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 farther 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.