Is it just the a Mustang or a Mustang +II? I know you said Mustang, but I have to ask. If you're looking for rubberized grips, you're kind of screwed, Pachmayr makes them for the Gov't .380 and Mustang +II but not for the standard Mustang. Your best bet is to get a Hogue or Pachmayr grip sleeve, the smallest size they make.

As for holsters, do you want vertical or canted in the small of the back? Palm in or palm out while drawing? IWB or OWB?

The gun is precisely 'COLT MK IV/SERIES ’80, MUSTANG 380' so I guess I'm out of luck on the grip. Is there any material difference between Hogue or Pachmayr?

My instinct says canted. Since I have no clue as to your other choice questions maybe I'd be better to wait until I take the advanced concealed carry class in the fall.

Thanks,

Mark

Originally Posted by Markg2

The gun is precisely 'COLT MK IV/SERIES ’80, MUSTANG 380' so I guess I'm out of luck on the grip. Is there any material difference between Hogue or Pachmayr?

My instinct says canted. Since I have no clue as to your other choice questions maybe I'd be better to wait until I take the advanced concealed carry class in the fall.

Thanks,

Mark

I tend to like Hogue products better than Pachs when it comes to autos, when dealing with revolvers I like the Pachs.

Regarding the holster, if you take your gun hand, (I'm assuming you're a righty) and motion like you would be drawing a gun, do you want your palm toward your body, this would put the pistol with the magazine well pointing toward the left side of your body. Palm out, away from the body (called the Calvary draw) would have the mag well pointing toward the right side of your body.

Pending on how you want to draw, you have a couple different options.

Now regarding cant, if you favor the palm in draw, you're probably going to want more cant (the angle of how the gun is tilted.On a side note, check out Concealment Holsters 101, that should get you up to speed on some, if not all of the options I mentioned.

Generally, the her the gun is away from the side, the more cant you need to get a good grip. Now as the Mustang has a very small grip, the cant will help but I wouldn't recommend a small of the back holster as there isn't much to grab on to. I carry both my Mustang and Mustang +II as close to my side as possible or just behind the point of the hip.

I couldn't find a holster that I liked, so I had one made by HBE.





It's an IWB holster that could be made into a tuckable, but I don't recommend those either.

If I may ask, why are you wanting to go with small of the back in the first place?

Back to your questions though, if you want to go palm out, your quickest and easiest (not always a good thing) way to get a holster for your Mustang that will fit somewhat well is to get a left handed Bianchi 100 and wear it at the small of your back, or to the right of center. Avoid the nylon one size fits most holsters, they just aren't that good.

I really appreciate the time you've taken to explain this thing.

The reason for the small of the back location was my thinking that it would be the most unobtrusive location. Probably 99% of the time the weapon will stay in the truck. The weapon has been in that location for some time without a holster in the center console along with two loose extra magazines. After years of having a CCW (FL and then CO) something 'rang a bell' that unless I got seriuos about this I would probably end up hurting myself if the occassion ever arose to use the weapon in defense. I've committed to regular, periodic visits to the range and (as I mentioned) will take an advanced CCW course in the fall. Along with this thinking, I need a holster. For the rare time that I would feel the need to carry the weapon, I wanted the most obscure location--hence, small of back. Based upon the link you provided, I have now discounted the small of the back location. The inside of pant example of your link won't work since I do not wear loose fitting pants. Your holster looks interesting and I'm guessing that it's a hip type? Do you have something to carry additional magazines? Assuming you do not carry the weapon all the time, how do you keep it in the car?

Mark

Your pants don't have to be that loose fitting, the Mustang is very slim and even with the holster is probably more narrow than a Glock. If you live in FL, you probably don't want to go SOB anyway as that's going to require a heavier cover garment. I would definitely suggest a OWB belt mounted holster.

HBE should be able to do an OWB for the Mustang, as well as TT Gunleather who did this holster (not mine)



With the gun being as small as it is, you can wear it pretty much anywhere on the belt and hide it under a normal shirt and it shouldn't print harldy at all.

I generally carry the gun at all times, a gun sitting in a car is waiting to get stolen. When I lived in PA the bums were breaking into cars just to scrounge for loose change. But when I do have to secure a pistol in the vehicle, I use a Center of Mass Car Gun Safe.

We moved to CO in '99 so even this afternoon you could easily wear a light jacket if need be.

I notice that none of the holster images have spare magazine capability as a part of the basic holster--do you carry extras?

A lot of the holsters (and the ones you have show in this thread) do not have a strap--what keeps the weapon from 'popping' out when you bend over or sit?

Are there practical reasons in favor of the more expensive leather holster versus nylon or is the choice one of aesthetics?

Mark

Originally Posted by Markg2

We moved to CO in '99 so even this afternoon you could easily wear a light jacket if need be.

I notice that none of the holster images have spare magazine capability as a part of the basic holster--do you carry extras?

A lot of the holsters (and the ones you have show in this thread) do not have a strap--what keeps the weapon from 'popping' out when you bend over or sit?

Are there practical reasons in favor of the more expensive leather holster versus nylon or is the choice one of aesthetics?

Mark

Sorry about the delay, was on vacation...

I carry one extra mag, I either carry it in the "watch pocket" of my jeans or in a separate belt mounted mag. carrier.

When the holster is made to fit that specific gun, they tend not to budge unless you want them too. I could do a handstand and not have the gun fall out. As a matter of fact, once I was being "willfully" disarmed by a LEO and he could hardly get my 1911 out of my holster, and it was an open top rig.

On top of fit, the fact that there is a belt adding pressure to the opening of the holster helps keep the gun in place.

Are there practical reasons in favor of the more expensive leather holster versus nylon or is the choice one of aesthetics?

Yes, the leather will:
1: Last longer
2: Fit the gun better which aides in retention (keeping the gun in the holster)
3: Generally be more comfortable as the holster is made for the gun, I have a DeSantis nylon IWB with spring clip, and my HBE actually has less mass than the nylon holster.
4: The holsters pictured also have more secure mounting points. I do not like metal clips and favor slotted holsters (OWB) or the snap loops (IWB and OWB) as they are next to impossible to remove unless you want it off.

I've decided to go with 2 hosters.

On the rare occcassion that I know I would feel more secure carrying, owing to the location I'd be in for the day, I will use a Bianchi 7506 AccuMold Belt Slide and for those times that I get into a situation while already out i'll have a Bianchi 7500 AccuMold Paddle. Given the # of times that I would need the thing holstered (I live 40 minutes outside Denver in the mountains in a very crime free area), I cannot warrant the cost for a made to order leather holster.

Thanks for the help,

Mark