Although you might be getting tired of me writing about it by now, the Bond Arms Bullpup 9 has given me an opportunity to work with holster designs that I don’t necessarily seek out for more commonly encountered (at least at this point) handguns. I tend to test handguns like Smith & Wessons with holster designs I have worked with extensively in the past or with designs I have on hand that will work with several models of their handguns.

When a new handgun like the Bullpup 9 (or its predecessor, the Boberg XR9-S) hits the market, holster choices are more limited, particularly if it’s a design that is drastically different than competing and similar-sized handguns. There is certainly nothing wrong with the Bullpup 9 design; it’s just that placing the chamber of the barrel farther back — in this case, the chamber mouth rests over the middle of the grip — leaves the muzzle a scant ¼ inch ahead of the trigger guard. There is next to no muzzle to grab onto, which means three things:

  1. Don’t wrap the index finger across the trigger guard for support. This shouldn’t be done with any gun, but especially in the case of the Bullpup 9.
  2. The Bond Arms Bullpup 9 is one of the hardest guns to strip from your hands by an attacker. There is nothing to which the bad guy can apply leverage.
  3. Many existing holster designs will need a serious re-work in order to accommodate the Bullpup 9. The El Paso Saddlery Sky Six isn’t one of those designs, and it was easily adapted for the Bullpup 9.

The Sky Six starts with El Paso’s premium leather construction, which puts it in good stead with me. As I have gotten a bit jaded by the never-ending supply of plastic-framed firearms, I prefer to put one that is made of steel and aluminum in a holster made of leather rather than of nylon or plastic — especially when that gun sports beautiful wood grips.

The Sky Six is a strong-side thumb break belt holster, with belt loops cut in that are designed to accommodate a solid 1¾-inch belt — which, as it happens, is also available in several styles from El Paso. Because the belt loops are cut directly through the holster, rather than affixed to the back, the Sky Six rides very close to the body, an important factor in warm weather concealment under light clothing. El Paso refers to this design as having a “Flat Back” construction.

The leather is available in Russet or Black, and is hand-bonded to fit the specific gun precisely, which aids in retention. Another thing I have realized about hand-boned holsters is that they are easy to find in the box of holsters I have because the outline of the gun is very distinct. That is a bit hard to do with nylon or polymer holsters, which require checking for the model number on the back. Kydex offers the same advantage, as it too strongly relies on proper friction-fitting for retention. For an extra $35, you can have the Sky Six lined, which adds rigidity as well as protection to traditional blued or nickel-plated handguns. My sample is unlined, which is fine because the stainless-steel/anodized-aluminum construction of the Bond Bullpup 9mm is pretty impervious to wear. The bottom of the Sky Six is open for the muzzle and won’t allow dirt or lint to accumulate.

There are six types of stamping available to further individualize and set off your holster. Stamped or carved holsters are not available with hand-boning, which would obscure said stamping and carving. The available patterns/types are Floral Carving, Frontier Floral Carving, Extra Fancy Floral Carving, Basket Stamping, Border Stamping and Fishscale Stamping. The additional price for stamping ranges from $40 for Basket, Border and Fishscale to $88 for Floral and Frontier Floral Carved to $115 for Extra Fancy Floral Carved models.

While I stated earlier that there was no serious re-working needed to adapt the Sky Six to the Bond Arms Bullpup, there was one modification needed to make it work and that was to the thumb break.

Because of the short-barrel setup of the Bullpup 9, it was felt that having the thumb break loop over the rear of the slide wouldn’t retain it properly, particularly if the snap became inadvertently undone. Without a normal-length muzzle helping to hold the Bullpup 9 in place, there is increased risk of it coming free at the wrong time if the holster does not embrace the unique elements of the design. El Paso re-adjusted the male end of the thumb break strap so that it runs underneath the right rear of the bottom of the slide. The male snap then meets the female snap at the traditional position at the left rear of the slide. This holds the Bullpup 9 very securely. The design also works for the original Boberg XR9-S.

I found that the modification did change the draw dynamic in a way that is easy to get used to. Although the Sky Six holds the Bullpup 9 in a muzzle-rearward aspect, it is difficult to draw it at the normal angle (or straight out). Drawing from these angles does not clear the retention strap away from the pistol, a fact which I discovered when I first worked with it.

Drawing a Bullpup 9 from the modified Sky Six requires that you rock the pistol slightly to the rear after releasing the thumb break. This allows you to draw the Bullpup 9 with more of a locked wrist, rather than one bent forward, and then the strap is cleared nicely.

I carried the Bullpup 9 in the Sky Six for nearly two weeks while on vacation in northwest Michigan, either under a Cabela’s fishing/hiking vest or a Blackhawk or 5.11 concealment shirt. The Sky Six kept the butt of the Bullpup 9 tucked close to my side, preventing printing, but not so close as to impede the draw. The comfort level was excellent.

I really like the El Paso Sky Six. Its design has proven very adaptable to a wide variety of handguns. The current list shows holsters for 26 different manufacturers, not yet including Bond. However, I am sure that you can order one for the Bond Bullpup 9 or earlier Boberg XR9-S. Prices start at $84. Remember that these are not mass-produced holsters, so allow a couple of weeks for production and delivery.

More info at: www.epsaddlery.com and www.bondarms.com