DeSantis Stinger Pocket Holster

By Syd

This little pocket holster works well. It appealed to me because of the magazine pouch. I have an obsession about carrying a spare magazine. It’s not that I think I’ll particularly need 15 rounds. It’s more of a reliability thing. Magazines and magazine springs do fail, get bent and tire out. And also, if all else is equal, 15 rounds is better than 8. With the Kel-Tyke bouncing around in a pocket, it means that the magazine has to bounce around in a pocket somewhere too, increasing the likelihood of it getting damaged and dirty. I don’t really like having a gun loose in a pocket anyway unless it’s in the right hand pocket of a jacket where I can keep my hand on it. A loose gun in a pocket just feels kind of dangerous to me.

This holster addresses all of those issues quite well. It carries the gun and the spare mag in a left hand pocket (remember this is supposed to be a backup option). Although the holster comes in left and right hand models, it looks pretty much ambidextrous to me. It doesn’t have a stiff curve in either direction and tends to mold itself to the side you’re carrying it on. It’s made of nice calf leather, fairly soft, with an adequate finish. The leather is thick enough to mask the outline of the gun, but thin enough to not add a lot of bulk to the rig.

The smartest thing about this holster is a subtle one: it’s in the cut. If you notice, the outline tapers out at the top terminating in small “hooks.” It is sized really well for the front pocket of a pair of men’s jeans so that when you draw the pistol, the “hooks” will catch on the upper inside corners of the pocket allowing the gun to pull free. They work like the barb on a fish hook. The diminutive Kel-Tec P32 will also ride in a hip pocket but much more of a gun would stick out.

Doesn’t the magazine interfere with getting a good grip on the gun during the draw? Yes it does. You can’t wrap your fingers around the grip when the magazine is there. There are two options if this is a problem. You can either not put a magazine in the pouch or just learn to grab the grip in the web of your thumb and forefinger and not close your hand around the grip until the gun clears the leather.

At $26 it’s also an excellent value.