# Why An Optic? OK, a few years ago I noticed that my old eyes could not pick up the sights on my G17 at 25 yards and that I was "point shooting" in the 15 yard distances when that distance really needed a sight picture better than slide index to be credit card accurate at speed. It was the same time I started listening to Ben Stoeger on YouTube and learning about "Target Focus" as opposed to the old mantra of "Front Sight Focus" that was taught for eons. For years I have carried a G17 with irons, but after not being able to make a hostage shot at 25 yards more than 60% of the time, I knew the inevitable had come and it was time to get a dot. So I had the G17 slide milled and stuck a Holosun 509T on it and started shooting USPSA with it. Took some relearning, but within 1000 rounds, I was a better and more accurate shooter. Now at a years time of using a dot, I would not be without one on my EDC gun, especially these days with the FBI 3.3.3 study is not the norm and multiple targets (mobs) are a real thing. # New 1911 Railed Commander EDC Gun In October 2025 I switched from the G17 to the Springfield Armory Operator Commander in 9mm you see below.  I've always wanted a 1911 in 9mm and had heard about how nice shooting they were and I was not disappointed. I scored my best run so far on the [[The Gauge (Pistol)]] drill with it. Having shot the drill only 3 times and with a different gun each time. Even though I have not carried a 1911 since 2005, the point-ability of the design was immediately noticeable compare to the familiar G17 (which has a flattened back strap) and with a dot the Commander's return to target out of recoil is much faster because of it's natural point of aim. While I love the 9mm Commander, the rail makes it a little harder to find out of the box leather options for it. So I had to go to looking at custom holster makers. --- # Finding A Holster Finding optic-cut leather holsters is not as easy as it would seem. I searched for months for the perfect holster and below is my contenders and my final pick. ## Crossdraw Holster Considerations I really like the idea of a crossdraw holster. I know, I know... But really it has almost all the benefits of an APEX holster (which I can not do) with the exception of less retention in a FUT. Speed of draw, driving access, stealth draw (literally can have hand on gun without giving it away) are the hallmarks of the design. So I looked around for what seemed the best design and found that the "Regulator® ROR Reflex-Optics-Ready Cross Draw Holster" by https://www.wrightleatherwoks.com had a good reputation and looked to be what I was wanting.  - https://www.wrightleatherworks.com/products/regulator-ror-reflex-optics-ready-cross-draw-holster?_pos=2&_sid=a691eb61c&_ss=r While I do think it's a quality made rig and the fit was perfect out of the box, the all day comfort is not there. I ordered it with a full sweat guard and noticed while wearing it APEX OWB that it swiped the thumb safety off more than one. When I cut the shield down, it worked without swiping it off. >NOTE: I made an honest review on their website (they sent an email asking for one) and while not glowing (3:5 rating) it was not harsh, yet they did not post it to the site after a months time. The problem with ANY cross-draw holster it seems, is that they need to be positioned close enough to the center line that they dig into the section forward of the hip, farther back at 0900 it's harder and slower to reach, losing the advantages of the x-draw. What I wound up doing was wearing it strong side at 0200 as a sudo APEX OWB as shown below, actually even farther forward after this image was taken about half way to the belt loop shown in the image. This has worked well, but I eventually ordered a traditional 4:30 FBI canted type holster for max concealment and comfort.  If traveling long distances in the vehicle was a requirement, then this holster would be worth it as the pressure point does not bother me when seated for some reason, and unlike a shoulder holster, this rig can still be somewhat concealed in the summer in the x-draw position with an open front shirt like the one shown. For EDC, there is no beating the traditional OWB position of the 4:30 index for comfort though and while I've carried at 3:00 in a straight drop for years now, I'm willing to give up a tad bit of speed for max comfort. Which I believe the lighter Commander in a pancake setup will provide. --- ## Traditional 4:30 Holster Considerations ### Ritchie Gunleather https://www.ritchieholsters.com Ritchie has been my choice for gun leather for a while now. **I own or have owned:** - Lighting [1911, 5"] - Close quarter-quick release (cq-qr) [G17] - Stakeout [G17] - Horizontal shoulder holster [G17] - Vertical speed scabbard with snap (vss-s) [G17] - Ankle [S&W 442] Ritchie is very good at phone communications, when he calls to get your order payment, then is the time to adjust your order. The website is very basic, the CS is on the phone afterwards, he will hook you up. I'm sure he can adjust many of his designs to accommodate for an optic cut, but you will need to contact him to find out, there are not "optic-cut" ready holsters listed on the website, but it's a very dated site. The quality of work is excellent though. The holster I was considering for the 1911 Commander was his [Nelson Ritchie Avenger - NRA](https://www.ritchieholsters.com/catalog/p-100026/nelson-ritchie-avenger-nra) shown below, but I decided to try another maker this time and never got confirmation that it could be adapted to the optic/railed Commander.  ### Nightingale Leather Co. https://nightingaleleather.com I had never heard of this company before but seriously considered their following options. Beautiful work and fair prices, but In the end, the ==34 week backlog== was too long for me. ### Condor  - https://nightingaleleather.com/products/condor-owb-outside-the-waistband-holster ### Kingfisher  - https://nightingaleleather.com/products/kingfisher-owb-outside-the-waistband ### Osprey  - https://nightingaleleather.com/products/osprey-owb-outside-the-waistband-holster ### Kirpatrick Leather https://kirkpatrickleather.com This is another company I had no experience with, but they do advertise a nice pancake model for Optic-cut guns. I did reach out and they also offer Vet discounts of 10%, but you need to phone your order in to get it. In the end, I decided I wanted something with easy on/off snap loops.  - https://kirkpatrickleather.com/product/model-2022-under-cover-red-dot-sight-holster/ # Winner! Winner! ## TT Gunleather https://www.ttgunleather.com Another unknown maker to me that I was really impressed with the examples on the website and received kudos from the 1911 Forums.com is TT Gunleather. I like that they offer exotics and can add the feature easily on their website, their prices are very good. The website keeps their backlog time updated on the front page and when I ordered it was 5 weeks. They are the only site that lists the SA AOS 4.25 Commander as a model they carry, which is nice. No having to call and confirm is a nice benefit..  - https://www.ttgunleather.com/product-page/snap-removable-pancake I like the easy on/off design of these types of pancake holsters and they seem to distribute the gun weight better than a traditional loop pancake because the snap feature makes the base wider. I bought the same model you see above, even paying the extra $80 for black elephant trim, and will give a report on the fit & finish when it get's here, but how can you not like something this good? ## Holster Review Order Placed: Oct 31, 2025 Order Shipped: December 9, 2025 > Build time: ==5 weeks and 4 days==, pretty darn close to their estimation of 5 weeks on the website. I've had the holster in hand for a week now and have not found anything to complain about at all. It's one of the nicest I've owned and I've owned (Milt Sparks, Lou Alessi, Ritchie Gunleather, Kramer, Brommeland), and a few lesser known makers to compare it to. The build quality is very, very good! Five Star Rating! Stitching is consistent and does not wander to the edge as you see in some lesser made holster's stitching. The Black Elephant trim is very nice and provides substantial stiffening for the snaps and boning on the trigger guard. Thankfully, the snaps are not "pull-dots" as it would a royal pain in the butt to try to bend the flaps to get pull-dots locked down. Standard snaps are the way on this design. Like many holsters, it came with a tight fit. Not the tightest I've seen, but not something that you can throw on and go without break-in. The maker sends a letter with it to let you know this is done on purpose along with instructions to wear it around the house with an unloaded gun to break it in. The old trick of wrapping the gun in wax paper is also mentioned if just wearing it does not loosen it enough to your liking. This has been my method of breaking in tight holsters for years since Brommeland told me about it. Doing so for the TTGunleather holster over night did the trick also. Loosening it up just a small amount that got rid of the drag on presentation out of the holster. | <br> | <br> | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | The angle of the holster is a perfect ==13 degrees== for my preferred belt location of 0330. The traditional 15 deg FBI cant is great for farther back on the hip in the 0400-0430 position, but requires the wrist to break when drawing from the 0330 position that I prefer. You would not think 2 degrees would matter that much, but to me it definitely does. The 15 deg cant also tends to print worse in the 0430 position when bending over for me compared to the 0330 position, as well as not drawing "as straight" to the target that the 0300-0330 positions allow.  This ==13.21 degrees== on this rig is the absolute maximum that is possible with the Holosun EPS Carry that sits on top of the gun, as a steeper angle would cause the front of the dot to hit the leather attachment and require putting the holster on without a gun in it. TTGunleather makes note of this limiting factor on their website also, but I was pleasantly surprised to see they maximized the space they had to give it as much cant as possible. The ride height is a perfect mid-height and full grip is easily acquired with the use of a minimal body shield that allows for ease of re-holstering without rubbing on the the thumb safety which tends to flick them off while wearing IME. Not a fan of full guards on leather holsters. That's about all I have to say other than "HIGHLY RECOMMEND!"