Concealed carry guns, holsters and safes, reviewed by people who carry
Expert-reviewed by Massad Ayoob — Founder, Massad Ayoob Group · Retired Police Captain · Expert Witness on use of force · Review date: October 31, 2026 Written & tested by Chris Raper — Retired North Carolina law enforcement (40+ years) · U.S. Air Force Security Police · NC DOJ-certified Concealed Carry Instructor · Founder, Concealed … Read more
Expert-reviewed by Massad Ayoob — Founder, Massad Ayoob Group · Retired Police Captain · Expert Witness on use of force · Review date: October 31, 2026 Written & tested by Chris Raper — Retired North Carolina law enforcement (40+ years) · U.S. Air Force Security Police · NC DOJ-certified Concealed Carry Instructor · Founder, Concealed … Read more
Expert-reviewed by Massad Ayoob — Founder, Massad Ayoob Group · Retired Police Captain · Expert Witness on use of force · Review date: October 31, 2026 Written & tested by Chris Raper — Retired North Carolina law enforcement (40+ years) · U.S. Air Force Security Police · NC DOJ-certified Concealed Carry Instructor · Founder, Concealed … Read more
Expert-reviewed by Massad Ayoob — Founder, Massad Ayoob Group · Retired Police Captain · Expert Witness on use of force · Review date: October 31, 2026 Written & tested by Chris Raper — Retired North Carolina law enforcement (40+ years) · U.S. Air Force Security Police · NC DOJ-certified Concealed Carry Instructor · Founder, Concealed … Read more
A new leather holster is supposed to be tight. Break it in by wrapping the unloaded gun in a plastic bag, pressing it into the holster and leaving it overnight, then wearing the holster with the unloaded gun around the house until the draw is smooth. Do not oil it, soak it or heat it; … Read more
Kydex holsters are rigid molded plastic: precise fit, adjustable retention, no break-in, and a mouth that never collapses. Leather holsters are the most comfortable and quietest but soften with age and can lose both retention and trigger-guard protection, while hybrids put a Kydex shell on a leather or padded backing to split the difference. For … Read more
Holster retention is everything that keeps the gun in the holster until you decide to take it out: passive retention is friction and molding, active retention is a device you must defeat first. The Level I, II and III system people quote comes from police duty holsters, where the gun is in plain view and … Read more
A sight pusher clamps your pistol slide and pushes a dovetailed sight sideways with a screw instead of a hammer and punch. It is the difference between a 10-minute sight change at the kitchen table and a slide that comes back from the gunsmith with a new scratch. We compared 14 of the most-bought handgun … Read more
The 1911 is the one common pistol where a sight pusher earns its keep at both ends. Most modern 1911s wear Novak-style rear sights in a 65-degree dovetail with a set screw underneath, and a dovetailed front sight near the muzzle. Budget Glock-style pushers do not fit the rounded 1911 slide top, and most do … Read more
Drawing from concealment is a skill that has to be built in dry practice first, slowly, with an unloaded gun and no ammunition in the room, before it is ever done with live rounds on a range that allows it. The draw itself is four steps: establish a full grip on the gun while it … Read more
