Almost as soon as Duke obtained a concealed weapons permit he discovered the
inside-the-pants style of holster was most comfortable for him.
Photos By Yvonne Venturino
As a lifelong cat lover the primary thing I have learned from them is comfort is of prime importance. It is especially important in carrying a concealed handgun. And, be sure of the following: While I am not a training guru or firearms instructor by any stretch of the imagination, I am well versed on comfort.
The simple fact is if carrying a handgun is a nuisance you will soon stop carrying one. Upon first obtaining my concealed weapons permit I experimented with carrying a variety of handguns ranging from a Hungarian PA 63 9mm Makarov to 1911’s and even Colt SAA .45’s. I tried normal belt holsters, inside-the-pants holsters, shoulder holsters, crossdraw, and strong-side draw.
What I came to prefer was the inside-the-pants holsters. Why? Because to understate the matter I am of “plus-size,” so having a 2-1/2 pound handgun hanging on my already stressed belt caused my jeans to habitually head south. With the same pistol stowed in an inside-the-pants holster, the belt bound it to my body so gravity had little effect on it. That holster by the way was a Milt Sparks Summer Special and the pistols ranged from World War II vintage 1911A1’s to Colt Lightweight Commanders .45’s or a Kimber Pro Carry .40 S&W. My only complaint was the holster loops snapped around the belt. Upon coming home I would set the pistol on a shelf but the holster had to stay on my belt. While not exactly a problem, it still felt distracting.
Although most firearms trainers discourage it, during Montana
winters Duke usually carries in a coat pocket.
As always in life, things change. A few years back due to a botched surgery I had to stop wearing belts for a while and therefore quit wearing the Summer Special holster and 1911’s. During this time I switched to J-Frame Smith & Wesson revolvers. First was a Model 442 Airweight and next was a Model 360. The latter one is actually labeled “.357 Magnum” but both of those snubbies are loaded with .38 Specials. At 12 ounces the Model 360 is a bear to shoot but a joy to carry. Clint Smith beat me up fiercely for saying it, but mostly I just stuck those S&W’s in pockets instead of holsters.
There is a contributing factor to practical concealed carry when living here in Montana. Winters are cold, requiring a heavy coat. Furthermore the section of Montana I call home is known for its winds in winter. That requires coats to be buttoned or zipped, which make it nigh on impossible to get to a handgun concealed under it. It seemed far more feasible to me to carry those little 5-shooters in an outside coat pocket rather than on the inside tucked under a couple layers of garments.
Someone right now has to be thinking, “Well tough it out. Leave the coat open.” Like I said it’s a windy area and I mean really windy such as 30 to 40 mph winds being common and 75+ mph winds not being unusual. An open coat would end up wrapped around your ears.
I’ve recovered somewhat from the botched surgery but still only wear a belt on occasion. Furthermore, along the way I discovered those fine little “Pocket Pistols” Colt made and John Browning designed at the beginning of the 20th century. I bought both .32 and .380 ACP versions. I’ve never encountered a thinner handgun of any sort, nor one with edges better rounded. The .380 has become a companion to me.
Duke’s most recent inside-the-pants holster was made for him by
Karla Van Horne of Purdy Gear. It holds his Colt .380 “pocket pistol.”
Before someone gets upset saying I “recommend” a .380 for self-defense, again take note that I do not bill myself as an expert on such matters. I’m not saying people should use .380’s for self-defense. I’m saying I do with the mindset it’s better to have a handgun than not have one because carrying it became a chore.
Which brings us to my latest concealed carry holster. A few years back I met a delightful lady named Karla Van Horne who does leather working under the business name of Purdy Gear. We visited a bit and discovered both of us are fond of the Colt pocket pistols. When she asked if I had a holster for mine I had to admit I did not. She then asked me if I would like one. Yes! And it then came to pass she crafted me another inside the pants one but instead of belt loops it has a belt clip. That way it can snap over my belt when I wear one or just clip over my jeans waistband when I don’t.
It’s handy, comfortable and has never been spotted yet that I know of.
Purdy Gear, 204 Ridgewood Road, Jasper, Georgia 30143, (706) 692-5536, www.purdygear.com
Mitch Rosen, 540 N. Commercial St., Manchester, New Hampshire 03101, (603) 647-2971,
www.mitchrosen.com
The British firm of John Rigby & Co. is older than the United States. Founded in 1775 by John Rigby, the Dublin, Ireland, gunmaker manufactured elegant flintlock rifles and pistols. Some 23 years later, Rigby’s facility was raided by Town-Major Henry Sirr and police force. Virtually every firearm in his place was seized and kept for a lengthy time. By the time they were returned, the firearms were virtually worthless, most having been disassembled and cannibalized for parts.
In 1816, Rigby, now 58 years old, brought his son, William, in as a partner. Two years later, John Rigby died, and William brought in his brother, John Jason Rigby, into the business. The brothers ran it—now called W&J Rigby—until 1887 when John Jason was appointed superintendent of the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock. The Rigby name was always identified with the finest quality in firearms, and as the 19th century came to a close, firearm technology was skyrocketing.
Cordite—a double-based smokeless propellant that looks similar to spaghetti—was patented in Britain in 1889. The burn rate of Cordite was modified by the surface area early on. Thin strands burned at a faster rate, while thicker strands had a slower rate of deflagration. Big-game hunting was still popular among the privileged class, but those gorgeous examples of the gunmaker’s art—double rifles—were terribly expensive.
Too, the idea caught on among some that a magazine rifle could hold more cartridges and therefore be rather valuable when things went sideways with an animal that can bite, claw or stomp a hunter, as well as his entourage, in the event of a poorly placed shot. However, magazine rifles can be problematic in feeding the rimmed cartridges used in double rifles. W.J. Jeffery & Co. and Westley Richards each came out with proprietary heavy-game cartridges in 1905 and 1909, respectively.
The .404 Jeffery was initially loaded with either a 300-grain bullet at 2,600 f.p.s. with 4,500 ft.-lbs. of energy or a 400-grain bullet at 2,150 f.p.s. and 4,100 ft.-lbs. of energy. Westley Richards developed a .425 Westley Richards launching a 410-grain bullet at 2,350 f.p.s. with 5,010 ft.-lbs. of thump. Each of these cartridges easily outshined the .450 Black Powder Express cartridge that they replaced. The .425 Westley Richards features a rebated rim , allowing it to be built on a standard .30-’06 Sprg. length Mauser 98 action.
The .404 Jeffery needed a Magnum Mauser action to accommodate its overall length. John Rigby wasn’t sitting on the sidelines. In 1897, he negotiated an agreement with Mauser-Oberndorf to be the exclusive source for all Mauser-made rifles, barreled actions and parts in Great Britain; an arrangement that extended into the first 40 years of the 20th century. Rigby then set about designing a cartridge that worked well in a bolt-action magazine rifle and perform as well or better than the Jeffery and Westley Richards cartridges.
He started from scratch—no parent case and no existing bullet—a rather expensive way to develop a new cartridge. Rigby’s cartridge turned out to be slightly rebated-rim case, 2.900″ long, .589″ in diameter at its base tapering to .540″ at the shoulder with a bullet diameter of .416″. Such a huge case could only be contained in a Magnum Mauser No. 5 receiver. Rigby’s magnum magazine rifle was an instant success, though the raw numbers made it seem paltry. This was a custom rifle for those who traveled the world in search of big game, so rifle and cartridge were proprietary.
Too, while the magazine rifle was popular because of its cost—about half that of a double rifle at that time—and lighter weight, Rigby still continued to crank out double rifles for those who wanted the best and could afford it. From 1912 until World War II, Rigby turned out just 169 rifles on the Magnum Mauser receiver. Over the following 59 years, just 364 copies were built. A resurgence of interest in the .416 Rigby rifle and cartridge came from Jack O’Connor in the 1960s.
The .416 Rigby, left, is shown next to a .375 Holland & Holland cartridge.
O’Connor had a .416 made up on a Brevex Mauser receiver and took it to Africa. He found it a very effective cartridge for heavier game, with less recoil than the .450 Watts O’Connor used on previous hunts on the Dark Continent. In his The Rifle Book—a must-have tome for any serious student of the hunting rifle—O’Connor said, “[The .416] is an outstanding cartridge…drives a 410-grain bullet, according to claims, at a velocity of 2,371 and turns up 5,100 ft.-lbs. of energy.” O’Connor was a gifted wordsmith and shared compelling stories of adventure with his rifles around the world.
It was these tales that fueled new interest in both the rifle and .416 Rigby cartridge. While the interest was strong because of more people heading into big game country, ammo was still a sticking point. Kynoch had been the sole supplier of .416 Rigby ammunition until the 1970s, and the company was twisting in the wind by that time. It would later rise again as a British company with a separate U.S. base. Ruger introduced the .416 Rigby in 1991 in its Model 77 RSM Magnum Mk II rifle. Now nearly anybody could have a solid .416 Rigby rifle, and ammunition manufacturers took note.
Federal, Hornady and Norma tooled up and began producing .416 Rigby ammunition. Later, Nosler and Winchester began loading the .416 Rigby. The British firm of Eley licensed rights for the Kynoch name to Kynamco, a British firm, in Suffolk, England, and rekindled .416 Rigby ammo under its original name. Today’s loads in .416 Rigby feature 400- to 410-grain soft-nose or FMJ bullets at 2,300 to 2,400 f.p.s. and churning up some 4,700 to 5,100 ft.-lbs. of energy and have a maximum-point-blank range of 198 yards.
Compare that to the .458 Winchester Magnum with a 500-grain bullet at 2,050 f.p.s. and 4,665 ft.-lbs. of energy. The .416 Rigby may have started from scratch, but it has spawned several notable progenies. Such uber-mags like the .300 and .338 Lapua cartridges are based on the .416 Rigby case, as are the .450 Dakota, .450 Rigby and .500 Whisper. Weatherby’s .30-378, .338-378, .378, .416 and the .460 Weatherby Magnums may have a belt—almost a trademark of Weatherby cartridges—but dimensionally each can be traced back the Rigby’s original case.
As a sporting cartridge, the .416 Rigby may not be as popular as the .30-’06 Sprg. or .375 H&H, but that’s normal. Not every hunt is for huge animals that can and will stomp you back if you mess up a shot. Too, it’s not something any sane person would want to shoot 200 rounds of it in a day of shooting. Besides the recoil, cartridges are more than $5 per round. But for serious work on dangerous game, the .416 Rigby remains in a class by itself.
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THe CZ-83, like a PPK only less expensive and more reliable. (Photo by Brett Kirksey)
Over the past century virtually all major firearms manufacturers from countries all over the world have produced handguns chambered in .32 ACP. Czechoslovakia, the birthplace of the CZ-83, is no longer with us, but the CZ-83 is still dependable 30 years after its introduction.
HISTORY
CZ, Česká Zbrojovka (Czech Armory), was the primary firearms manufacturer in Czechoslovakia from 1936 until 1993. Succeeding the Cold War, the formerly communist country split into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Spanning a history of over 75 years, CZ still serves as the principal firearms manufacturer for the Czech Republic.
You may have heard of the CZ-75, Skorpion or the AK-like Vz. 58, but the CZ-83, civilian counterpart to Vz. 82, is one of the lesser known firearms produced by CZ.
Firearms adopted by the Czech military are prefixed “Vz” which stands for “Vzor” (model). This is comparable to the U.S. military’s nomenclature where the prefix “M” designates official firearms; for example, the Beretta 92FS serves as the U.S. military’s M9 pistol.
By the early 1980s, the official sidearm of the Czech military was the aging Vz. 52 chambered in 7.62x25mm Tokarev. The Soviet Union strongly urged its Warsaw Pact allies to adopt the standard Soviet Makarov pistol, the Makarov PM. CZ, unsatisfied with the design of the eight round Makarov PM, began work on their own 12 round pistol using the 9x18mm Makarov. It would receive the military designation of Vz. 82 and the civilian label of CZ-83.
Designer Augustin Necas developed both guns simultaneously, resulting in nearly all identical parts. The Vz. 82 was chambered in 9x18mm Makarov for military use while the CZ-83 was chambered in .32 ACP (aka 7.65x17mm, 7.65 Browning, or .32 Auto) and .380 ACP (aka 9x17mm, 9mm Browning, or .380 Auto) for civilian use.
In the early 1990s CZ ceased production of a distinct Vz. 82 pistol and began producing the CZ-83 in 9mm Makarov along with its civilian chamberings. The Czech Republic military still utilizes the Vz. 82/CZ-83 9x18mm Makarov today.
Unfortunately, production of the CZ-83 ceased in January 2013 when CZ began focusing on compacts and subcompacts that use the CZ-75 design. The .380 ACP CZ-83 is available on the used market and relatively easy to find. However, most owners are unwilling to part with their .32s, and may be difficult to locate.
BY THE NUMBERS
The CZ-83: SA/DA (3-6 lbs/13 lbs), .32 ACP, blued steel finish, black plastic grips, fixed sights, 3.82-inch barrel, 6.77-inch overall length, 5 inches tall, 1.42 inches wide, 28.16 ounces, and holds 15 rounds. (Photo by Brett Kirksey)
The CZ-83 bears some similarity to the Walther PPK. The PPK had been around for almost 20 years when CZ designed the CZ-50, a predecessor of the CZ-83. Their similarities suggest that Czech designers drew inspiration from 007’s famous sidearm.
The CZ-83 is a compact blowback pistol with a single and double-action trigger with a fixed barrel that increases overall accuracy. It has an ambidextrous safety and magazine release making it ideal for both left and right handed shooters. The CZ-83’s military sibling, the Vz. 82, was the first service pistol to feature an ambidextrous safety and magazine release.
The CZ-83 has two carry options, cocked and locked with the safety on or no safety with double-action. The safety will not engage unless the hammer is cocked. Meaning, the danger of leaving the safety on when prepped for double-action use is non-existent. The single-action trigger pull is between three and six pounds while the double-action pull is 13 pounds.
The frame is all-steel and the grips are plastic. Thanks to its steel construction, the CZ-83 weighs a sturdy 1.76 pounds (unloaded). This weight coupled with the .32 ACP round produces very little recoil. Many compact, lightweight, polymer .32s still produce enough recoil to bother the most recoil sensitive shooters. The CZ-83 does not have that problem.
The magazine holds 15 rounds plus one in the chamber; a relatively high capacity for a compact handgun. I know of no other compact .32 ACP with a capacity as high or higher.
The CZ-83 has very nice fixed white three-dot sights that have a slight greenish “glow” to them. Default sights are not Tritium, but Tritium sights and adjustable sights are available. They require a qualified gunsmith for installation.
The CZ-83 come in matte blue and satin nickel, both with black plastic grips. Certain companies also offer custom wooden grips for the CZ-83 and the Houge Handall is another option for the CZ-83.
Ultra simple field-stripping for rapid access to the Czech pistol’s internals. (Photo by Brett Kirksey)
MAGAZINES
The springs in CZ-83 magazines are exceptionally tight. It takes a good bit of effort to load 15 rounds. A speed loader helps tremendously, but the Butler Creek Baby Loader does not fit properly on .32 ACP CZ-83 magazines. However, the Butler Creek standard loader for 9mm to .45 caliber does work well.
15 round .32 ACP magazines are still available new and are obtainable directly from CZ as well as other firearm retailers; expect to pay $40-$50 per magazine.
AMMUNITION
The CZ-83 comes in .32 ACP and .380 ACP. While the firearms industry is currently in love with the .380 ACP, the .32 ACP should not be overlooked.
Introduced in 1899, the .32 ACP was John Browning’s first cartridge design. It gained popularity rapidly and became a tremendous success. Between 1899 and 1909 Fabrique Nationale was solely responsible for the production of over 500,000 guns chambered in .32 ACP.
Police and military have used .32 ACP throughout the world. It is also a popular civilian round in Europe, especially in countries that restrict 9mm ammunition. Like Browning’s design for the 1911 pistol, the .32 ACP has stood the test of time.
I tested four loads from three brands of .32 ACP ammo: PMC 60 gr JHP, PMC 60 gr FMJ, Sellier & Bellot 73 gr FMJ and RWS Dynamit-Nobel 73 gr FMJ (Dynamit-Nobel is now Geco.).
Sellier & Bellot and Dynamit-Nobel/Geco performed flawlessly. PMC in both FMJ and JHP failed to feed every two or three rounds.
Fractional variations in overall case length of the semi-rimmed .32 ACP ammo can cause rim lock and failures to feed. Longer cases typically perform better. The overall case length for European 73 gr is on the upper end. It’s possible the South Korean PMC’s overall case length is on the lower end.
European .32 ACP FMJ uses slightly heavier bullets (73 gr vs. the American 71 gr) and is known to be hotter. FMJ in .32 ACP performs well and usually meets the FBI’s 12 inch penetration recommendation. Given the hotter loads and slightly heavier bullets of European .32 ACP FMJ, I feel comfortable sticking with them. Additionally, Sellier & Bellot is a Czech company and something just seems right about using Czech ammo in a Czech firearm.
FEEL
The CZ-83 feels like it is made for your hand. I have small hands, but people with large hands found the fit just as comfortable.
The gun is balances nicely and the minimal recoil is very easy to handle. Anyone who can handle a .22 LR can handle .32 ACP in a CZ-83.
ACCURACY
CZ is widely known for producing accurate firearms and the CZ-83 is no exception. It comes sighted by the manufacturer for 25 meters. Accuracy tests for the CZ-83 were practical, not scientific. I wanted to see how accurate it could be off-hand at the standard self-defense distance of 21 feet. I shot without my vision correcting glasses or contact lenses and used fairly rapid follow up shots with little or no additional aiming.
About half the shots were within two inches of the target’s center mass and the other half were within 3 inches. The sights are perfectly centered right out of the box; I am no marksman so these results were pleasantly surprising. The CZ-83 is definitely accurate enough for self-defense purposes, even for those without much skill in aiming.
I don’t want to sell the accuracy short so I must mention that I’ve read more than one review involving a bench rest. Reviewers were able to get one inch groups at 25 yards.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The CZ-83 .32 ACP is an excellent handgun. I cannot recommend it highly enough. The compact steel frame combined with the .32 ACP cartridge produces very little recoil. With 15 round magazines, it’s the highest capacity .32 ACP available and the European 73 gr rounds provide muzzle velocity and muzzle energy approaching .380 ACP. Overall, the CZ-83 is a nice choice for everyday carry.