Alessi PCH or Sparks VMII?

[peanutlover]

Hello gang. I've got a dilemna. A beautiful dilemna. I need an IWB holster for concealed carry and I can't decide between these 2 quality rigs.

I've got a new Springfield Milspec fullsize.

Please help and tell me your preferences for these 2 holsters. Thanks in advance for your responses.

[wichaka]

Tried 'em both, then went to a HBE Comm 3. The quality is the same, the fit to the body is better........

[peanutlover]

I ordered the VMII today from Lightning Arms Sports. Craig has been a pleasure to work with. Talk about customer service! I kept him on the phone for about an hour and he remained polite and helpful despite my indecision.

The VMII is black horsehide. I also ordered a Sparks belt, 1.5 inches black. Should arrive in 2 days.

I opted against the Alessi PCH only because I have heard Lou's holsters run pretty tight and I didn't want to have to experiment with proper fitting and break-in for my first holster.

Apparently my Springfield's dust cover is a wee bit too large for the PCH at first. The PCH would need to be stretched to fit my pistol. Lou has made a beautiful holster there and I may try one for Christmas or sooner.

Thanks for your responses.

[Black_Talon]

Been using a VM-2 for years. I've tried a lot of IWBs over the years and the VM-2 has been, by far my favorite.

Got a PCH late last year and it has jumped past the VM-2 into the top position. It's as comfortable to wear as the VM-2, but holds the gun tighter against your body. Makes for better concealment.

-and as to your other concern:

I opted against the Alessi PCH only because I have heard Lou's holsters run pretty tight and I didn't want to have to experiment with proper fitting and break-in for my first holster.

Apparently my Springfield's dust cover is a wee bit too large for the PCH at first. The PCH would need to be stretched to fit my pistol. Lou has made a beautiful holster there and I may try one for Christmas or sooner.

I've owned many Sparks and Alessi holsters over the years and there's no way the Alessi holsters are "tighter than" Sparks holsters. Every decent custom holster is a bit snug at first and will require some amount of breaking in. Alessi's are no different than Sparks in this area. You'll find that your Sparks holster will need the same sort of breaking in that you'd have to do with an Alessi, Brommeland or any other high quality holster.

What you're experiencing is that some Springfields have the larger style dustcovers and will not fit correctly into custom holsters that are hand-boned (like Sparks and Alessi). The holster will need to be fitted especially for those guns.

It has nothing to do with your Springfield's dust cover being "a wee bit too big" for a PCH. The SA dust cover will be a "wee bit too big" for every decently fitted holster. The problem was that you were trying to fit the gun into a holster that wasn't designed for it.

I have Sparks and Alessi holsters that were made to fit my SA Professionals with the large dustcover, and I have Sparks and Alessi holsters that were made to fit all my other 1911's with "standard" dustcovers. That's the correct way to do it.