Falco holsters have become a favorite holster of mine, as they are reasonably priced, all leather, and of high quality.

In the past, I have purchased Falco holsters for…

• CZ-75B (Ordered through Craft Holsters)
• 1911
• Kimber K6S
• Smith & Wesson “E” Series 1911

I recently purchased a Glock G45 and was looking for a holster for it, although I have a Cross Breed holster that would fit the G17, G19, and G26. That holster is; however, is a hybrid holster. There is nothing wrong with a hybrid holster; they work very well. I just like leather.

The Glock pistols present a challenge to leather holster makers. While a Kydex shell can be easily formed to a Glock pistols, leather is not so forgiving. The Glock pistol has a squared-off slide. Leather is at it’s best when edges are rolled rather than bent. The other challenge is that the mouth of the (leather) holster must be reinforced to prevent the holster mouth from collapsing under pressure when the holster is worn IWB.

The holster that I selected was the A112 Hawk from Falco, which has metal mounting clips rather than leather straps with snaps. I feel that the metal mounting clips holds the holster more securely in place better than leather straps. An A112 holster was ordered for the Smith and Wesson “E” series 1911 and it turned out to be a most excellent holster.

There was some decision making to be made prior to ordering this holster, as I needed the holster to house several pistols; the Glock G19 GEN4, the G45, and a G48. The G19 GEN4 is a pistol that I do have. Now, you may ask why I would order a holster for a pistol that I already have a holster for? Well, let me explain that.

The barrel length for the G19 GEN4 and the G45 is the same at 4.02 inches. Falco does not make a holster for the G45 but does make a holster for the G19 GEN4. Since the barrel length for the G45 and the G19 is the same, the G45 will work in that holster. Secondly. The G48 has a barrel length of 4.17 inches, which is somewhat shorter than the barrel of the G19 and G45, and that is close enough to the G45 and G19 to work in the same holster. Also, the slide width of all three pistols is the same so there will not be a problem with the pistol not fitting in the holster. Moreover, the holster is leather, and leather gives more than Kydex. When tightened with a belt, as the holster would be when worn IWB, the tension will also be applied to the pistol contained within the holster.

The holster was ordered with the following options:

Stable easy on IWB leather holster Premium:

• Gun: GLOCK
• Model: GLOCK 19 GENS 4 9MM
• Barrel: GLOCK 19 GENS 4 9MM
• Caliber: GLOCK 19 GENS 4 9MM
• Sights type: Factory standard
• Hand option: Right hander
• Wearing position: In angle on the back
• Belt width: 50 mm / 2″
• Sweat Guard: Without Sweat guard
• Leather underlay: Without underlay
• Leather color: Brown
• Stitching color: Contrast
• Leather edges color: Black

While this review may seem to be a simple repeat of other reviews, there are enough differences in holster to warrant a separate review. With that said, there are also multiple similarities.

The A112 is the ‘premium’ holster of a lot of 4; Premium, Classic, Comfort, and Basic. The holster was ordered in brown with a contrasting thread. The ‘Premium’ holster seems to be of better material (more weight) than the other options. The leather is very stiff, and the reinforced mouth is even stiffer than my previous holsters. These holsters are made to minimize the profile as much as possible.

The metal mounting clips, as with the previous A112, are sandwiched between the layers of leather and secured in place by metal rivets. The mounting clips were chosen to work with a 2” belt. You must work to get this holster mounted and dismounted. Again, I wanted no sweat guard and no underlay.

The edges on the holster are so well joined that it is hard to tell where the seam is. The edges have been dyed black and buffed to a nice sheen, which adds some class and contrast to the holster.

I was really concerned with this holster for the Glock. A ‘Kybrid’ holster usually does not need any break in time at all, as the shell is form fitted to the pistol and the backing simply expands or contracts according to the wear (IWB or OWB). An all leather holster; on the other hand, is molded front and rear to the pistol. When breaking in the holster, wear points will become immediately noticeable. However, if the holster is properly molded and pressed, stress points should be minimized, and that means less wear on the firearm at those stress points. Now, I am not a leather smith, but this just seems to be common sense to me. By the way, at Falco, there are no press forms, no mass production. Every holster is hand-made from scratch by one person only. Click here for more details.

For the Glock pistol, stress points would be the front of the slide, the side of the slide, and the trigger guard. The upper edges of the slide might receive some wear, but the top should be wear-free (at least from the holster).

Total muzzle and front sight protection is afforded. The trigger guard is almost completely covered, and the rear sight is pretty much protected by the body.

A retention screw is not included and is unnecessary. There is more than enough tension on the pistol to keep it holstered. Since this holster is intended for IWB carry, security comes in the form of the mounting itself and the fact that it is concealed. What cannot be seen cannot be grabbed. The belt should be pulled tight enough to secure the pistol against the body, but not so tight that you can’t get your mitt around the handle. Drawing a handgun from a concealed IWB holster takes a bit more practice than doing the same from an OWB holster worn openly.

The ride height and cant of the holster cannot be adjusted; however, the holster sits low and the cant is about as close to FBI as can be (15-degrees).

You can either thread a belt through the mounting clips or push the mounting clips over the belt to mount the holster. I prefer the former for mounting and dismounting the holster, but I have exercised the latter on a few occasions. I normally mount the holster to the belt without the firearm. Once positioned where I want the holster, the firearm is inserted. Some say to mount the holster with the firearm inserted; however, I prefer not to do that.

For me, with the front clip of the holster just on or forward of the hip provides the best carry. The large grip of the G19, and especially that of the G45, needs some body to tuck into to aid in concealment. A little more cant than normal positions the bottom of the grip more forward on the body. That helps to prevent ‘printing’ when bending over. The truth of the matter is that the grip width of the G19 and G45 is not that much different than a “Government” model 1911 with my usual Hogue rubber finger-groove, wraparound grips. Once you find the ‘sweet’ spot on the body, the holster is one of the most comfortable to wear.

To Sum Things Up

Falco holster are premium holsters without the premium price. I have been extremely satisfied with each holster that I have received. Each holster is guaranteed for five years, but I am sure that they will last a lot longer than that under normal wearing conditions and proper care.

Lead time on the Falco holsters is about three to four weeks, as these holsters are made in Europe; Slovakia, to be exact. The Hawk series of holsters is available for virtually all model of the Glock pistol including the ‘long slides’ such as the G17L, G34, G35, G40, and G41, etc. At the time of this order, a holster was not available for the G45 or the G43X but was available for the G19X. However, I am sure that those missing holsters will come available soon.

Resources

Falco, The Gun Holster Company: https://www.falcoholsters.com/