Gun Leather

I seem to go through this every time I buy a pistol that doesn’t fit any of my current holsters. I am very particular when it comes to holsters. Like most people who carry a firearm, I have dozens of holsters. Over the years, I have had:

• Fanny packs
• Inside the waistband
• Outside the waistband
• Ankle holsters
• tuckable IWB
• Thunderwear
• Pocket Holsters
• Appendix carry
• Sneaky Pete
• Man Purse (OK, shoulder bag)
• and I am sure others that I can’t remember.

The holsters that I have generally fit guns in the following categories (Yes, nearly all of my carry guns are M&P, because it is easier to buy a holster that fits multiple handguns that way):

• Large Auto: M&P45, M&P10
• Midsized Auto: M&P9, M&P40
• Compact Auto: M&P9c, Glock 19
• Small Auto: Shield Plus
• Minicompact: Shield9, Shield40, Shield 45
• Micro Compact: Bodyguard 380, Beretta 3032
• Small Revolver: Smith and Wesson 642

Over the years, I have developed a taste for what I like, and for what I don’t like.

For starters, I don’t like the feel of Kydex or other hard plastics against my skin. I find that the plastic finds a spot to dig in, which causes me to fiddle with the holster, moving it around to make it more comfortable. The more you fiddle with a concealed holster, the more obvious it is that you are carrying. That means I want a leather or hybrid holster. A good example of a hybrid holster is an MTAC.

I can and do have a couple of OWB holsters in nylon or Kydex. Leather isn’t as important for me when dealing with off-skin carry. Still, I don’t have a lot of open carry holsters because Florida law doesn’t allow for open carry.

I also don’t like holsters that attach with clips- plastic or metal. They don’t stay secure, and I find that on the draw, the holster tends to come out of your pants with the pistol. For that reason, I like leather straps or belt slots that are cut into the holster itself.

One of the problems that I had when I first began carrying pistols with microdots is there were not any commercial holsters made for them. I wound having to get a custom one from Milt Sparks. The disadvantage was that it took 10 weeks to get my holster. Now the wait for his work is over 40 weeks. That won’t do.

The good news is that there are now many more custom leathermakers who can provide holsters for guns with microdots. One of them is Wright Leatherworks. I like the Banshee, and at $155 for a microdot ready holster with a 10 week lead time is already causing me to think about getting one for the 10mm. Not because I will carry it a lot, but it will give me the option of carrying it if I want to.

The good news is that everything for the 10mm is finally in (except the 5 spare magazines), so a range trip is coming in the next week or two. I will do a function test, and I am planning on buying some ballistic gelatin in the near future. That will allow me to compare some of my carry options in the distant future.