Both holster and the magazine pouches remove in seconds for compact transport and storage.

Action-style handgun disciplines, such as SSAA’s Action Match, are becoming increasingly popular in Australia and with more and more people joining the sport, there is also an increased demand for the specialised equipment and accessories required to compete.

Augusto Sergio de Oliveira Ribas or Guga Ribas, apart from having a great handle, rose to the top of competitive practical shooting in Brazil in the late 1990s. Competing in IPSC and Steel Challenge, his accomplishments include some top five finishes in World Shoots, second place in the 2004 European Championship and first place in the Pan American Championship in 2003. Between shoots, Ribas developed his own line of holsters and equipment and started the Guga Ribas Products Company.

Designed using modern computer-aided design techniques, the FSH speed holster is made from 7075 hardened aluminium combined with hardwearing polymer. The one I was supplied with was in gold, but a whole range of colors are available for those who like to accessorise.

If you like the look and feel of metal, you will love this holster. It is very compact and incorporates some excellent design features. As with other designs, such as the familiar Ghost line of holsters, there is no device locating the barrel and nothing that grabs the frame; the handgun basically sits free, supported totally by the positioning of the triggerguard within the locating groove. The triggerguard is fully covered as per competition rules, but the rest of the pistol seems suspended in mid-air. This arrangement allows for the use of pistols with any barrel length of the appropriate frame design, without having to make adjustments.

For handgun retention, the holster runs what the company refers to as a ‘tri-locking system switch’. Within the locating groove, a spring-loaded polymer lug aids in the retention of the triggerguard and thus the pistol. A small, round dial on the face of the holster controls the tension adjustment to this lug. We could call this ‘level 1’ retention or the position to be used just prior to the draw and is obtained with the switch lever in the uppermost position.

If movement is required prior to the draw, by locating the switch lever in the middle position, a second lug is drawn across to meet the first within the locating groove. This locks the triggerguard into the holster, totally preventing removal. We could call this ‘level 2’ retention and in this posi- tion, the switch lever is located as such that on the draw, the trailing fingers of the drawing hand sweep the switch off, allowing instant removal.

The third switch lever position, from the best I can see, offers the same locking effect as the previous. However, the position of the lever is now lower towards the bottom edge of the holster. Accidental release when moving around the range would be near-on-impossible, hence our ‘level 3’ retention.

Daniel O’Dea’s Smith & Wesson 1911DK holstered in Guga Ribas. Note the draw tension dial on the face and tri-lock switch lever in the locked position.

The holster offers multiple adjustments. It has what the factory refers to as a ‘spherical positioning axis system’, which is a universal joint if you like. This allows for infinite adjustments to both tilt and pan of the holster. The ride height is also adjustable via a bar that incorporates the spherical positioning axis system and mates into a mounting block, which attaches to your competition belt. This unique system allows the total removal of the holster from the belt by simply unscrewing a knob on the mounting block.

Like the holster, the Guga Ribas magazine pouches share a lot of intuitive design features. They are made from a hardwearing polymer moulded into two parts: the main body and a sideplate. These two pieces mate into each other and are held together with two spring-loaded brass screw knobs. The magazine sandwiches between the two sections, with the spring-loaded brass screw knobs providing the retention adjust- ment. The front of the pouch remains open, which allows you to place your finger along the front rib of the magazine at the commencement of the draw, affording good grip and guidance all the way to your mag well at the reload.

The magazine pouches are fully adjustable and can be mounted horizontally or vertically to the belt face.

Once again, we find the spherical positioning axis system giving the magazine full adjustment for tilt and pan. This attaches to the pouch to present the magazine either horizontally or vertically to the side of the body. It is also ambidextrous for both left- and right-hand mounting.

As with the holster, the magazine pouch locks into a mounting block attached to your competition belt and is removable, this time via the rotation of a metal wheel. Polymer inserts are supplied with each pouch for conversion from double- to single-stack magazine use. Being able to quickly and simply remove both the holster and magazine pouches from your competition belt is a great feature. All mounting blocks remain on the belt, so you don’t lose the positioning of each item and the whole lot packs neatly away into your range bag.

For testing, I set the rig up on a CR speed outer competition belt for use with my Smith & Wesson (Doug Koenig) DK1911 in .38 Super. After multiple dry-fire practice sessions and a couple of competition events, I’ve come away quite impressed with this product. I found the holster draw effortless and, unlike some other designs I have used, I had confidence in the holster’s retention system. However, I also must say that my personal preference has always been to bag my gun between stages when using any form of competition holster.

The magazine pouches feature a ‘spherical positioning axis system’, while the wheel locks the unit to the belt mount.

With a ‘single-stacker’, the hole in the bottom of the mag well isn’t as big as compared to a double-stack designed handgun, so precise presentation of the magazine to the well is even more important if you are searching for that lightning-fast magazine change in competition. Apart from all of the design features, it also looks great, which undoubtedly lends to the whole package.

Reprinted from SSAA Shooters Journal.