I first met Sonny Morton at the 2013 Production Nationals held in Tulsa, OK. We were on the same squad at the match, along with several other “young ones.” Please don’t go looking for my results from that match (I went sub-minor at chrono), but Morton finished fifth at 87 percent of Eric Grauffel. Over the last several years I have shot with Morton a few times, and after the “9 Days” last year, he mentioned that he was doing something new and was going to send me something to test out.
We stayed in contact after the match, and Morton let me in on his new venture, Zeus Practical—a holster manufacturer offering carry and competition holsters in a half-dozen or so styles, as well as magazine pouches. Since we are talking USPSA I was sent the “Gamer” double-layer competition holster ($75) to check out. Morton had to wait a little bit to get this to me because it was going to be for the then just-released Walther Q5 Steel Frame. I am not too picky when it comes to colors, although I am a fan of blue, so that is what he sent. The “Gamer” came with the Springer Precision drop-offset hanger in a carbon-fiber blue with black carbon-fiber inside color. This was a handsome-looking holster, and right out of the package the fit to the Walther was perfect.
The weight of the guns in Production and Carry Optics continue to increase, and the need for solid double-layer holsters is apparent. The Q5 Steel Frame weighs an etnire pound more than the polymer model that I had been using. It felt right at home in the holster from Zeus Practical. There is no extra material, no rough edges and no sharp corners. Phillips-head screws are used for the hardware over Allen-head style. I prefer the easy-to-use Philips heads.
I mounted the holster to my Safariland belt and headed to the Mult-Gun Nationals and Area 6 Match. Don’t go looking for my results, I DQ’ed at the MG Nationals and sucked at Area 6. Actually, just avoid looking up any of my match results, there is “nothing to see here.” Trust me, if I have a good match someday I will write an article about it. This was the first time I had used a Springer Precision offset hanger on a holster and found it to be very comfortable and solid. The hanger offers a lot of ability to adjust the height of the holster and I like the belt attachment is open so the Velcro on theinner and outer belts can attach.
After I got back I reached out to Morton and asked if he could make me another one, but wanted it to work with the Safariland USPSA hanger kit. The USPSA hanger kit from Safariland is basically the same hanger that is on their 014 Open holsters and is used on their Kydex holsters. The hanger basically provides the shooter the ability to adjust height, tilt or cant of the holster to their preference. You will want to make sure that the holster, once adjusted with this kit, is still legal distance from the belt.
The holsters offered, like the “Gamer” that is reviewed here, is a very well-built holster that comes in several different color options and patterns. Right now, the firearm options are about 10 of the most popular competition guns, but more are expected to be added. They can be ordered with the Springer Precision hanger, and the hole pattern will work with the other popular hangers on the market. If you are looking at using the Safariland hanger you will need to contact Morton first, as that option isn’t available on the website. He is one of the top contenders in USPSA Production and Carry Optics divisions, and understands how important having the right gear is to your performance.
Check out the selection at www.zeuspractical.com.
Article from the July/August 2019 issue of USPSA’s FrontSight magazine. Photos by Jake Martens
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