Sideguard Tuck Clip holster for CZ RAMI

[Erich]

Hi all,

Well, most of us know Erik Srigley (he posts as "Srigs" on a lot of forums), my southpaw brother who makes super-durable leather gun gear up in the Twin Cities. He was the holster maker I turned to when I got the idea that I needed a pouch to vertically hold speed strips in my pocket (this is the single most used piece of leather I own after my wallet - Srigs now sells these as his Rough Pouch: http://www.sideguardholsters.com/holsters/RoughPouch.htm ).

So, I was cleaning the lint out of my Rough Pouch a month or so ago, when it occurred to me that I would carry my CZ RAMI a whole lot more if I had a better holster for it. (I'd recently bought a tuckable IWB for my Detective Special, and had found that it was really something that gave me a lot of range in wearing that gun.) I knew that Srigs made a tuckable model IWB holster, so I gave him a call.

http://www.sideguardholsters.com/holsters/TuckClip.htm

Alas, Srigs (like most holster makers) did not have a mold for the RAMI. No go - drat.

But wait! A week later I got an email from Srigs. Because I'd asked about it, he'd actually gone and purchased a mold for the RAMI. Srigs wondered whether I was still interested in a tuckable holster. At the amazingly low $60 price Srigs charges for a handmade tuckable holster, you bet I was. Being that it was custom made, I asked him to set the holster to a greater-than-usual depth (so the gripframe barely clears my waistband, and to a straight cant for A-IWB wear. It arrived earlier this week, and I've been wearing it ever since.

 

[Erich]

The Sideguard Holster is made of very good quality leather. Like the Milt Sparks holsters I've had, the gun was a very tight fit initially. I spent a half hour inserting and removing the gun as I watched TV, and the holster wore itself in very nicely - now the gun sort of "snicks" into the holster and stays there (even upside-down) until I remove it. (Yes, my RAMI has homemade stocks - thinner gripframe is easier for me to control and it conceals better as well.)

I'm finding the Tuck Clip to work really well with the RAMI - it seems like it's liable to outlast the gun in durability. Srigs is still making serious gear (it's no wonder he has so much of the Twin Cities' CCW custom). The holster is stiff and well fitted, but not too thick. The stitching is heavy duty - if my Rough Pouch is any guide, it's not going anywhere during my lifetime. One-handed re-holstering is aided by a stiffening band of leather that reinforces the mouth - you might be able to find a prettier holster (if you spend several times the price), but I doubt you'll find a more practical one or one that will take abuse better.

One thing that Srigs had warned me about is that even after I wore the holster in to fit the gun, I found that the metal clip was not strong enough to keep the holster in my waistband on the draw without a belt pressing the holster against my body. However, I added some anti-skid tape to the outside of the holster for additional friction (at a couple of points where the holster will press against the pants and also underneath the clip), and it now works just fine without a belt. This is pretty much not an issue as I almost always wear a belt, but I thought this mod was worthwhile as it enables me to still use the holster if I'm just throwing a pair of shorts on to run to the mailbox or whatever.

 

[Erich]

As usual, I generally just use the Tuck Clip as an appendix IWB rig under a cover garment:

It works very well tucked, though - here are some pix:

This is no criticism of the holster (either quality of manufacture, materials or design), but it should be noted that as with any metal-clipped one-attachment-point IWB holster, rotation of the Tuck Clip holster in the waistband can be a bit of an issue. Nature of the beast, and mostly controllable by wearing a properly tightened belt. Srigs pointed out to me when I ordered that his Tuck Snap holster [ http://www.sideguardholsters.com/holsters/TuckSnap.htm ] was more likely to stay perfectly situated, but I wanted the metal clip option in order to be able to use it without a belt. I'm perfectly happy with my choice to buy this set-up, but others out there might want to give consideration to this element before deciding which model suits their needs.

I will definitely be using the RAMI a lot more now that I have the Sideguard Tuck Clip. I believe that this rig is going to allow me to use the little CZ up to its real potential - this is the holster that I have been looking for ever since I got the gun.