Over the weekend I conducted a 6-hour Snub Noir workshop for the shooters at the High Hill Fox and Coon sportsmen’s club in Dartmouth, MA. For the the day’s program I opted to use an Airweight S&W K-frame m12. The next day, Monday, I was packing away the program gear when I realized that I had to run out for an errand several cities away, notably for a task my son needed help with. The only snub close at hand was the m12 but, thoughtlessly, I had all the K-frame holsters already put away. Before I could head to the basement and unpack a holster, Santa dropped a miracle on me in the form of my wife with a box from the mailbox. Christopher Enlow of Black Creek Leather had send me a holster. I had mentioned to him many weeks ago my preference for the alloy Airweight S&W m12 K-frame revolvers. In response to our conversation, Christopher had worked up one if his “Shadow” style holsters with the very retro FRANZ-LOC belt clip attached. If you are unfamiliar with the FRANZ-LOC it is a classic and wildly under appreciated belt securing systems. The holster clip is pinched like an old fashion clothes-pin over your gun belt, but once it is in place it is locked in tightly. Notably the clip and holster design is an amazingly comfortable system for the light weight J-, D-, and K-frame guns. There have always been gun owners (and classically) police investigators that needed or wanted a gun-and-holster combo that could come off quickly and be stored in a locked desk drawer, and then recovered and attached again both securely and quickly. Without a moments hesitation, I clipped on the Shadow holster and inserted the m12. Like a glove! I pulled my cover garment on and over the holster and gun and headed out. The holster and clip combo was such a joy to wear that I opted to keep iit on for the whole of the day. Every step was a joy, and I was pleasantly surprised and how well the clip was preforming. By early evening it was time to put on my police gear and never have I loather taking off one holster as much as I didn’t want to take off the Shadow. I will be using the Shadow for the next couple of weeks and jive it a real road test, and follow up with a complete review in the Detective GATzette. In the interim, if you own a light weight J-, D-, or K-frame snub and need or want a holster you can get on quickly and can feel comfortable about it’s retention you should look into one of Black Creek Leather’s Shadow holster.
