Guns: Don Hume Front Pocket Holster review

A great pocket holster should achieve four things:

1) Conceal the outline of the gun in the pocket;
2) Keep the gun in the same position inside the pocket;
3) Allow the gun to be drawn in a reasonable firing grip; and
4) Release from the gun as the gun is drawn.

The latest stop in my endless quest for J-frame pocket holsters is the Don Hume front pocket holster. It's a design I've never tried before - it uses a molded leather shell (like a traditional belt holster) with a hook that's designed to be caught on the edge of a pocket, like an Emerson Wave. How does it stack up against the Four Requirements?

1) Conceal the outline of the gun

Unfortunately, the Don Hume doesn't do much for concealment. It's molded leather, so the shape of the gun is pretty visible through the pocket, at least on my J-frame model. On the plus side, with some other gun shapes, the flange and hook at the bottom of the holster might make it less obvious that you're carrying.



2) Keep the gun in the same position

Ideally, your pocket holster should prevent the gun from flipping over, falling out, or turning around as you move. The Don Hume is actually pretty good at this - the raked carry angle and protruding hook make for a pretty stable base for the holster to rest on, both when you're standing and when you're sitting. I've found that the Don Hume works best in taller pockets - YMMV.



3) Allow the gun to be drawn in a firing grip

I never buy pocket holsters that cover or block a gun's grip. The pocket draw already asks a lot of your motor skills (stick hand in pocket, find gun grip, and fish it out without the holster coming along for the ride, all under stress), and it doesn't make sense to add extra flaps or straps that you have to push out of the way. The Don Hume is perfect in this regard.

4) Release from the gun as the gun is drawn

Some pocket holsters tend to "stick" to the gun as it is being drawn, so much so that in some cases you have to knock the pocket holster off the gun as you present the weapon - an extraneous step that could lead to disaster in a defensive shoot.

The Don Hume uses a hook that catches on the inside of your pocket. I found that the hook was unreliable at first, since the leather was such a tight fit on my J-frames. As the holster broke in, drawing the gun became more and more reliable, and now the Don Hume never fails to release the gun inside the pocket.


One unique feature of the Don Hume is that, in certain pockets, the post-draw placement of the holster is such that the gun can be readily reholstered (the Don Hume comes out partway at the lip of your pants pocket, in other words). I could see this feature coming in handy if you need to reholster quickly.

Conclusion

For the people who are paranoid about pocket printing, the Don Hume is obviously not a great choice - you'd be much better served with a synthetic pocket holster like the DeSantis Super Fly. In all other ways, it's a decent pocket holster, and a good addition to your stable.