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've never really given any consideration to coming up with our own side-car style holster and mag carrier combo until recently. 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 strip of rubberized nylon webbing to connect the mag carrier to the holster while remaining flexible 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 15 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 allow three positions of height adjustment. 

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. This is very advantageous when carrying a larger 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 if/when you need to access them quickly.

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 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.

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

http://www.rfvtactical.com/

Shipping - A Box In A Box

RFV Tactical is a Type 07 FFL, so you can ship directly to us and we can ship directly back to you when done. When shipping an item to us, we recommend that you use the "box in a box" method for packaging up the item to minimize potential damage or issues regardless of what shipping company you decide to use.

A USPS Small Flat Rate box is the ideal size for the internal box for shipping an item. Be sure to wrap the item in bubble wrap and pack it up in the small box with extra packing material to keep the item from moving around inside the box before sealing it up with packing tape. This should be done with care as if the item were going to ship only in the small box.

Place the packed and sealed small box into a USPS Medium Flat Rate box (or a box of similar size if not shipping via USPS) along with sufficient packing material on all sides of the small box to keep it from moving around inside the larger box when shaken vigorously. Be sure to seal up all open seams of the outer box with packing tape to reduce damage and/or accidental opening while in transit. USPS flat rate boxes are free and can be obtained at your local post office.

Cerakote Service FAQs

Below are some frequently asked questions and answers about our Cerakote service.  If you don't see the question/answer that you are wanting please contact us via email or a direct message on Instagram or Facebook!

Q: Do you offer MultiCam or other multi-color patterns?

A: Currently we only provide single color Cerakote service for handgun frames/grips and slides. As of August 2022, we are fairly new to Cerakote application and would like to keep it simple for now. We may offer multi-color patterns in the future as we gain more experience over time.

Q: Do you offer Cerakote service for rifles, shotguns, or other larger items?

A: Our Cerakote service is really only meant to compliment our polymer handgun frame/grip texturing service.  We also offer this service for metal handgun frames and/or handgun slides, but the equipment we use to sand blast the parts and cure the Cerakote is not ideal for larger parts associated with rifles and shotguns.

Q: What if I want a specific color that you don't keep in stock?

A: We can order any Cerakote H-series color that you want for the cost of the smallest bottle that they offer, which is typically $35 for a 4oz bottle (we'll pay for the shipping).  Cerakote typically ships their products out pretty quickly, so we can have your preferred color delivered within a few days of ordering as long as they have it in stock.

Q: What is your lead time to get a frame or slide refinished?

A: That really depends on what is already in the queue, but we are certainly not back-logged like the more well-known professionals out there. Once we receive your frame/grip and/or slide, we can typically get it done and shipped back out to you within a week. Having texture work done by us at the same time typically does not delay the process.

Q: How do I ship you my frame/grip if I am not in the Texas Panhandle area?

A: We are a Type 07 FFL and you can legally ship your firearm directly to us and we can ship it directly back to you when done. Please send us an email or a direct message on Instagram or Facebook for specific details on shipping your frame/grip to us.

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

http://www.rfvtactical.com/

Holster Length Matters!

While the smaller slimline subcompact handguns are theoretically more comfortable to wear and easier to conceal, it's important to note that the shorter slide/barrel versions of these guns as well as shorter barrel compact guns will greatly benefit from a longer holster when it comes to in-the-waistband concealment.  A shorter gun/holster combo is definitely comfortable to wear, but that shorter length allows the gun to tip away from your body above the belt line, which creates a major printing problem. To resolve this issue, we always make our holsters for shorter guns a little longer than their slide/barrel to distribute more mass below the belt line (see "The Keel Principle" by PHLster). This extra length is also necessary to mount a drop clip and concealment wing to the holster, and it also gives us room to mount a rubber comfort puck on the back of the holster, which is our version of a wedge.  The combination of the longer holster, the concealment wing, and the comfort puck all add up to drastically improved concealment for even the smallest of handguns.  If there is not a longer version of your gun available for molding purposes (i.e. - Glock 48 vs 43X or Sig P365XL vs standard P365), then we will artificially extend the muzzle length during the molding process.

Also check out "The Basics of Concealment Mechanics" by PHLster for more information and tips on better concealment practices.

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

http://www.rfvtactical.com/

CZ P-07 Urban Gray - Re-textured

We recently re-textured this CZ P-07 frame that was previously stippled and botched with major discoloration in one spot on the right side of the grip. Our plan was to retexture the grip area and then Cerakote only the textured area in black to cover up the discoloration, but after finishing up the texture it was apparent that a cover up was not necessary! We don't usually work on colored polymer frames due to the extra time and care it takes to do them properly, but this was a personal gun that needed an update. We'll consider this one saved! 👍

Here's a couple of in-progress photos to show the discoloration spot

M&P Shield Plus with an Accessory Rail? Yes!

At RFV Tactical, we really like the Smith & Wesson M&P Shield Plus as a choice for a slimline subcompact, but in our opinion it has one major flaw... the lack of an accessory rail to attach a quality weapon mounted light.  There are gun specific lights from Streamlight and Nightstick that clamp onto the trigger guard, but those lights are only around 100 lumens.  Recover Tactical makes an add-on accessory rail that clamps onto the trigger guard similar to the Streamlight and Nightstick gun-specific lights, which gives you the ability to attach more substantial lights to the gun, but the add-on rail is kind of bulky and spaces the light away from the gun's frame a little too much for our preference. We gave it a lot of thought, and decided to permanently modify the frame of our shop gun to accept a custom made picatinny rail so that we could attach a quality light and not have it hang off the gun too badly. Worst case scenario is that if our custom add-on rail didn't work out, then we would just have two small holes in the bottom of the frame's dustcover that shouldn't pose any issues with the functionality or reliability of the gun. We did this by drilling two holes in the bottom of the dust cover of the frame and dremeling out the inside of the frame a little to allow two threaded posts to sink down enough to clear the slide when it cycles.  With these threaded posts installed into the frame of the gun, we mounted our own custom picatinny rail that we made out of a Magpul polymer M-Lok rail section. The Magpul rail section was cut down to only a three slot section, reshaped and new mounting holes were drilled into it and then chamfered to countersink the screws a little bit. The threaded posts and screws were from our supply of hardware that we use to make kydex holsters.  The add-on rail pictured below was our second attempt. The first one worked fine, but was only a two-slot section that didn't extend all the way back to the trigger guard. The one pictured below extends all the way back to the trigger guard, but that is purely for aesthetic purposes. Obviously, this is not a modification for someone that is not comfortable with permanently modifying their firearms.  We currently don't offer this as a service or product (yet), but it turned out great and we wanted to share.

 

 

 

Streamlight TLR-7sub (1913 version) mounted to the gun

 

Of course, a custom mounted light requires a custom holster!

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

http://www.rfvtactical.com/