Holsters are a critical piece of equipment often taken for granted. The difference between a good holster is carrying your firearm or not. The first rule of a gun fight is to have a gun. For most of us, that means having a good holster (and belt, but that is a different story).

I started off my CCW-years using leather only. Leather is amazingly comfortable. But, in recent years, like a lot of people I moved away from leather for Kydex holsters. Kydex simply became more cost effective, thinner, lighter and for some reason the Kydex companies seemed able to add new models quicker. Over the years custom leather holster prices soared and seemed expensive. Kydex filled a category in between leather and inexpensive nylon. I even tried several less expensive custom leather companies, with mixed results. It was hit and miss.

Fast forward. I received an offer from Falco Holsters to try out one of their leather holsters. I had seen their holsters offered before on vendor sites and was curious. But, to be honest, I had never tried one before because I thought that their name was a play off of Galco Leather. It was time to give leather another try.

I was allowed to pick (from a list) of what I wanted and scrolled through the list of supported firearms (https://www.falcoholsters.com/list-of-available-guns). In particular, I was impressed by their CZ support. I have a CZ 75 Compact that is a tack driver. However, finding a good holster for it has been difficult. I have a few and none of them are satisfactory. The pistol's shape/weight is just hard for me to carry/conceal comfortably. I was pleased that Falco has a mold. Additionally, Falco has holsters for the traditional CZ75, the P01, the P07, and even the striker P10c. Impressive! CZ sells everything that they import, often with waiting lists, so I knew that CZ fans would be interested too.

Depending on what you are looking for you will like/dislike any holster maker. For newer firearms, I saw that Falco has a mold for the HK VP9 but not the VP9sk. Additionally, they have a mold for things like the Walther P99, the PPQ and even the PPX but not the PPQsc. Demand always dictates. There was nothing for the Ruger American Series while, not surprisingly, there are a number of options for the Sig P320.

Incidentally, a lot of revolvers are represented - but you may have to do your homework. For example, the only S&W 19 model they list is the 4", however, a lot of other K-frame lengths are available, but expressed in alternate model #'s (65/66, etc). I was pleased that 3"-ers are fairly well represented. I have an affinity for 3” revolvers and a quick view shows that Falco has holsters for the 3” SP101, K and L Frames. Nice!

I chose an IWB leather holster for my CZ75 Compact. I chose a model with snaps separate from the main body of the holster. In fact, the holster's configuration is due to the plethora of options available that I chose (sweat shield, cant, no retention screw, color, stitching, etc.)

The pistol itself (for those unfamiliar) is an all steel mid-size double-stack 9mm - fairly thick and heavy. It is a double-action with a hammer, kind of old school now:

Yes, it's empty:

I received the holster from Falco. Their website allows you to pick and choose the options you want, and there are a lot! It came from Slovakia and was professionally packaged:

 The back, with some basic instructions on break in, usage and care:

The holster itself:

The Falco logo distinctly marks it. Everything about the holster is professionally done. No short-cuts here.

I instantly took it out and ended up wearing it for several days.
Actually, the fact that I was able to wear it that long speaks volumes. My last holster (Kydex) I gave up on after a few hours. It was not comfortable and printed – strangely the front top of slide.
I did NOT have any of these problems with the Falco. It concealed easily in just a t-shirt (that's good for a not super thin guy like me).

There was no break-in period as the instructions implied and is often expected from a leather holster. Perhaps it is from the boning being not being super deeply embossed, but it definitely enough to ensure good fit:

My CZ75 Compact fits in it perfectly. But, if you are looking for a holster where the pistol “snaps” into it with a positive retention – more than just by gravity you will want to order an holster with the retention screw option. Since I am not anticipating being upside down I did not order it with one (that's a joke). It's just what I prefer.
This falls somewhere in the middle (not loose or tight) which is a good thing IMO.

So for actual usage...

One thing that I have to do (and dislike) is frequently disarm when going to certain places. But, I often leave my holster on so that I can re-holster when possible.
I was pleasantly surprised at how well this worked with the Falco - the holster compacts ridiculously comfortably when the pistol is not it. It does not feel bulky like a Kydex holster which retains it shape. Putting the pistol back in it is no problem with the Falco’s reinforced mouth as shown in the pic above and below:

The construction of the holster is very well done. There is double-stitching for the main body:

Threads are very thick. You have the option of picking an alternate color. 

I was a little bit disappointed that the snaps are not one-way - but they are very positive in snapping open/close and require quite a bit of force to undo. In fact, for the pics it took a bit of effort to snap/unsnap them without the pistol. These are not cheap snaps.
The Falco logo on them is a nice touch:

The sweat shield, even though from the pics looks a bit short, especially if you carry the pistol half-cock (which I do) or cocked and locked but I did not encounter any discomfort.

Hammer is actually fully covered:

I do not feel the hammer even in condition 1.

Sweat guard is rugged and is not flimsy:

Reinforced sweat guard from the back:

The muzzle is completely covered"

In short, this is a holster that has turned my CZ75 Compact into something that I would carry as an everyday CCW piece. A pretty good feat considering its almost 33oz weight.

Folks always ask for some shots of inside the holster, about the thickness, wear, etc. Here are a few:

Thickness/stiffness incidentally is nice. It is not a hard stiff like the new Galco holsters like the Concealable but not soft like the Don Hume.
Somewhere in between - I am not sure that helps.

From a slightly different angle, shows a little bit of rub marks (I am actually using it lol):

Slide top clears with no rubbing:

I have only been wearing it for 3 days now so the physical wear is minimal. No issue wearing it all day sitting with no pistol.
What is amazing is that I don't mind wearing this heavy pistol. This includes walking around or just hanging out at the house watching (and losing at fantasy) football.
I also have to mention that the finish is professionally done -- I have had a number of holster makers dye come off after a very short period of time which has always distinguished them from big brands like Galco.
This is not the case here, this holster has no signs of any of the finish/dye coming off. Oh, there is NO dye smell from the holster at all.
Incidentally, Falco Holsters also have a 5 year warranty.

If you are looking for a holster I highly recommend that you give Falco a try: https://falcoholsters.com - They are the real deal! I see some 3" revolver holsters in my future.
I do hope that they add some of the new striker compacts like the HK VP9sk and Walther PPQsc to their line in the future though. 

I was excited when I was invited to do an evaluation of the MantisX (www.mantisx.com) training system. I think that one of the best things that an instructor can do during living fire is to literally stand behind the shooter while they shoot and watch their front sight. Once you gauge what the shooter is doing you can then examine what is contributing to any movement. It is something very hard, if not impossible, for a new shooter to do on their own.

In a nutshell, the MantisX is an accelerometer that tracks vertical and horizontal motion. The shooter attaches the Mantis to their pistol rail. It is partnered with its shooting app that compiles the results from the convenience of your iOS or Android phone! You can view the results per shot or after a string of shots, such as a grouping, mag, target, etc.. The Mantis allows a shooter to practice without the need of having that additional person “spot” for them. I feel, and hope, that this will encourage people to shoot more. I know that, for at least me, it could potentially allow for a more productive range session – especially since most people (like me) are short on time.

I got my Mantis and after quickly skimming the instructions I attached it to a Glock.

Attaching the Mantis is simple as it is designed for railed pistols. The unit separates in half and clamps on the rail. There is a screw that goes through the device and locks in place going through a rail notch. I was pleased to see that it came with not only a flat-head screw but also one that has knurled knob so that you can finger tighten it. Why two? I am not sure, but I tried both and didn't see a difference. To be fair it was a while before I noticed the knurled and found myself using at first a bottle opener to take it on and off and then later a screwdriver. The knurled knob is tool-less and much easier to use.

I wanted to try the Mantis in dry-fire mode before hitting the range. This is something that anyone can do anywhere or anytime to get used to a trigger. I downloaded the app to my iPhone via the AppStore. I assume the Android version is in the Google Play.

When you run the app it asks you turn on Bluetooth if it is not on. What is interesting is that it does not require traditional Bluetooth pairing, it just finds the device. This is nice and time-saving if you have ever had to fuss to sync and setup a device. Mantis then asks you leave the device on a non-moving table for a few seconds while it calibrates. It is then ready to use!

You do have to start/stop your shot groupings for the results (especially averages). I usually do shot groups of 5 and then check the target. I found that sometimes I forgot to stop and then start for the next batch.

I was impressed at how well the app worked, especially its presentation – it looks and behaves very professionally. This is no app that somebody threw together.

My favorite screen is a bulls-eye that onscreen shows where impact would be and the actual travel of the pistol. The tracing is very interesting. I have some detail shots later where you can see the pistols I know are fairly steady and those I don’t, well, are all over the place. More on that later.

During dry-firing I was pleased that it did not register any false shots even though I had to rack the slide every shot (I guess that is an argument for second strike capability). I was also surprised at how accurate it said I was – of course, dry fire and live fire are two different things! And now to the range with a few Glocks (19c, 23, 32, 30s).

To the range!

Session 1:

Unfortunately, I made a mistake that basically wasted this entire session. I neglected to change the app from “Dry Fire” to “Live Fire.”

The result? On average only 1 out of every 6 shots was picked up. It picked up even less with the 30s while the 19c did the best. I originally thought that it wasn’t working because I took the Mantis to the range straight out of the box without charging it. What it was able to register shots it did it well. Again, completely my fault.

Session 2:

I was a lot smarter this time and remembered to switch the Mantis into “live fire” mode. I even remembered to charge it the night before. I was time constrained however and only brought the 23, 32, and a 17 (hey, I like Glocks and they have rails).

I found that when switching the Mantis in between pistols or from dry-fire into live-fire mode it was best to turn the Mantis on/off. When I switched to live-fire, for some reason it still wasn’t picking up the shots. A quick reboot and all was well.

Cycling the power is done by holding the power button for a few seconds to turn off and then a quick click to turn it back on. The button is located on bottom of the device and accessible mounted. The button is a bit small. I found that I could kind of use my finger-nail but that a ball-point pen was perfect, especially when needing to hold the button in.

With any change (pistols, modes, etc.) it is best to cycle the app so that it re-syncs with the device.

The session results? They were perfect. The Mantis ran without a hitch on all 3 pistols and very similar to the dry-fire testing. To be fair, the midsize Glock is my CCW and I am very familiar with them.

When I dipped the muzzle or pulled a bit to the left firing (on purpose…yeah, that’s it!) the app clearly showed it with a graphical representation on the bulls-eye screen and even sometimes with helpful accompanying commentary. Example pictures of the app follow.

The targets mirrored the app. And that gave me pause. If an experienced shooter already knows what they did wrong by the time the bullet is in the air, and then can visually validate it on the target does the Mantis have limited value to them? Aside from its statistics is the Mantis something that should primarily geared towards only new shooters? Before you decide, read Session 3.

Session 3:

Thankfully, I had a lot more time this session.

Feeling confident that I am a decent (no means an expert) shooter I deliberately set out to try it with firearms that I do not normally shoot (I.E., not very good with) – traditional double-actions. I brought an FNX9 and a SIG P226 from the range (unfortunately no rails on my SIGs). I shot them exclusively in DA mode.

The P226 was great! I was off a little and the Mantis showed me that I was pulling the trigger to the left. A few mags later I was able to correct it so that the groupings were at at least tolerable.

The  FNX? Wow. I am absolutely terrible with it. It is LNIB and my lack of shooting it showed. I feel confident that more range sessions and practice – with the Mantis definitely will help. But, I kind of want to trade my FNX in for a P226.

I also tried the Mantis with a Beretta APX and a CZ P10c (range pistols). It performed flawlessly. Both those pistols shoot straight, even in my hands. Unrelated, I have become a big fan of the CZ P10c.  

The surprise of the shooting session came at the end. I had decided that since I still had little more time to retry the Glock 30s which was still in my range bag. It is a very recent acquisition and to be fair it has been about a decade since I have actively shot 45ACP (gasp). I am “normally” pretty good with it but not on this day. I was not as bad as with my FNX in DA mode but definitely not the nice grouping I was hoping for.

The surprise? The app indicated results completely contrary to what I saw on the target! (Pics follow) Shots that were high showed low were actually high! I am not quite sure what to make of it, but I am curious to what I was doing. I trust that the software is correct and I definitely will be taking it back to the range to figure out.

Evaluation:

The Mantis is definitely not solely good for beginners. I don't claim by any means to be an expert but I am normally (except with the FNX) a fair shot. I am impressed with the device and will be using it more.

The product is top notch and professional. The packaging is quite eye-catching (not that it is important) and suitable for dropping into a range bag and bouncing around – a number of people at the range commented on the Pelican case that it comes in. More important is that the software and hardware clearly works with multiple pistol platforms and calibers without any problem. A bonus is that it works at home as a dry-fire training device. I think that they have a great product here and I look forward to running it some more. I will report back anything of interest.

And now the obligatory PICS! 

Opening the box to reveal the MantisX box inside lol

The cool little Pelican Case that the Mantis comes in.

So, what's in the box? Missing from the pic is the little instruction booklet it came with.

The Mantis app settings page

I like Glocks. The Mantis worked with Gen3 and Gen4 Glocks once I set it to "live fire" mode and rebooted the device.

Mid-sized Glocks like me. 

A little more information

The APX (top) and FNX (bottom)

The FNX does not love me. Note the "possible causes" that it lists.

My double-action "pull" LOL. Not good. 

A few more informational "shots." These can be helpful. I did actually try to generate a few common ones.

Mantis on the CZ P10c. 

Mantis on the 30s. Notice that a flat head screwdriver is needed if not using the knurled screw.

Mantis showed that my shots were low and to the left

To the left, but not actually low. Interesting.

Overall stats page

hmm...I am not exactly sure what this is telling me

The Mantis app also has a training mode. Find yourself consistently shooting in one area? Just click on the pie segment

And the app gives you some good advice

I am not sure how I got this, but I included it because the graph was so dramatic

For additional information on this MantisX product please visit: http://mantisx.com

Thanks for reading! 

P.S. Someone may notice that I didn't include a pic of the SIG P226. Apparently, I neglected to take one. 

Are we as instructors effectively shooting ourselves in the foot?
Are we alienating shooters and potential new shooters by forgetting the core values of respect and being polite?

I was recently involved in a conversation with a popular nationally known instructor. He said that it is his "job to chastise people" when they have made the wrong decision. The wrong thing in this case was choosing not to carry a striker-fired pistol without being able to justify it with a "valid" (to him)  reason.

The shooter's reason for carrying something "antiquated"?
It was the platform that he had been carrying for decades and it was second nature to him.
The instructor then went on to chide him about how he had the luxury of carrying something that was less than optimal and that not everyone does.

I replied that choosing a firearm platform is a very personal decision and that each person needs to do their own research, shoot a variety, and then make a decision on their own. The instructor said that my comment was dangerous and implied that it could get someone killed (!) He then went on to say that he was going to make an "example" out of our exchange -- Good so was I.

This type of elitism reminds me of my first motorcycle course before I had even touched a bike. On the first day the instructor said that his goal was to get most of us new riders to FAIL. (That's a way to encourage new riders and instill confidence!)

He also said throughout the course that BMW made the only good bikes and was very vocal about putting other brands down. He was so successful as an instructor to fail people that he failed 9 (including me) out of the 10 of us!

I didn't ride another motorcycle for almost a decade when I finally decided to retake the class. I passed it without issue and commute on it daily (well, not today when it is close to freezing outside). My point is that first experience almost caused me never to ride a motorcycle again.

A week or so ago a young lady came to me to talk about her recent shooting class. She was afraid of firearms, but wanted to get over her fear. Unfortunately, it didn't fare much better than my first motorcycle class.

She explained to the instructor that she had never fired a firearm or even been around firearms being fired. She told him how afraid she was to even be on the range.

I don't know if it was an attempt to break her fear, or just a bizarre policy, after the training portion the class went to the range and the instructor without warning or explanation proceeded to load  a 40 caliber pistol and fire off grounds rapidly. This did not even sit well with the nearby RSO who rushed over to get him to stop and tell him that it was in poor form. If you scare the RSO, then you are not doing it right. 

Needless to say, this scared her to death and she found herself trembling for the rest of the class wanting to leave. The instructor was successful in making her never want to visit a public shooting range again.

She did not give up though and she asked for some 1-1 range time. I was able to take her to a private range and introduce her into different types of pistols and calibers so that she could find what she was comfortable with. We found that she is comfortable with 22 pistols and steel frame 38 special revolvers.

She was so excited about shooting that she even posted a video of herself on her Facebook page!

That in my opinion is the instructors job – teaching safety and making shooting enjoyable. Our goal is to preserve and continue the shooting sports not discourage it. I am glad that it did not take her a decade to retry.

I welcome your thoughts.