Compared to the micro-9mm medium capacity pistols that began with the SIG P365, the service- and service-compact pistols are large and weighty. A 17-round 9mm pistol, with a polymer frame, can place some blame on the weight of the ammo; if you carry a pair of magazines, that’s 35 rounds on board.
In the old days, when the choice was a full-size 1911 or a more compact 4 ¼” 45, the guns’ frames were steel or aluminum, the aluminum alloy weighing less. Those days are long gone.
In my view, the easiest way to carry the bigger sidearm, if you seek concealment, is inside the waist. A good many users don’t like IWB. In the old days, those who carried the service pistol (or revolver) on duty often carried a five-shot 38 revolver off-duty – or in plain clothes.
The micro-revolution changed that to some extent. Still, I tend to carry a service-compact nearly every day of the year – in an IWB holster.
I’d recently gotten the Springfield Armory Echelon 4.0FC for testing. Part of the evaluation is wearing the gun. I’ve done that with OWB holsters but I’m getting to the season where the cover garments are lighter and the holster goes inside the trouser waistband.
Enter a Crossbreed Holsters IWB, The Reckoning Holster.
It’s a hybrid – unlike some, I don’t at all mind that. A thick leather back with a kydex pocket for the holster, the holster attaches with CrossBreed IWB clips. You can remove those and replace them with outside the waist clips to covert the rig to the less intrusive belt holster.
Wearing it at three o’clock with the long Echelon 21-round magazine creates a printing situation. It shouldn’t be a problem with standard 17-round magazine in place.
Regarding access, I use the Safariland/Scott Carnahan 3-Second Drill to get acquainted with the holster. This allows a shooter to work into a speedier draw sequentially, though it turns into a “split times” drill if you’re not careful.
Set your timer for a delayed start, par time 3 seconds. The first string is delivering a hit within that three-second window. The second string calls for two hits in the same time frame. This is followed by three hits, then four, five and, finally, six hits from the holster in three seconds.
It’s essentially the Bill Drill, after working up in stair-step fashion from one-round to six.
I primarily use it to see the time to the first hit for each of those six strings. This 21-round drill is a good one for learning a new holster.
Note: Don’t be in a hurry to holster the gun after shooting; don’t get so wrapped up in the time that you get clothing caught in the holster or have something else intrude into the trigger guard.
My first draw to a hit, holstered gun worn under an old Safari shirt from Cabela’s, was in 1.6 seconds. That was a cold draw, the first of the day. My drill times following were 2.05, 2.8, 2.16 (!), 2.65 and 3.03. The last hit was over time.
Before anyone asks, the splits hovered around .25; at my age, that’s fast enough for range play, but I’m better suited to .3+ splits for time to assess what’s happening in front of the gun.
I set a business-size envelope up in vertical orientation as a target for shooting from low ready. At five yards, I was making the single hits in around .7 second. I’d prefer to make that hit quicker, but I’m not going to just work on that aspect of shooting.
The Echelon 4.0FC is a well-mannered shooter. The full grip does make a difference in handling. As I found the GLOCK 19X/G45 “best of breed” for carry and handling, the 4.0FC is the best of the Echelons I’ve sampled.
And this is number five of the line.
It’s a solid shooter, accurate and reliable. While I’ve not had armorer training on the gun, it seems fairly straight-forward. The sights are excellent for service. For shooting at distance, the front sight is the width of the 11”x17” target I used at fifty yards and there’s nearly no light between front-sight and the sides of the rear notch.
I’d like a bit more daylight in that rear notch.
If you want high visibility for coarse accuracy at close range (25 yards and in), the Echelon sights are first rate. Their precision at the close lines was demonstrated in my “rounding out the firing line” at the second retiree qualification this year.
If you’re in the market for a concealed carry or service pistol, the Echelon deserves a look. And the 4.0FC is my favorite thus far.
– Rich Grassi