Product review, Detroit Holster "Hastings"

(Consider it a "First Impressions" review, with a follow-up to come, if you like...)

Some time ago I became aware of an outfit calling itself "Detroit Holster".

While not one of the Big Names in kydex benders, they have gotten good reviews, which intrigued me as a native of the Motor City.

As a native Detroiter, I confess to getting a bit of a kick from the fact that most of the holsters are named for significant Detroit roads: the 8 Mile (thank you, Slim Shady), the John R, the Dix, the Hastings...

When I signed up for Tom Givens' Combative Pistol class at the end of June, I decided that I needed an out-of-waistband holster for my Sig P320 Carry, with Streamlight TLR-1.¹

Most of the Big Name kydex benders are advertising a 6-8 week lead time, or more, whereas Detroit Holsters says

CURRENT LEAD IS APPROXIMATELY 2-4 WEEKS.  ** Most “8 Mile”, “Hastings”, “John R” and “MoTown”, models without light/laser are currently shipping in about 1 – 2 weeks **  

I placed my order for a Hastings OWB holster on Monday, May 15nd.

It arrived up on Friday, May  26th.  Note that the disclaimer says "without" light/laser, this was with.

With the Hastings, you have a choice between a paddle, and Tek-Lok; I went with the Tek-Lok, because I've seen paddle holsters come out on the draw²...

Holding the holster in my hands fit was very tight, enough so I was wondering if the draw would be awkward.

Based on 15 or 20 minutes of dry practice, draw and present, holster, repeat, the concern was not warranted. I'm hardly Mr Coordinated, so I'm sure the draw wasn't pretty, but I had no problems.³ With the Tek-Lok the holster does stick out far enough to be less than ideal for concealability, but that's what the Sub-Compact P320s are for.

I got black, out of some sort of frugality. They have lots of colors available. And patterns. Including The Colors and the Lone Star Flag. The gun is Flat Dark Earth, I probably should have spent the extra fin or sawbuck and gone with FDE or Coyote, but...

Pictures follow. Not sure what trick of the light caused the flat black holster appear to be brown in the pics...

Detroit Holster's Hastings OWB Holster.
©2017 DW Drang & The Cluemeter

Holster and gun.
©2017 DW Drang & The Cluemeter

Front view.
Like most holsters for light-bearing handguns, retention is on the light, and is pretty tight.
©2017 DW Drang & The Cluemeter

Back view of the Tek-Lok.
©2017 DW Drang & The Cluemeter

Business end view. That's the cell phone flash, not the light itself.
©2017 DW Drang & The Cluemeter

Regulars will recall I had Holster Issues at Ernest Langdon's Tactical Pistol class last October; while it is too soon to say that I, personally, will perform any better at Tom Givens class next month, I certainly should be better off, equipment-wise. (Not blaming the gear for my being behind the power curve, but I made some dubious decisions that resulted in self-induced snake-bite...) My review of the Tom Givens class will certainly include a more detailed gear review, so stay tuned..

I may need to order myself a Hastings in Old Glory for my 1911 Rail Gun w/Surefire U400.

Unless Detroit Holsters offers a custom "Spirit of Detroit" pattern⁴...

***

1. While I hate it when we, as Gun Geeks, start getting all specific about the gat we have, what features or options it has, etc., when buying a holster the specific model and any options, such as a light, matter.
2. This might have been operator error, i.e., not ensuring everything was securely in place, but still...
3. Wilderness Frequent Flyer belt, if anyone is wondering. 
4. The Spirit of Detroit - Wikipedia

Memorial Day, 2017

GOAL Post 2017-Special 3

Reports from elsewhere suggest that the Republicans have presented a balanced budget, but that the Democrats are ready and rarin' to raise taxes, any taxes, all taxes, they don't care just so long as those nasty taxpayers give it up.

***

FROM: GOAL WA <goalwa@cox.net>

TO: undisclosed recipients

SENT: Fri 5/26/2017 2:02 PM

SUBJECT: GOAL Post 2017-Special 3

Legislative Update from Olympia 19 May 2017

• SPECIAL SESSION ENDS IN IMPASSE
• SECOND SPECIAL SESSION CONVENED
• PROCEDURAL NOTE
• CRITICAL SPECIAL ELECTION AHEAD

 The first special session ended earlier this week without budget resolution. Therefore the governor called them back immediately into a second special session. We’re now four days into the second 30-day special session.

As I have reported in the past, those bills that did not pass the legislature during the previous session – bills that died in committee or awaiting a floor vote -- are still alive for legislative purposes. They can be called back and acted on in any subsequent session during the biennium (2017-2018). As a general rule, this does not happen, but it is something we need to be alert to. Those bills (more than 2,000 of them) are effectively frozen in place, and the bills are annotated “BY RESOLUTION, REINTRODUCED AND RETAINED IN PRESENT STATUS. “This is NOT a reintroduction of the bill, nor is it an indication that any action is intended… at this time.

A critical special session will be held later this year. As a result of vacancies that occurred just after the general election last November, several seats are up for what is called “confirmation” to elect the temporary appointees. There will be special elections this year for five vacated Senate seats and three vacated House seats.

Control of the Senate rests on the Senate elections. If the Majority Coalition (24 Republicans and one conservative Democrat) lose a single seat (of the three currently held by Republicans), the Democrats take control of the Senate. At that time it’ll be a race to see what happens first: more gun control bills or higher taxes (the race will likely result in a tie, with both passing).

The three districts with Republican incumbents that need to hold their seats are in the 7^th (northeast Washington), 31^st (south King/north Pierce counties) and the 45^th (north King/south Snohomish counties). The biggest fight will be in the 45^th , and probably also the 31^st. The 7^th is a safe Republican district.

A Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, 1 August. The General Election is on Tuesday, 7 November.

More specifics in the next GOAL Post (probably in two weeks).

BILL STATUS/GOAL POSITION: Nothing to report.

Earworm 05/24/2017

Earworm, 05/20/2017

Further on Men's Depression

As a follow-up to my previous post (Don't do it), which was inspired by Charlie Martin's article Bob Owens' Suicide, Dr. Helen Smith ("The InstaWife") has a related piece up, Men's Depression is Different | Dr. Helen.

When I heard about Bob Owens, I was heartbroken. Because as a psychologist, I know how much pain this man must have felt to have killed himself when he had two beautiful daughters. I have listened to men talk about these painful feelings for years, and I know that there is a good chance that some men will decide to do something differently than take their own life in the end. Some will not. What makes the difference? Someone who notices, cares and combats the distorted thoughts with the right words, therapy or both. Sometimes a difference can be made by changing an aspect of a person's life in one area or helping others to understand what a depressed boy or man looks like, or feels like.

One client I had was a young man who was extremely depressed. His tests showed his depression at over the 90th percentile but the teachers at his school had no idea. They thought that depressed people sat home and ate chocolate or seemed sad, not irritable and ill-natured like this kid. I explained to them the symptoms of male depression and it helped them understand that irritability, anger and defensiveness were part of this kids's depression. Once they understood what to watch for in this teen, we were able to work as a team with the school, his family and peers to help him to decrease his depression which in turn led to less anger and irritability and more success in school and at home.

Middle-aged and older men have a different set of problems but the solution is still the same: we must understand that men in our society get depressed, that the symptoms are often different than women's and that these men are deserving of our compassion, care, and medical intervention that needs to be tailored to men's issues and concerns and provided in ways that they can accept.

(Emphasis added.)

Look, just because you haven't won fame and fortune or medals doesn't mean you're a failure.

But in a society that hands out trophies for simply showing up, it can seem like it.

Worse, the values that we used to accept without hardly thinking are increasingly under attack. A man's word is his bond, a mans home is his castle...

Speak your mind, say your piece in disagreement with the Progressive narrative and riots break out.

Hell, the mere presence of a man, especially a middle aged white man, is enough to cause social justice warriors to start shrieking like air raid sirens. (Is "air raid sirens" a triggering phrase?)

 I'll close with this break down of suicide stats in Dr. Helen's article:

We say that there is a suicide crisis in our country but what we really need to address more in depth is male suicide. Men are 4-5 times more likely to take their lives. At the time I wrote my book, Men on Strike, the latest suicide statistics showed that of the 38,364 people who killed themselves in 2010, 30,277 were men. This is unacceptable. Bob Owens death is unacceptable. And face it, our biased, sexist society overlooks men's suicides because it is mainly white men who kill themselves. Some barbaric people even celebrate this fact.

Don't do it

So, at one time one of my favorite songs was the theme song to M*A*SH,  which, of course, is entitled "Suicide is painless." Nice song.

Evil sentiment.

You might end your own pain, but you just transfer it to those who care about you.

Instapundit » Blog Archive » PAY ATTENTION: Men’s Depression Is Subtle. But It Can Kill….

Link goes here: Bob Owens' Suicide

I never met Bob Owens.  I dropped comments at one or the other of his blogs over the years, but so far as I know he never knew who I am.

Nevertheless, we in the gun blogging and gun rights' communities have lost one of our own.

The sad thing is, I was discussing this matter the other day with a peer and colleague and friend at work, who was concerned about one of her crew. I suppose she expected me to pull some magic solution out of my ass, since he is also a retired NCO. I'm sure she was disappointed when I came up blank.

Bob Owens' Suicide

This is a man's depression.

It starts subtly, covertly. It creeps in on little cat feet.

It isn't a feeling of sadness. You're irritable, irascible, short-tempered. Often, you feel unusually tired, often achy -- it feels like you have a bit of a cold, or maybe the flu. You're not hungry, or you're hungry but nothing tastes good, nothing is appealing.

You start having trouble sleeping. Either you can't get to sleep, or you get to sleep but wake up at 3 a.m., and can't get back to sleep. Either way, you lie awake, and your thoughts start going to dark places -- replaying humiliations from your past, or fantasizing trouble in your future.

Of course, now that you're missing sleep, you're even more tired, more cranky. People start to wonder what's wrong, but they don't ask because it's not the sort of thing one does; and you know something is wrong, but you don't talk about it because you've been taught since childhood that men just pull up their socks and get on with life. Besides, it's not like anyone can do anything -- you just need to gut it out. No one said you were going to be happy all the time.

Go read the whole thing. And look out for the signs, if your buddy, your brother, your husband father co-worker neighbor whoever is showing the signs.

He may not know what is wrong.  The problem is especially acute in "macho" fields like the military, law enforcement, construction, and so forth.

I'll close with a quote of the final paragraph of Charlie Martins' essay:

If this sounds familiar, if you see yourself in this description, you may be depressed, and yes, you can be depressed and not realize it. This is a depression screener; it doesn't take long. If you're thinking those dark thoughts, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is there, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, at 800-273-8255. They understand, it's completely anonymous, and you don't have to be suicidal to call them. And if you're of a mind to, there is a GoFundMe for Bob Owens' wife and kids.

Earworm 05/16/2017

When Mrs. Drang and I were first going together, there was this quirky indie radio station in Seattle. The kind that played whatever they wanted. They'd play songs that weren't even B sides -- what's the equivalent these days? -- and whatever the music industry equivalent of "B Actors" is. Highly thought of performers that didn't get a lot of air play, except on quirky indie stations that appealed to hipsters and weirdos.

Like this:


Mrs. Drang-to-be didn't care for it much, but it appeals to something in me.

Frankly, I never found anything else by him that really did it for me like this one.

Gettin' Siggy

Hit the range today, just shy of 200 rounds through the Sig P320s.

Benchmade Barrage, Sig P320 Carry, SigP320 Sub-compact.
Benchmade Knives was having a special event at the PX when I bought the P320 Compact.
Copyright 2017 DW Drang

This is a photo-heavy post, so click to read and see the rest after the jump...

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Also Happy Birthday (in a few days.)

Wherever you are.*









*(No, really, they're on vacation, and I'm not sure where they are, other than "no phone or internet".)

GOAL Post 2017-Special 2

As Joe notes below, all 5 of the gun bills that passed the legislature during the regular session--all of which were "acceptable", if not "good", let alone "on our wish list"--have been signed by Governor Inslee.

There's a lot of talk about him running for President in 2020, and I predict he will try and use the signing of these bills to establish some sort of bona fides for his claimed support for the Second Amendment.

Do not be fooled. He's just another left coast progressive. 

Joe also notes issues with the reporting of NICS denials. The Feds are supposed to pursue this, but do so rarely. That, of course, assumes that the denial is not due to a paperwork mistake or technical error.

***

FROM: GOAL WA goalwa@cox.net

TO: undisclosed recipients

SENT: Fri 5/12/2017 5:28 PM

SUBJECT: GOAL Post 2017-Special 2

Legislative Update from Olympia12 May 2017

•   GOVERNORS SIGNS ALL GUN BILLS
•   SPECIAL SESSION CONTINUES

I reported last week that Governor Inslee signed HB 1100. That means that starting in late summer or early fall (it takes time to set up the system), CPL holders will receive a postcard renewal notice 90 days before their CPL expires.

On May 10^th, the governor signed the remaining four gun-related bills awaiting action. He signed HB 1501, HB 1612, SB 5268 and SB 5552.

HB 1501 requires licensed dealers to notify the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) within five days if an individual pops negative (denial) on a NICS test. Denials may then be reported to the county prosecutor for his/her action, if appropriate. And if a person has a protection or no contact court order against the attempted buyer, the protected person must be notified that the individual attempted to acquire a firearm. Three things here: first, false “denials” are common, either because of mistaken identity or incorrect court documents (especially true of decades-old misdemeanor convictions). Second, an appeal may be filed to correct the record, thus preventing prosecution. Third, prosecution for what? An intentional false answer on an ATF Form 4443 is a false official statement, which is a violation of FEDERAL law. Whether it’s prosecutable as a state offense remains to be seen.

HB 1612 is a continuation of last year’s suicide prevention education bill. Among other measures, the program attempts to educated dealers on the outward signs of suicidal intent by some individuals.(I don’t recall the state, but many, many moons ago an eastern state prohibited sale of a handgun with either one round of ammunition or one magazine/cylinder load of ammunition. The former as a suicide preventive measure, the latter to supposedly restrict workplace violence.

SB 5268 adds e-mail notification of CPL expiration/renewal date provided an e-mail address was provided.

SB 5552 is the bone Democrats threw to gun owners this session, after they killed several solidly pro-gun bills.SB 5552 adds a few exceptions to the background check requirement of I-594, most dealing with close family members (in-laws). It also adds language exempting individuals with federal Curio & Relic licenses from background checks (on C&R-eligible firearms only), taking firearms away from suicidal individuals, and exempting background checks on temporary transfer of firearms to armed security guards by their employer, and transfer of firearms to military honor guards for funeral ceremonies.

The bills take effect on 1 July. That should close out the 2017 regular legislative session.

There are 10 days left in the 30-day Special Session as I write this, ten more days for the House and Senate to agree on a biennial operating budget. As reported before, the Republican-controlled Senate passed a balanced budget, funding all required programs, while the House passed a budget asking for $8 BILLION in tax increases. It’s hard to imagine how the two can be reconciled. 2/3 of the way through the session it does not appear there are any breakthroughs.

Bill Number	Topic	Sponsor	Status
SHB 1100	CPL renewal notice	Blake (D-19)	Governor signed
HB 1501	Illegal purchase of firearms	Hansen (D-23)	Governor signed
2SHB 1612	Suicide prevention	Orwall (D-33)	Governor signed
SB 5268	CPL renewal notice	Takko (D-19)	Governor signed
SB 5552	Certain exemptions to I-594	Pedersen (D-43)	Governor signed

GOAL Post 2017-Special 1

Olympia is too busy trying to set new records for tax rates to take further action on gun rights... or so it seems.

Speaking of Olympia,  May Day in Seattle was pretty anticlimactic, but the protesters in Olympia found themselves getting herded by pepperball shooting cops, and then getting ambushed by rock throwing homeless people...

***

From: GOAL WA (goalwa@cox.net (Joe Waldron)

To: undisclosed recipients

Sent: Fri 5/5/2017 6:02 PM

Subject: GOAL Post 2017-Special 1

Legislative Update from Olympia 5 May 2017

NO ACTION ON BILLS

I was at the annual NRA convention and meetings in Atlanta last Friday, but nothing happened anyway!

Governor Inslee signed HB 1100 (CPL renewal postcard) a week before the session ended. The first postcards should go out in late summer (they have to set up the system first).

Still awaiting the governor’s signature are HB 1501 (NICS denial police notification), HB 1612 (suicide prevention), SB 5268 (CPL renewal e-mail notification) and SB 5552 (limited I-594 background check exemptions. (Correction, SB 5268 did squeak out just before the regular session ended.)

The governor has 20 days to act on bills after the session ends. That means he has until 13 May to take action on the four bills listed above. Governor Inslee has three options available: he can sign a bill into law; he can veto an entire bill or part of a bill, in which case the legislature has the opportunity to override on the next session; or he can take no action, in which case the bill becomes law anyway. Why decline to take action? Maybe the governor doesn’t like it, but doesn’t feel it is important enough to veto. This is the guy who wants $8 billion in new taxes, despite the fact that the Republican-controlled Senate passed a balanced operating budget.

At this point, 12 days into the up-to-30-day special session, no gun bills have been pulled back out, nor have new bills been filed.

As next Saturday is the last day the governor can act on bills, I’ll likely get the next GOAL Post out over next weekend.

BILL NUMBER	TOPIC	SPONSOR	STATUS
SHB 1100	CPL renewal notice	Blake (D-19)	Governor signed
HB 1501	Illegal purchase of firearms	Hansen (D-23)	To Gov
2SHB 1612	Suicide prevention	Orwall (D-33)	To Gov
SB 5268	CPL renewal notice	Takko (D-19)	To Gov
SB 5552	Certain exemptions to I-594	Pedersen (D-43)	To Gov

PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED: None

Earworm, 05/05/2017

Sometimes there's no discernible reason...

...but that's really the definition of an earworm, isn't it?

Earworm, 05/03/2017

LANGUAGE warning; An F-Bomb gets dropped in there.

DISCLAIMER: Neither this song nor the video are descriptive of my relationship with my family.

Sometimes a song is just a song.

The Ballad of the Red Earl

The Ballad of the Red Earl

by Rudyard Kipling

RED EARL, and will ye take for guide
The silly camel-birds,
That ye bury your head in an Irish thorn,
On a desert of drifting words?

Ye have followed a man for a God, Red Earl,
As the Lord o’ Wrong and Right;
But the day is done with the setting sun—
Will ye follow into the night?

He gave you your own old words, Red Earl,
For food on the wastrel way;
Will ye rise and eat in the night, Red Earl,
That fed so full in the day?

Ye have followed fast, ye have followed far,
And where did the wandering lead?
From the day that ye praised the spoken word
To the day ye must gloss the deed.

And as ye have given your hand for gain,
So must ye give in loss;
And as ye ha’ come to the brink of the pit,
So must ye loup across.

For some be rogues in grain, Red Earl,
And some be rogues in fact,
And rogues direct and rogues elect;
But all be rogues in pact.

Ye have cast your lot with these, Red Earl;
Take heed to where ye stand.
Ye have tied a knot with your tongue, Red Earl,
That ye cannot loose with your hand.

Ye have travelled fast, ye have travelled far
In the grip of a tightening tether,
Till ye find at the end ye must take for friend
The quick and their dead together.

Ye have played with the Law between your lips,
And mouthed it daintilee;
But the gist o' the speech is ill to teach,
For ye say: "Let wrong go free."

Red Earl, ye wear the Garter fair
And gat your place from a King:
Do ye make Rebellion of no account,
And Treason a little thing?

And have ye weighed your words, Red Earl,
That stand and speak so high?
And is it good that the guilt o' blood,
Be cleared at the cost of a sigh?

And is it well for the sake of peace,
Our tattered Honour to sell,
And higgle anew with a tainted crew --
Red Earl, and is it well?

Ye have followed fast, ye have followed far,
On a dark and doubtful way,
And the road is hard, is hard, Red Earl,
And the price is yet to pay.
   
Ye shall pay that price as ye reap reward
For the toil of your tongue and pen --
In the praise of the blamed and the thanks of the shamed,
And the honour o' knavish men.
 
They scarce shall veil their scorn, Red Earl,
And the worst at the last shall be,
When you tell your heart that it does not know
And your eye that it does not see.