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Tucker Gunleather Silent Thunder review

WhiteRabbit22

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Tucker Silent Thunder IWB Tuckable holster for 1911 style pistols.
silentthunder.jpg


I'll start my review by saying this. I'm new to the 1911, my experience with the classic 1911 has been very good so far, and it's only getting better. About a month ago, I purchased a used two tone Charles Daly Superior grade 1911, and after realizing what a crappy holster I had, decided to look into a better holster.

I prefer rigid holsters, because I'm a very skinny guy, so keeping the holster and gun from flopping around is difficult, but I didn't want to get a plastic or Kydex holster because I wanted to preserve the finish of my new 1911. After doing some research I came across Tucker Gunleather, who had the perfect solution for me. A Kydex holster that's lined with leather, tuckable, and infinite cant and three height adjustments, with a sweat guard, called the Silent Thunder. I ordered one on the spot.

Customer service:
I made the order late at night. The next day, around lunch time, I recieved a personalized email from Rob at Tucker Gunleather, confirming the order. He kept me updated frequently, and I recieved the holster two days after he shipped it. The website says it's a four week wait, I only waited two and a half weeks. Very impressive time for a handmade holster. I am very pleased with the customer service, and will be shopping with Tucker again.

The holster itself:
The holster is very well made, very sturdy, and fits the gun extremely well. All edges are smoothed, to prevent any irritation to the wearer. The clip has three pivot points where it attaches, so that you can cant it to any angle you want, and any height you want, and has a small circle of leather in between it and the holster to create enough room for your shirt and prevent any scratching the holster. Provided with the holster is a small allen wrench to remove or tighten the screw that fastens the clip, and also to tighten the tension screws. The bottom edges are curled inward, I guess to prevent the gun from slipping down farther than it should, although this prevents using a pistol with a compensator on it. If you're going to use this for IDPA with a comped gun, get the longer one so it will fit. Or, just ask Rob at Tucker and I'm sure they can work with you.
The sweat guard is the perfect length, covering the safety, and back left side of the slide. Right at the top of the sweat guard is where you will find the Tucker Gunleather logo, stamped very neatly into the leather lining. It is slightly angled outward so that it can clear the safety, which sometimes digs into my side when sitting if it's at a certain angle. I carry at a four o'clock FBI cant, almost small of back, but not quite. A whole day of car shopping, getting in and out of cars, and I barely noticed it was there.

Pistol fit and retention:
My 1911 fits it extremely well. It slides right in, and does not move around, or shift in the holster. Retention depends on how tight you set the tension screws. Out of the box you can put your pistol in, hold it upside down and it won't fall out. It takes shaking it pretty hard to get it to fall out. Draw times are not affected at all, and one-handed reholstering is easily accomplished due to the ridgid Kydex.

Wear and concealability:
Depending on how you carry, you might forget you're armed! This holster is very somfotable for a Kydex holster. The only problem I've had is the J-hook I ordered, which puts the weight of the gun on your pants, and not the belt. I've started wearing the clip over the belt instead of the pants for this reason, but it could just be that I'm too skinny, and my pants don't fit. As far as concealability, my girlfriend says she can always tell when I'm carrying because I look fatter on one side, or I've got a sharp spot sticking out of my shirt from the beavertail. Wearing this holster around her for 3 days, she actually asked me, "Why aren't you carrying?" To which I replied, "I am." She was shocked. See for yourself.

DSC00976.jpg

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The fact that this holster is tuckable is a big plus. I rarely have the opportunity to tuck my shirt in with an IWB holster, and it is a treat with this holster. It easily conceals however you want it too.

Conclusion:
I love this holster! If you like the rigid nature of Kydex, and the smell of leather, then this holster is for you! Thanks Rob!
 

deepdiver

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Good review and nice looking holster.

[urlhttp://rlcompanyusa.stores.yahoo.net/sithiwb.html]Silent Thunder Link[/url]

They also offer their "Answer" holster leather lined (kinda looks like a Crossbreed) and other nice looking leather holsters.

REQUEST: Whiterabbit - could you take some close up type pics of the holster inside and out?

I thought I had decided on my IWB holster and then, darnit, here's this review and now I am thinking I might like this better.
 

WhiteRabbit22

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Some closer shots.

You can see the leather disc they use in a couple of these pics.


DSC00986.jpg


Here you can see the impressions from the leathermolding they do to fit it to the gun of your choice, they can do a lot of different guns.

DSC00988.jpg


See how the sweat guard sticks out a bit, it sometimes presses into my side, but that tells me I don't have the holster at the right cant for my draw. YMMV with this on different style guns. I don't think it does this on all guns, just 1911's.

DSC00989.jpg


DSC00985.jpg


The bottom is curled inward.

DSC00987.jpg


Also note that you can get a variety of different belt clips, and they're all interchangeable for different belts, or if you aren't wearing a belt.

DSC00983.jpg


and a few with the gun in place...

DSC00991.jpg


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DSC00993.jpg


(note: the picture was taken with the gun pointed downward and the camera pointed upwards, I was never in front of the muzzle)

DSC00990.jpg
 

deepdiver

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Thank you for posting those extra pics. I greatly appreciate it.

I'm rather interested in this holster. I told my fiancee about it tonight at dinner and she was all like :banghead: and said "Dammit, you just finally picked out a IWB holster so I didn't think I would ever hear about this issue again!"

I had 2 problems with that. 1) My first name isn't actually, Dammit and 2) as I pointed out to her she will have to hear about holsters and guns until one of us dies.
 

WhiteRabbit22

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No problem. I love this holster, and highly recommend it. Plus, the customer service was great! I hope I didn't cause you too much indecision!
 

Rob Longenecker

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Oct 21, 2006
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WhiteRabbit22 wrote:
No problem. I love this holster, and highly recommend it. Plus, the customer service was great! I hope I didn't cause you too much indecision!
Thanks for the nice review. We are getting nothing but good reviews on the Silent Thunder, but what really excites me is that I can actually ship them out quickly.

I can't really promote Tucker's all leather gear without just adding to the backlog we already have for all leather holsters, but since the new Kydex ships quickly, it offers us a chance to grow our business and put more $ into R&D.

We thought the leather-lining would appeal to some shooters, but really had no idea it would take off like it has. The thing we keep hearing is how surprised people are with the smooth/slick/fast draw stroke compared to what they're used to.

We specially treat the leather so your gun just loves the way it feels.

rlcompanyusa_2002_23687234


Let me know what else we can do to improve our products.

Rob
 

Weak 9mm

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Jan 12, 2008
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This is very nice indeed, as soon as I get my concealed carry permit I think I might pick one of these up to carry my full size Glock.

I am also skinny, and I was concerned about concealing a full sized handgun, but at the same time I would really prefer it. This holster actually appears to be able to hide a full sized handgun nicely on a skinny person!! Not to mention all of the other great features. :)
 
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