JJ Racaza rig: first impressions

[doc Russia]

I had seen this item http://jjracaza.com/products/
mentioned on this thread http://theguncounter.mgtt.net/forum/vie ... 3645bdbeb7
Looking at it, I was kind of intrigued by it, so I decided to go ahead and drop the money to buy one.
a small note:
My wardrobe doesn't fit so well after some significant weight loss, so that may alter my impressions

It arrived in about a week, and the first thing I thought when I opened it was that it was not worth the $90 I shelled out for it. I guess looking at the picture on the website, I had thought it was metal, but it's just a glossy black plastic.

The way this thing works is to put it on over your shirt, but before you put your trousers on. It sits up front and carries your weapon up by your crotch.
If you don't want to know anything more, stop now.
For the intrepid, we shall continue;
The pistol sits in the holster like so (the red light is being used to try to bring out the detail how the gun interfaces with the holster.:



Once I had the thing put on, I dropped an XDM .45 with a 4.5" bbl into it, just to see how concealable it was:

Here's a closer look:

From the side:

Closer side view:



The only way you could realistically have a chance of discovering this weapon is if you raise your arms, because then somebody might see an edge of it behind your belt:


So it conceals very well. In fact, trying it out tonight, I went to a meeting where one of the field supervisors who knows me commented on the fact that I wasn't packing. He didn't believe me when I said that I had a double stack .45. Unfortunately he was not so sure that he would bet me on it.

So, the pros of the rig are that it does conceal very well with a tucked in shirt. It will also conceal fairly large pistols quite well. I have not tried it on smaller guns, yet.
It is actually fairly comfortable when standing. It is also very light. When concealed the gun is truly hidden, You do not have to worry about it printing.. At all.

the cons are as follows: Unless you have it adjusted just right, you run the risk of your scrotum getting caught between the slide and whatever you sit on when you sit down. I do not wear them normally, but I suspect that whitey-tightey underwear is great for this rig.
Also, while it is pretty fast coming out with two hands, you have to push the barrel up with one hand. Doing it one-handed, is a little bit of a fishing expedition since you pop it up with one hand enough to clear the belt,where it just kind of hangs out there in your waistband, then you have to use the same hand to get it out the rest of the way. I strongly suspect that this will get a lot smoother with practice. There is also the knowledge that you are deliberately putting your finger in front of the muzzle.
And forget about drawing from a seated position.

A few other things I noticed;
you will need a few extra inches of room on your belt. While the nylon waistband it comes with supports it, if you tighten up your belt, it makes it difficult to smoothly get the gun out.
As you can see from the photo, the trigger is pretty exposed, so I would advise caution if you want to carry a glock in it.

Overall, I kind of like this rig. I am going to give it some more time to get used to it and see if it becomes less noticeable over time as I get used to it. While it is not so great while seated, the effectiveness of it's concealment with the fact that it works for full size weapons makes it very desirable.

I have not tried to take a leak with it, so that may be a deal killer.
Will post more later

[Aglifter]

Having a tucked in shirt, while standing, is a concern of mine - does it work w. a 1911? (I have *LOTS* of room in my pants at the moment - just order a bunch of smaller ones, though - but not any new work pants, yet.)

What would you think about a PSP in one? (Those are about the only two guns I would trust in such a position... Maybe my XDm, but that has started feeling very strange, compared to my 1911/2011/Para guns...)

[Greg]

Interesting. But unless your nuts are square it looks like *something* is printing in a couple of those pictures. It looks like the end of the slide is poking your pants just left of centerline (actually right of center, thanks to the mirror).

[Rod]

Mae West would have loved it. "Is that a gun in your crotch or are you just glad to see me?" Then again, how many of us LOOK at another guy's crotch?

[Aglifter]

You'll always have some kind of printing, but it is an area where, culturally, most people don't look.

[Aglifter]

I realize it is another item to fail, but what about using a vanguard holster with it?

[doc Russia]

Interesting. But unless your nuts are square it looks like *something* is printing in a couple of those pictures. It looks like the end of the slide is poking your pants just left of centerline (actually right of center, thanks to the mirror).

No, that's my d!@k. Being right handed, the handle of the pistol is to the right, the slide is to the left, so the pistol goes to the left and the gun goes to the right.
I tried a number of pistols out in it, and generally I would say this:
This rig is better with pistols with longer barrels. When I tried the diamondback 9mm and the J-frame, they were basically impossible to cleanly draw since their length was just too short. No problems with either the 1911 gov't or 1911 commander (both single stack). The Makarov seemed great when I dropped it in, but it had rubber grips which caught on the shirt, and made the draw difficult. The glock 20 worked really well. I did not have a medium or large frame revolver to test, but I am guessing that the width of the cylinder would cause problems. The FNP 45 tactical also seemed to work pretty well. I did not try sitting with each of these guns, but just wanted to see how it would work standing. This rig seems to be shaping up as a great CC rig if you are going to be standing a lot and want to retain a clean cut appearance. It seems best suited for fighting automatics, and not diminutive holdout pistols.
I also took a leak a few times wearing it, and while it takes some negotiating to get past it, it really isn't much of an issue.
It also seemed more comfortable today wearing it around than it was yesterday.
Not done evaluating it, yet. So far, I think it definitely has its place, especially when you have to look nice and might have to remove your jacket, or cannot wear one to begin with for whatever reason.

[randy]

I have not tried to take a leak with it, so that may be a deal killer.

See? Now that is the kind of practical real world consideration that should be addressed in any review.

[Greg]

Interesting. But unless your nuts are square it looks like *something* is printing in a couple of those pictures. It looks like the end of the slide is poking your pants just left of centerline (actually right of center, thanks to the mirror).

No, that's my d!@k.

I'm really glad noone can hear me laughing, because I really wouldn't want to try to explain it.

Being right handed, the handle of the pistol is to the right, the slide is to the left, so the pistol goes to the left and the gun goes to the right.
I tried a number of pistols out in it, and generally I would say this:
This rig is better with pistols with longer barrels. When I tried the diamondback 9mm and the J-frame, they were basically impossible to cleanly draw since their length was just too short. No problems with either the 1911 gov't or 1911 commander (both single stack). The Makarov seemed great when I dropped it in, but it had rubber grips which caught on the shirt, and made the draw difficult. The glock 20 worked really well. I did not have a medium or large frame revolver to test, but I am guessing that the width of the cylinder would cause problems. The FNP 45 tactical also seemed to work pretty well. I did not try sitting with each of these guns, but just wanted to see how it would work standing. This rig seems to be shaping up as a great CC rig if you are going to be standing a lot and want to retain a clean cut appearance. It seems best suited for fighting automatics, and not diminutive holdout pistols.
I also took a leak a few times wearing it, and while it takes some negotiating to get past it, it really isn't much of an issue.
It also seemed more comfortable today wearing it around than it was yesterday.
Not done evaluating it, yet. So far, I think it definitely has its place, especially when you have to look nice and might have to remove your jacket, or cannot wear one to begin with for whatever reason.

Huh. My mental picture of how that thing works must be off. But looking at the pictures again, in light of new information (heh) - that thing really seems to work.

[Weetabix]

Any issues with close contact with the metal or plastic causing condensation on the firearm?

I suppose Hoppe's aroma should be adequate to cover "junk funk," but I'd worry about rust.