Jerry Ahern
Gun World
March  2010

High Noon "Pocket Grabber And Down Under"

    Jerry Ahern is a firearms writer, who has published over a thousand magazine articles and columns in gun magazines.  He writes rather eclectic monthly columns in GUNS & AMMO, HANDGUNS, GUN WORLD Magazine, GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE and DILLON BLUE PRESS, as well as a column on swords in the bi-monthly KNIVES ILLUSTRATED. One of his most recognized areas of expertise is holsters and leather gear for firearms. He's interviewed such persons as UFO Expert Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Roy Rogers, Arnold Schwarzenegger, vampire researcher Dr. Steve Kaplan, actor Steve Kanaly, etc. Along with his wife, Sharon, he's co-author of over eighty internationally published novels. Jerry is considered an expert on concealed weapons and regularly writes about firearms. Jerry Ahern was the president of Detonics Guns USA from 2004 to 2007

About a week ago, as this is written, I tested a really excellent little semi-automatic pistol from Taurus, the Model PT 709 Slim. A seven-plus-one 9mm, 1 had heard some good things about the pistol. Although there are better man stoppers than the 9mm cartridge, with the right bullet design, it's a good choice when size of the pistol is a concern, well designed and thoughtfully planned pistol. And, it works.

For carry at the waist, its slender size and light weight make it equally ideal. Although it's a tad on the large size for some pockets, many trouser and jacket pockets will handle the Taurus with a proper holster.

I tried a pair of holsters from High Noon Holsters and found both to be well-crafted and quite concealable.

 First up is The Pocket Grabber. It  is a unique concept in a pocket holster. A leather holster, it is overlaid with a roughly textured synthetic. This is an approach I've seen taken with sticky surfaced material but never done like this. Its in a class by itself, not to mention its leather, the Rolls Royce of material for a gun holster. The material is stitched to the outside of the holster which eliminates an outline of the weapon and disguises the shape of the gun as seen through the pocket. With thousands of rubber gripping nubs, this material tends to grab the inside of the pocket, so when drawing, the holster stays in place but the gun comes out. The Pocket Grabber releases the gun effortlessly at the BOTTOM of your pocket with just a push of your thumb, giving you control of the gun while still in the pocket. This is a safer method of drawing than trying to hook the holster at the top of your pocket which is the method we commonley see in the market. You can also push the holster hard against your thigh to get a good release. Doing so should cause the holster to grab against the lining of your pocket, just enough so the properly broken in holster will yield the gun.

The second holster I tried was the Down Under inside waistband holster. It features dual snap-closure, wrap around leather straps. Screw center snaps are used so the strap unit can be swapped to accommodate different belt widths. The holster has a nice 15 degree forward cant, a synthetic sight track and a tension screw for adjustment of

 the draw.The body side of the holster is built up to protect you from the gun and the gun from you. The trigger is covered just enough and almost anyone should be able to easily take a full combat grip on the draw. It conceals well and holds the mouth of the holster open with a synthetic reinforced holster opening, that is crush resistant for one handed reholstering.when the gun is drawn.

High Noon molds the Down Under to the gun you order it for. This special molding process takes every characteristic of the gun. Its exciting to see the imprint of your gun into the inside of the leather. It features a rough side out design for additional grip to the exterior, a feature I really like and with the rough side out you have leather lining on the interior of the holster for a super slick draw. Additional features are an open muzzle design, It is made to fit up to a 1-3/4 belt and is available in right or left hand, natural finish. The holster comes with 1-1/2" natural finish straps which feature the Pull The Dot security snap system.  Additional straps may be purchased separately. What more can I say about High Noon, squeaky clean reputation, around 15 plus years and some real nice people.