distribute the weight across a larger area. This is very advantageous when carrying a larger and/or heavier gun. This increased stability also keeps the gun and the spare magazine in a fixed position on the belt so that they are always in the exact same place and angle if/when you need to access them quickly. If you are interested in this option, we will attach one of our universal fit mag carriers to one of our full-size weapon light holsters at no extra charge when you purchase a mag carrier with the holster!

We can also attach a mag carrier to any of our other IWB holsters as long as we know ahead of time so that we can mold in attachment spots on the holster.

 

Check out our website for more details and pricing on all of our products!

http://www.rfvtactical.com/

Magwell Borders

We would like to explain and clarify our extra cost Magwell Border option and when it is applicable. Our extra cost Magwell Borders typically go along with our Grip Chop service.  A full-size grip being cut down to accommodate compact mags doesn't leave a clean border at the bottom of the grip for the texture, so this is something we can do to make the grip chop look nicely finished. To do this, we have to melt down and/or grind off the factory texture in that area, then take the time to sand the area smooth, and then polish the polymer to a satin finish so that it looks good before we texture the rest of the grip.

CZ P-09 with a grip chop and magwell border

Our extra cost Magwell Borders can also be done on frames/grips that would look better aesthetically by adding that smooth border at the bottom of the grip when we add texture if they don't already have it (i.e. - a CZ P-07 or an older 2011 style grip module that was simply cut down at the factory to be a compact size grip).  The same process of sanding and polishing the area is still necessary to create a magwell border. This sanding and polishing takes quite a bit of extra time to make it look good, which is why we charge extra for that option.

On most frames/grips, there is already a smooth area at the bottom of the grip that is simply enhanced when we add our texture to the grip area.  Those magwell borders are a natural result of our texturing service and are NOT considered an extra cost option.

Magwell borders, whether they are natural or added on, are particularly beneficial when refinishing the frame/grip with a contrasting color of Cerakote. The smooth border at the bottom of the grip adds a nice touch to the overall aesthetic look of the frame/grip when highlighted with Cerakote.

Check out our website for more details and pricing on all of our products!

http://www.rfvtactical.com/