After having around 40 years of carrying daily for duty in uniform and out and also carrying concealed daily since retirement as well as having been a chief firearms instructor at the academy for a major state agency, one might think I had enough experience to find exactly what I wanted easily. I certainly would have thought so. But such is not the case for the new R9s that I bought not long ago.
First, I found that the selection for Rohrbaugh is not overly large. It's not exactly like my primary carry gun, a Colt Defender .45 acp for which everyone who has a needle, thread and a slice of leather makes holster of some shape, type or another. I also happen to view the Rohrbaugh as a limited use carry pistol, FOR ME. Let me emphasize that again, FOR ME. For others it may be their primary piece and be carried daily. But in my case it's a small back up that will serve mainly when my primary is too large, or my clothing too sparse (as in dead summer heat) or when I don't feel like putting on my primary because I'm just going out to walk the dog or some such and just want something that I can just slide in my pants with an easy clip. As opposed to either taking a shoulder rig with extra mags or have to pull down my pants and put on my Sparks or Null IWB and snap clips etc. The ones I use don't have convenient clips and aren't easy to put on without dropping your pants etc. So if I'm just around the house and don't want to wear it all day, a clip on with a Rohrbaugh is just perfect.
First I surveyed and searched the forum and looked on the websites of everyone mentioned. I eliminated pocket types because that's not my "cup of tea" and my pockets in my jeans and my summer shorts aren't conducive to that type of carry. I eliminated all forms of belt holster because with a pistol as small as a Rohrbaugh I wanted max concealment when in a T shirt and shorts and even though I'm not overly large at 6-1 200, I'm not exactly cadaverous either. I like IWB carry and unless the need to carry extra ammo presents then I usually don't wear a shoulder rig but I do have some good ones. My shoulder rigs usually require more than a T shirt to hide them. I do own quite a few belt holsters and use them a lot at the range or for training and exercises but that is not why I got this mini handgun.
Since I wanted easy on an off that got me down to an IWB clip on. Unlike lots of folks I don't feel the need for a reinforced holster mouth. I understand why people want it and I think if they are going to be spending a lot of time practicing drawing and firing and going to classes etc then it is practically a necessity. That however, is not me, nor my need. Reinforced mouth holsters are always wider than I want them to be and thus less comfortable or less concealable as a result. So I eliminated them. I checked on the holsters that I do like and the makers, none of them make Rohrbaugh holsters, so that was a dead end. I admit to some surprise that my favorite makers, Milt Sparks and K L Null don't show the Rohrbaugh on their list. Getting Sparks people on the phone to ask is an excercise in futility and I didn't find a holster that fit my easy on/off criteria in Kenny Nulls list. So I was stuck.
I looked at all the websites mentioned on the forum and to all the makers I could think of. I came up with two that fit my criteria. One was the Alessi Talon and it looked pretty good, was reasonably priced, not a custom, but for an off the shelf holster it was still 8 weeks out minimum. The other was the HBE Slim Pro. It had an advantage over the talon in that the clip on the talon appeared to be plastic and the HBE was metal. I settled on the HBE Slim Pro and called HBE and placed the order. I asked for between 5 and 15 degrees of cant which wasn't a problem. I also asked for little or no boning in or special fitting on the trigger guard. Most holster makers really fit the trigger guard recess so that it is almost necessary to jerk the pistol out rather than smoothly draw it. They do that as a safety device to keep you from having it come out by accident. But they forget when wearing a IWB, the belt creates the pressure which holds the gun in the leather and it simply isn't necessary to bone in the trigger recess that much. I have found that Milt Sparks over does it like crazy and I have noticed others who do also. It seems like it's almost a badge of distinction to have that done.
People sometimes forget that the advantage to a concealed weapon is it's stealth and that a butter smooth draw doesn't draw attention to you while an overt jerking probably will. That won't matter in a one on one encounter. But if you are in a group and someone is bent on harm, the ability to produce your weapon at the time of your choosing without attention is a major and very distinct advantage.
When the holster arrives in the future, I will repost and let you know whether I like Indiana Jones, "chose wisely." Also I don't think that my criteria should apply to everyone and may not apply to anyone but me. However, the thought process might be worth thinking about when you consider your own choices. Good luck
