The hand-molded Milt Sparks holster holds the gun securely without the need for retention devices.

Milt Sparks should be a familiar name to most defensive shooters. That's because this small Idaho-based company has been hand-crafting quality leather since the 1960s.

Sparks started making holsters for the fast-growing competitive combat pistol crowd. His business thrived, but he elected to keep it small to maintain the level of quality for which he was known. Milt took on a few employees over the years, including a young Tony Kanaley. Eventually, Kanaley proved himself with such designs as the very popular Model 60TK. He was eventually offered a partnership in the mid-1980s.

Today, Tony runs the company exactly as Milt intended--turning out a limited number of quality, hand-crafted holsters for serious shooters. I own several of them, including the modified Model PMK I use to pack my customized Kahr PM9.

The PMK for the PM9 rides a little low on the belt. That might make concealing a larger pistol difficult, but it isn't an issue with the stubby PM9. A belt slot and rear loop combine to keep the compact rig tight against my body, and a reinforced holster mouth makes reholstering a breeze.

Weapon retention is accomplished by meticulous hand-molding of the holster to the pistol. This locks the pistol in tight enough so it doesn't fly out of the rig unless you mean for it to. Then, a smooth, firm draw stroke brings it easily into action.