Editor's Note: This piece originally ran May 14, 2009 and has been up-dated. by Rich Grassi

The Secret Squirrel "Pancake Squirrel" holster is cowhide with Elephant trim.

A fairly new holster maker - quite adept and with impressive mentors -- Barkley Daniel makes some really interesting stuff - out of very interesting stuff. He's a master level IDPA shooter, having won the 2006 and 2007 IDPA Sunshine State Games in Orlando FL, he uses his own gear to compete! He's a working cop who carries on the job what he builds off-duty. Not only that, he works exclusively in exotic leathers bonded to high quality cow hide. Every holster is custom. You tell Barkley what you're after and he asks questions before he builds. Want a cant? How much of a cant? He talks you through all aspects of the holster and its intended use before he cuts a hide. Sam Andrews of Andrews Custom Leather has instructed Barkley as has Kevin Manley of K&D Holsters. He's made good use of their insights. The most concealable of the outside the belt holster designs is the "Pancake." A design originating with Roy Baker of Magnolia AR back more years than I care to remember, it's still in development by a variety of makers. The front part of Barkley's Pancake Squirrel is formed into the gun pocket, nicely detail molded. As the pancake design consists of two pieces of leather stitched together with belt slots at the front and rear edges, the back leather is left flat and curved. He calls it "2/3 front and 1/3 rear construction." It allows the holster to pull into the shooter more closely. It also keeps the holster from holding the gun tighter as the belt is cinched down more tightly - that was the Baker Pancake's method of keeping the gun in the holster! His is a one-man shop and his production is limited. All his stuff is "custom leather." He has access to shark, elephant, stingray, alligator, Cayman, snake, lizard, ostrich, fish, hippo, Cape buffalo - all from reputable dealers who adhere to laws governing possession and sale of such hides. The Pancake Squirrel was made for my GLOCK 19. Only the mouth reinforcement of the holster was rendered in elephant to better show the molding through the cowhide. The cant is about 15 degrees and he provided a magazine pouch to go along with the holster. After some time to get used to the Pancake Squirrel, I wore it to the range and got the timer out. After some dry draws, I sought to draw to a single hit from concealment, keeping all my hits inside the "8" ring of the B-27 police silhouette repair center. My effort demonstrated how slow I'm getting. Out of my ten attempts, five were under 1.05, with the average at 1.10 seconds for a hit inside the "8" ring of the B27 repair center. It really shouldn't take 1.1 seconds for me to make that hit from seven yards - particularly with the Pancake Squirrel! It's a very slick holster and very fast - even for me. It rides closely and keeps the hardware hidden. Barkley makes a range of holsters, the Practical, the Competition, a Pocket Squirrel, the "Summer Squirrel" - along the lines of the Nelson/Sparks Summer Special, the Roadkill Squirrel (a flat, very concealable rig) and the Indecisive Squirrel - an adjustable IWB. It's an impressive product line for a one-operator shop. You owe it to yourself to take a look. For more information, contact Secret Squirrel Leather, http://www.secretsquirrelleather.com.