I’d been working on the Springfield Echelon 4.0 FC for some time now. I recently worked the concealed draw using that gun with the CrossBreed IWB, The Reckoning Holster.
A more recent arrival was the #M78 Infiltrator Air IWB, from DeSantis Gunhide. A hybrid with a synthetic “breathable” backer material under a Kydex shell, the holster can accept guns with a pistol-mounted optic. It features tuckable clips, which I found to be quite secure.
Unlike some, I find the hybrid holsters to have some merit and I wanted to find one to fit this Echelon. The Echelon is quite a pistol and I’m still working on learning it.
Last time I worked under a cover garment – as the rig would be worn. This time, I was working “slick,” not just due to the oppressive summer heat but so I could spend time working skills on a new holster.
The idea was to continue to gain familiarity with the relatively new pistol and to work holster skills simultaneously. To begin, I stood out at three yards and shot five rounds, slow fire, on a 1” dot. I had one hit outside the ragged hole that contained the remainder of the impacts.
I then began working dry practice. After a dozen or so reps of each stage of the draw without a shot being fired, I did the “eyes off” exercise. Still unloaded, you draw on the timer. Looking at the target where you want the gun to arrive, you close your eyes as your hand touches the gun. You open your eyes after the striker drops to see where your sights were when you pressed the trigger.
It took a bit of time to get sorted out on this “moving natural point of aim.” I then worked singles to the “head” box of an IDPA target. My best time for a single hit inside the circle was 1.43 seconds. That’s a destination, not a journey. The journey ends when I can produce that result on demand.
From there I moved to pairs center. These were all slow. An attempt to speed up was met with a longer time and a loss of a point on the target.
At seven yards, I fared no better on pairs, but delivered a failure to stop in 2.92 clean.
At ten yards, the center pair went in in 2.1 seconds.
Practiced up, I performed (poorly) a drill that should be shot cold and from concealment. As I didn’t, the score didn’t count for the exercise, but it informed me on where I should work.
I’m just not reflexive with the Echelon. It’ll take more work. I’m slow to learn a good many skills, so I can’t say I’m surprised. The gun feels right, I’m just not getting the results – yet.
The DeSantis rig is right; my times to a first hit matched the CrossBreed Reckoning and were only marginally longer than the times from a DeSantis Speed Scabbard.
I’m confident that working from the IWB under a concealment garment will work fine – as soon as I’m reflexive with the gun. It’s something I’ll continue working on.
– Rich Grassi