Review of the Bell Charter Oak "Chicago Rocker," an Appendix Inside the Waistband (AIWB) Holster

ABOVE: My Colt Agent with a Chicago Rocker Holster by New York's legendary B. E. "Lefty" Lewis

Definitions for this blog entry:

AIWB = Appendix Inside the Waistband

Appendix-Carry = Carrying a handgun inside or outside the waistband, anywhere in the area from just in front of the left hip to just in front of the right hip.
Chi-Rock = My abbreviation for Chicago Rocker

I've had this Chi-Rock holster for about one year.  I had no pressing need to buy it;  I simply wanted more B. E. "Lefty" Lewis holsters in my collection.  Well, I'll be darned if it didn't work out to be a dandy niche concealed carry holster for the times when other stuff just didn't quite work out for me.  It is a very no-nonsense, quick-on / quick off, old school design, elegantly utilitarian, and very affordable.  Since I am of short stature and (ahem) somewhat chubby, I don't have enough prime real estate in the appendix area to be carrying anything except blubber; the Chi-Rock optimizes what little my physique has to offer.  The unboned leather is firm, yet it is pliable enough for comfort. The holster does not squeeze the handgun out when I bend or sit, as do the nylon-canvas, cloth, or the overly soft "buckskin" type leather holsters.  

(Description below is a copy-and-paste from the Bell Charter Oak Website)
This traditional revolver inside waistband is ideal for appendix carry. Heavy duty gun spring steel clip will not draw off. Available for most 2 inch barrel J and D frames revolvers from S&W, Colt, Taurus and Charter Arms 2000 revolvers. May be crafted with or without rear position sweat shield, please specify. Available in black or chestnut finish. Neutral cant only.

ABOVE:  I ordered the Chi-Rock to fit my Colt Agent and Detective Special with a veiled hope that it would also be a satisfactory fit for the narrower cylinder (and the frame differences) of my S&W J-Frame and Magnum J-Frame revolvers; it turned out (for my purposes; your mileage may vary) to be just wonderful for use with all of my short barrel D-Frames and J-Frames. 

ABOVE: One problem with owning the long-out-of-production Colt D-Frame revolvers is that many leather outfits don't make holsters for them anymore.   Bell Charter Oak is one of the few firms that still provides quality leather for Colt revolvers; Lefty Lewis likely has been doing so longer than any other leather artisan that is around today.  

ABOVE: The spring belt-clip is quite adequate and is sized on this holster for 1.5'' gunbelts; it seemed overly strong at first but it relaxed after being used over time and is now a very manageable / serviceable strength.  Depending on the fabric of my britches du jour, I sometimes, albeit rarely, wear the Chi-Rock without a belt; yeah, that silly looking old dude shuffling around the block in the early morning hours while wearing pajama bottoms and a t-shirt may have a snub-gun AIWB hanging near his crotch.  

ABOVE: The holster stitching is strong and looks very good.  By design, in order to keep things as thin as possible, the belt-clip is placed a bit on the downside of the revolver's cylinder.  

ABOVE: The closed-bottom is shaped to make sliding the holster inside the waistband a cool breeze, quick on and quick off.

ABOVE:  I can get the rig to ride just a bit lower and closer to the "Zipper O'clock" junkyard position by wearing the clip UNDER the belt instead of over the belt.

ABOVE:  The .357 Magnum J-Frame is a bit larger than a standard J-Frame but it is still smaller than the Colt D-Frame revolvers that this Chi-Rock was purchased to accommodate.

ABOVE: An untucked t-shirt adequately covers the banana gripped Magnum J-Frame used with the Chi-Rock in the prior photo.

----------

😎

---------

JZ