On Simplicity: Holster thoughts & the Hume JIT (56k death)

[thermocafe]

MODS: if this is too long, please to delete. It’s not my intent to hog bandwidth.

Greetings! I have been a member of this great site for some time now, but as there is such a wealth of information already available, there has been little opportunity for me to contribute.

But I did notice a relative lack of info on a particular holster style in the general info pool - at least I could not find much - so I wanted to post some for anyone who might be interested.

This is a general holster review and specific features of the Don Hume J.I.T. OWB, of the Askins design.

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My background: after I got out of the .mil, I was a cop in Texas for a time, before attending and graduating from med school. So I feel I may have different needs and considerations than some. Through those experiences I have used a multitude of different handguns and have found what works for me and what don't. So I'm not here to debate the merits of caliber choice or pistol choice…only to provide holster info and considerations.

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If you're like me, and have hands of a shape that limit useful pistol choices, it is possible you end up with a bulky defensive weapon.

My all-time #1 for ease of use under stress, grip indexing, and reliability is the M1911-A1. The problem is it took me several years and lots of $$ to get my M1911-A1 to optimum readiness, and I don’t want to go thru that again with a new weapon.

Wanting more “bang for my buck”, the only plug-n-play weapon I have yet found that is functional in my hands - after considering literally every reputable manufacturer and model that I know of - is the HK USP series.

The USP series presents problems in its bulkiness and limited holster selection. I searched far and wide for a simple, fast, kydex OWB holster with no luck. Most of the manufacturers are going to these thick, clunky adjustable things, and away from the simple, austere fast designs of before.

I could never find an acceptable kydex holster, and didn’t consider leather because of the ones I’d seen before. It took me many months of investigation to find the concept of the Askins holster and the Hume JIT.

The Askins design consists mostly of the body of a holster with a belt loop and a “detached” belt slot to twist the body of the holster - and consequently the grip of the weapon - into the body.

On my M1911-A1, I use the MD Labs' kydex Taylor Thunderbolt, which has been magnificent. Unfortunately, I cannot find any info for MD Labs or anyone else's rendition of the Taylor Thunderbolt. Most of the vogue kydex holsters now are either the huge Fobus paddle types, or the dinner-plate IWB monstrosities like the CTAC and Crossbreed Supertuck. Any kydex OWB holsters I find tend to have that Tek-lok on them, which is great for some and easy for the manufacturer, but not thin and not what I want.

Those few that do ostensibly manufacture thin, fast effective kydex holsters incur large costs for an unknown product, tend to have significant wait times for said unknown product, and the pics and reviews tend to be somewhat lacking.

PLEASE NOTE: I am not knocking those holsters for those with whom they work. They have a large following and more power to those who can successfully use them. I unfortunately cannot, and prefer OWB anyways. This review is for those who are in a similar boat. Some concerns do seem to exist for those designs upon thoughtful reflection.

[thermocafe]

The aforementioned en-vogue IWB and OWB holsters are just not comfortable to me.

IWB: The first major concern for me is that with the large leather dinner-plate between the weapon and my skin, do not in my experience allow me proprioceptive input on the exact location of my weapon for quickest presentation. This could likely be overcome by training, but IMHO is an additional factor to be overcome in pursuit of concealment, rather than a legitimate aide to more efficient use.

Another concern is that having that much of a leather sheet between the weapon and the body will interfere with a proper indexing grip on presentation, for example the Supertuck and even worse, the Kholster. Even when wearing such holsters on the curved body, the large sheet of leather always impeded my thumb’s proper index prior to the draw.

This youtube video does indicate there is at least some tendency for others to experience this problem. The kholster: Before: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vgCA7QymsA&feature=related) modification, and After ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tDlM3dGvsk&feature=related ) modification.

In the following pics of my holsters, hopefully you can see how quickly a full firing grip can be obtained before the weapon is even removed from the holster.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i31/thermocafe/Hume%20JIT%20Holster/humejit3.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i31/thermocafe/Hume%20JIT%20Holster/humejit2-1.jpg

A different popular choice is the Minotaur MTAC holser, but for the USP series, as this ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnrpXb_8uuw&feature=related ) youtube video points out from ~1:55 to 3:02, there again was an issue with the safety, and in this case the company allegedly even knew of the problem. This particular consideration is not an issue on weapons without thumb safeties, but as I cannot adequately use any of the weapons which utilize that feature, and I carry my USP in Cond. 1 it becomes an important point.

Another issue with these holsters (MTAC, CTAC, supertuck, etc) is that for weapons with taller grips, they do tend to extend the grip somewhat away from the body. This would tend to increase the chances of unwanted printing. By nature of their design, the slide hugs the body, leaving the grip to protrude somewhat (similar to a line tangent to a curve: if the slide is the point of tangency, and the grip is the resultant tangent line).

This is addressed quite nicely by the Askins design (like the Hume JIT), as the design of the holster places a very thin and sturdy loop on the body of the weapon, but also has a distant slot which does serve to twist the weapon/holster and thus pull the grip of the weapon quite tightly into the body. This serves two useful purposes to me: 1) it provides proprioceptive input as to the exact location of the weapon’s grip at any given moment, and 2) eliminates quite nicely any ‘printing’ concerns of a thicker weapon, because the “tangent line” from above is no longer tangent, but rather more secant.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i31/thermocafe/Hume%20JIT%20Holster/humejit9.jpg

[thermocafe]

Another difference between OWB leather holsters is the slots / loops between the leather “pancake holster” and the “slide holster”, in the rippling effect of the leather on the belt. Notice how at the slots, the thickness of the leather slots behind the belt causes an indentation / rippling of the belt between the holster, the belt, and the body.

http://home.wavecable.com/~postal1911/holstersmall.jpg

These slots require much more break-in to lie flat behind the belt, and also still retains double-layer thickness. This apparently does not affect the comfort for most folks, but it really does for me. It’s a very noticeable difference on my hip. I find the thick slotted pancake holsters are extremely uncomfortable, and feel quite unstable.

An advantage of the JIT is that the belt loop is totally flat behind the belt, and the detached belt slot thru which the belt goes is only one layer of leather thick:

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i31/thermocafe/Hume%20JIT%20Holster/humejit8b.jpg

And this detached slot has stitching (red arrows) extending beyond the slot itself connecting two layers of leather, which serves to pull the slot flat against the back of the belt (blue).

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i31/thermocafe/Hume%20JIT%20Holster/stitching.jpg

Further, in this pic I show that there is a very slight, as in near 7*, cant angle built into the holster. This has the advantage of bringing the grip and the muzzle more vertically in-line, which in theory will aide in concealment.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i31/thermocafe/Hume%20JIT%20Holster/cantangle.jpg

The holster itself is fairly thin:

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i31/thermocafe/Hume%20JIT%20Holster/hm3.jpg

Here is a pic comparing the overall thickness of an M1911-A1 in an MD Labs Taylor Thunderbolt to an HK USP45c in the Don Hume JIT:

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i31/thermocafe/Hume%20JIT%20Holster/humejit11.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i31/thermocafe/Hume%20JIT%20Holster/humejit10.jpg

Note the almost identical overall thickness, even though the USP is substantially more bulky than the M1911.

I’ve noticed that many of the more experienced trainers do tend to show up with a belt-slide holster of some form. Not all, of course, as there is variation in needs, but my point is that the belt-slide holster seems to be a valid option among those in-the-know.

[thermocafe]

The JIT is of the Askins persuasion, in that the body of the holster has a belt loop, with a detached belt-slot to draw the weapon in. Another advantage to this design is that you can place a pants belt loop between the two holster loops to keep it secure, if 3:00 o’clock is where it works best for you.

The major advantages I’ve found with the Don Hume JIT are 1) cost: this one cost me $16.26; 2) it is readily available and in-stock most places without a 13 year wait; 3) I can use the same holster for several different sized weapons of the same persuasion; 4) the design of the slot does seem to serve to minimize disruption in the track of the belt around the waist. 5) it is remarkably thin; 6) relatively small overall bulk and size on the hip; 7) the split-loop design does allow the holster to be anchored around a pants belt-loop if this location serves you best.

There are other holsters with similar setups: the Gould & Goodrich B891 is almost identical to the Don Hume JIT, and the Ross Leather M9 and M20 designs are minimal and quick. (only prob with the M20 is the distanced slot is not half-thickness and stitched past, unlike the Hume or G&G holsters.)

There are a ton of significantly more expensive leather holster makers making Askins designs, too, if more expensive = more comforting to you. But at those costs and wait-times, I’d just as likely go to a more durable kydex holster if you can find one, like the KyTac Point5.

I have no affiliation with Don Hume other than a new customer. These are just my thoughts. It took many, many months of investigation and research to arrive at them for my needs and given the lack of what I originally wanted, so hopefully posting this info will serve to save others’ time and provide any newbs out there with some points to ponder.

Respectfully submitted for your consideration.

I will update this to provide feedback as my use continues. I hope it helps…

[N.Y.45 ACP]

I carry a S&W MP9 fs in a Don Hume JIT and find it very comfortable.

I feel its price and simplicity make it an outstanding choice.

Ed

[Sam]

I've been a fan of the JIT for a long time. For around $20-25 you can have one holster for several guns. I bought a JIT for my M&P that was made for the S&W Sigma. It fit all of my M&P series pistols as well as my Berettas and Glock 19. Concealment and comfort is excellent.

I also use a different JIT for my S&W K frame revolver.

[HeavyDuty]

I have several JITs but quit using them because of a tendency for my fat ass or car seats to squeeze the exposed muzzle up and out of the holster. I'm still a big Don Hume fan, though - I have their H721OTs for most of my guns.