Robert Mika Holsters

A few months ago, I decided that I needed an improvement in my defensive gun arsenal.

I love carryin' my Springfield XDm in .45 Auto, and most of the time it's perfectly fine to carry it. However, every now and then, I have to tuck my shirttail in a look presentable, and regardless of it's "compact" credentials, it's a damn big gun to try to hide, even on my less-than-petite frame. My older but reliable Bersa Thunder .380 was a slightly smaller substitute, but still a little on the large size and, in my opinion, an inferior caliber. Couple that with the need to operate both a safety and a hammer before gettin' into action, it made for a less-than-desirable defensive gun. With several events comin' up this year that require a little more discretion with my carryin' habits, I decided it was time to go gun shoppin'.

After a ton of research, and visitin' a few different gun stores and puttin' my hands on as many guns as possible, I finally settled on the Kahr CM9 in 9mm Luger. (On a side note, I highly recommend The Truth About Guns website for unbiased reviews of many different firearms. I make most of my firearm purchases based on their honest reviews.) The local Gettysburg Trading Post gave me a great price, as well as a very fair trade-in value on the Bersa.

So, now I had the gun, but I had to settle on the most efficient way to carry it discreetly. I weighed the pros and cons of several different methods, but finally decided that pocket carry would be the way to go.

Again, I spent hours researchin' holsters, and I kept seein' Robert Mika's name in regards to his handmade, custom holsters. For those that have ever researched holsters, it's maddenin'. You get 4,000 different opinions from 3,999 people. Continually seein' "Robert Mika's Holsters" on all the forums finally sold me. Bein' that they are very fairly priced, I figured I couldn't go wrong, even it if didn't fit my needs. I made my decision, then went over to Robert's website and placed my order.

Within 30 seconds, my phone rang. It was Robert Mika himself. He explained that he'd received my order, and took the time to go over what his product was about, as well as ask me questions about how I would be usin' the gun and holster. We spent almost 20 minutes talkin' about everythin' rangin' from our favorite guns to his 20 years on the LA police force. I was absolutely shocked... this was good ol' fashioned American business in its prime form, which is somethin' that I don't get to experience very often. Needless to say, that phone call confirmed that I'd made an excellent decision.

Robert told me that it'd be a few weeks until he got to work on my holster, as he was a one-man show. That was fine by me, as I understand that good work takes time.

A few weeks later, as promised, the package arrived in the mail. I ripped into it like an excited kid at Christmas, cleared the CM9 and promptly checked everythin' for fit and function. As expected, it was spot-on and exactly what I was expectin'. Nothin' purty about it, but superb in function... kinda like myself.

Overall, I'm more than happy with both of these purchases. After doin' the recommended prep work and break-in on the CM9 as per the Kahrtalk website, the gun runs like a champ, and I have no problems trustin' my life to it. The Mika holster works just as advertised; it leaves a minimal footprint in the pocket and stays in the pocket on the draw, with no hang-up, each and every time. It's so comfortable, concealable and easy to pocket, I already find myself reachin' for that gun and holster more than the XDm.

When it comes to pickin' a defensive-use firearm, I realize that it mostly boils down to personal preference. Whatever gun you may pick though, I would definitely recommend a Mika holster to put it in. It was definitely a positive buyin' experience and an excellent product to boot.