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I've had several good holsters from great holster makers, Sparks, Alessi, Del Fatti, Bulman and Ralston (5shot). I've had several Alessi holsters prior to Lou's death. A few years ago, maybe 3 I think, I placed an order with Lou for a shoulder holster. Well things got bad for Lou as his health worsen, so I think my order got misplaced. I even forgotten about the order. Sadly we lost Lou and I've heard many stories about customers wondering if they will get their orders filled when the company transitioned to new management.

Just before Thanksgiving of 2009, I got an email and phone call from Jeff at the Alessi shop. He said they found an order that I placed several years ago on a piece of paper that Lou written down himself. Jeff asked me if I still want that holster made. I had to think for awhile, I realized that I no longer have a need for the shoulder holster for that particular gun. But I asked him if I can change my order, he said absolutely. Since I've been shooting the Smith & Wesson M&P quite a bit and like the gun a lot, I thought that it would be nice to have a quality leather holster for it. I've been using and carrying the M&P in mostly a Don Hume JIT, a Raven Concealment kydex holster as well as Blade Tech and Talon Tactical kydex rigs. So I asked for a CQC/S for my M&P. Jeff said they'll get to work on it.

This morning the FEDEX guy brought a package that has this nice CQC/S. It is molded tight to the gun as all Alessi were known for. The pull the dot snaps were tight but manageable, I don't intend to put the holster on and off by the snpas anyway, I thread the belt through the holster just like if they were sewn leather loops. The holster rides low on the belt like all holsters of this type does, this add to the comfort in carrying while taking nothing away from the concealment. This is an awesome rig and is worth the wait.

A member asked me to elaborate on the M&P, is it replacing my 1911s or is it just a diversion?

It is not a diversion, it doesn't replace my 1911s but it's becoming my all around favorite pistol. This is my opinion, it's not right or wrong so take it for what it's worth.

My 1911s are accurate, reliable and they all have characters and stories behind them, on how they came to be. Occasionally they would have a hiccup due to worn magazines (which were quickly discarded or repaired if possible) or bad ammo reloading job (that's my fault). They eat every factory ammo up and spit out the empty brass. A well known handgun instructor who I consider my mentor made this statement, "The 1911 is the world's greatest close quarter combat pistol, and the king of the feedway stoppage". The second part of that statement was adopted from a statement that a friend made, as he observed many 1911s malfunctioned during thousands of IDPA matches and self defense shooting classes. I clean and maintain my 1911s like you supposed to so I can keep them running reliably. But they suffer from a case of "low ammo capacity". Modern service sized handguns from minor caliber to major are very reliable and accurate, and they all have bigger magazine capacity than the John Browning designed pistol. Modern cartridge offer very capable and lethal self defense rounds, even for the little 9mm pills. 127gr. +P+ hollow points 9mm from Winchester have pretty good ballistics and have done well in actual applications. A modern polymer 9mm loaded with 17+1 is still lighter than a 9 round 1911.

We all know how successful the Austrian polymer plastic have been. They've become law enforcement as well as civilians favorite sidearms. I have a Glock 19 which I've carried and shot until the finish on the slide is worn shiny. I can't remember if it ever malfunction. After seeing Glock becoming a big player, almost the only player in law enforcement handguns, Smith & Wesson decided to fight back to regain their standing in the service handgun business. They came out with the M&P, as the same instructor mentioned above called it, "The M&P is a product improved Glock". They built a pistol that is so far as reliable as the Austrian gun but also have better grip and ergonomics than the Glock. For whatever the reason, the M&P 9mm seem to have lesser felt recoil than the Glock 17 of the same size. The interchangeable backstraps on the M&P let the shooter customize the gun to fit the shooter's hand. To me I think this is the feature that sold me on the M&P.

I've owned two M&P full size, a Pro model (longer slide and Performance Center action job for competition), one M&P Compact and one full size .45ACP M&P. I've shot close to 10,000 rounds through them and only experienced less than a hand full of malfunctions. A few of those I believed my support hand caused the malfunctioned by bumping the slide lock during shooting or recoil. I like carrying the M&P as it is light, I like the ability to add a weapon light, love the reliability and how it fits my hand.

I also like the price tag, especially the one in the picture here, $400 for a brand new gun. I replaced the factory two dots rear Novak sight with a 10-8 U notch rear (all black). I prefer the cleaner sight picture and the wider notch. The sight also allows the shooter to rack the slide by hooking the rear sight to your belt, holster or any surface with an edge. I rarely have to clean the gun, most of the time after shooting 400 - 500 rounds, I just field strip it and wipe off some surfaces then lube it all up and it's ready to go again.

The M&P is simple to use, easy to maintain, reliable and it doesn't have the cult following like the Glock. I like that.

Hey Richard:
Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to write down your thoughts on the pistol. And as i said, congrat's on the CQC/S.