Clip-it question

[zackmars]

Dude. Quality leather won't. Or if it does, nobody told my leather holsters. I have kydex holsters, too. They have their upsides, but a quality leather holster is nice, too. If you don't treat it like crap.



Here we see the problem. Yes, leather has been around for a long time. And for a long time, people have known not to get leather holsters or sheaths wet if they can avoid it. I wasn't kidding about the scuba diving thing.

Don't get wet? Great for a real world environment. Don't get knocked down or pinned to a wall and need your gun either.

Spend well over double of a good kydex or poly holster, need to maintain it and have to take special precautions so you get the benefits of leather? I hose out my safarilands and alien gears, dry them outside and oil any metal parts. And i get better retention and durability.

Get outside in the summer, get wet, beat on your gear, shoot from unconventional positions, you'll find out why leather is best left to impressing friends at BBQ's with a pimped out 1911.

And Bianchi is quality. 1791 is quality, Mitch Rosen, Galco, and DeSantis is quality.

If you like leather, rock on. But don't try to tell me that somehow leather holsters dont have the exact properties of leather.

 

[Vaquero]

Zackmars is feeling his oats.

 

[zackmars]

Zackmars is feeling his oats.

Not really. Just pointing out that a holster that can collapse and requires special care might not be ideal.

 

[Mowingmaniac 24/7]

Oats get turned into leather.

 

[General Zod]

Don't get wet? Great for a real world environment. Don't get knocked down or pinned to a wall and need your gun either.

Spend well over double of a good kydex or poly holster, need to maintain it and have to take special precautions so you get the benefits of leather? I hose out my safarilands and alien gears, dry them outside and oil any metal parts. And i get better retention and durability.

Get outside in the summer, get wet, beat on your gear, shoot from unconventional positions, you'll find out why leather is best left to impressing friends at BBQ's with a pimped out 1911.

And Bianchi is quality. 1791 is quality, Mitch Rosen, Galco, and DeSantis is quality.

If you like leather, rock on. But don't try to tell me that somehow leather holsters dont have the exact properties of leather.

Yeah, didn't realize I was talking to Indiana Jones here. For those of us who aren't constantly getting into fights in swamps with hordes of nazis, leather just isn't going to wear out that easily unless you do all those things and insist on wearing it wet, in which case your gun is going to rust, too.

In an attempt to get things back to at least the same area code as the OP, we do both agree that ANY holster is better than some add-on clip on the side of a firearm.

And yes, as I mentioned before, I use kydex as well. Leather IWB holsters just aren't comfortable or effective for me, and neither are kydex OWB holsters. Each has its advantages, and those of us who don't lead the adventurous life of mayhem and danger you describe will do just fine with either.

 

[zackmars]

Yeah, didn't realize I was talking to Indiana Jones here. For those of us who aren't constantly getting into fights in swamps with hordes of nazis, leather just isn't going to wear out that easily unless you do all those things and insist on wearing it wet, in which case your gun is going to rust, too.

In an attempt to get things back to at least the same area code as the OP, we do both agree that ANY holster is better than some add-on clip on the side of a firearm.

And yes, as I mentioned before, I use kydex as well. Leather IWB holsters just aren't comfortable or effective for me, and neither are kydex OWB holsters. Each has its advantages, and those of us who don't lead the adventurous life of mayhem and danger you describe will do just fine with either.

Yes, leather is a billion times better than a clip, or a nylon holster, but keep in mind, as you carry, you do not pick the time or weather of an encounter. You do not get to pick whether or not some guy tries to sucker punch you or pin you to a wall.

These are common things that make a "soft" holster totally unworkable.

Not getting wet might be fine if you have some indoor job, or are completely landlocked. Things change if you deal with hurricanes, or are on or are near the water a lot.

And maybe your gun will rust if it's parkerized or blued, but a modern finish, in a polymer holster will be far more rust resistant.

If you have to pretend the person is some mall ninja or Indiana Jones for completely realistic scenarios to occur, there's no real point in this.

 

[DoubleDuty]

I've used them for years. And my father, sister's husband and father-in-law all used them on 1911's in 'their' wars.

Never thought about this until yesterday, but... now I wonder if it qualifies as legal for concealed carry here in TX? Since I read I'm 'supposed' to carry in a holster. Just asking. Thanks.

C

I've used them for years. And my father, sister's husband and father-in-law all used them on 1911's in 'their' wars.

Never thought about this until yesterday, but... now I wonder if it qualifies as legal for concealed carry here in TX? Since I read I'm 'supposed' to carry in a holster. Just asking. Thanks.
[/QUOTE
A holster is only required for open carry.

 

[V-Tach]

Man...... was I wrong thinking what this thread was going to be about...........

 

[PinnedandRecessed]

Full disclosure: The factory clip grip has been replaced with a CT laser grip (and a neon green "On your Six" made in SA Kydex holster) but I will admit I would carry, sans holster, on short trips to the convenience store while wearing gym shorts.

 

[1911'S 4 Me]

At least for now we all have a choice of what we carry in.
No expert has all the answers. It's my money, I will buy what I want, not what someone else has a preference for.

 

[striker55]

Has anyone seen this https://versacarry.com/inside-the-waistband/zerobulk-holster/ I watched a video advertising it, thought it was a good idea. Yep it's in my draw with unused equipment.

 

[seeker_two]

Has anyone seen this https://versacarry.com/inside-the-waistband/zerobulk-holster/ I watched a video advertising it, thought it was a good idea. Yep it's in my draw with unused equipment.

I tried one of those.....for about five minutes. There are so many ways that is engineered to go wrong that every instructor should have one as an object lesson.

Sent from my SM-G715A using Tapatalk

 

[oldag]

That may be true, but leather has been around a very, very long time, it's flaws are well known, and it's why you don't see it used as much (if at all) on duty belts.

Go try to draw with pressure on the holster, or take a dunk in the water and wear your gun for a summer day and see how it's doing, wear your gun with a leather holster for a year or so and have pressure put on it constantly, see how it holds up.

It will not hold up well

I don't go swimming with a pistol strapped on. But then I am not a SEAL.

And leather was used for duty belts for many, many decades. Relative was a LEO. Leather was all he ever used. Never had a problem.

 

[Sasquatch]

I don't go swimming with a pistol strapped on. But then I am not a SEAL.

And leather was used for duty belts for many, many decades. Relative was a LEO. Leather was all he ever used. Never had a problem.

I've waded rivers & lakes while carrying - always carry when afield. When wade fishing and I knew I was getting wet, I always carried in either nylon or plastic holsters because I didn't want to ruin my leather gear, when I still carried in leather myself. I also carried rust-resistant guns like Glocks or guns made from stainless steel.

I get where zack is coming from - for *my* use, I came to similar conclusions as he did - leather was less optimal. For me it came down to the work I used to do - lots of time spend on the ground, rolling around on my gun, sometimes in wet environments, sometimes just getting soaked from sweat. I stopped wearing leather belts or carrying in leather holsters because they didn't hold up as well as nylon & kydex do - kydex doesn't typically look great to begin with, so if it gets scratched up, no biggie. Gravel will do a number on leather, and you just can't make it look nice again.

I still love the look of good leather, and would carry in it on special occasions if I had a pistol that warranted nice leather like a BBQ gun.

When I was a security monkey eons ago, my favorite duty holster was a Safariland that blended leather and kydex - their famed 070 holster - it had a rigid kydex shell (the way that holster retained the gun demanded it) but it was wrapped in black basket weave leather. Looked great, retained the gun great. You got the best of both worlds, aside from the issue of the leather looking like hell if you wound up on the ground rolling around on gravel or cement, which I didn't do as a security monkey. I had LE friends whose agencies mandated leather gear and they'd replace gear once in a while when it got beat to hell and looked bad.

 

[General Zod]

If you have to pretend the person is some mall ninja or Indiana Jones for completely realistic scenarios to occur...

"Completely realistic"...yeah. Constantly in the water and being tackled on a daily basis...and you can only fall on your holster because...reasons. And don't ever take care of that leather after it's gotten wet, which apparently happens constantly.

For your "faults" to be valid that's what it would take.

 

[zackmars]

"Completely realistic"...yeah. Constantly in the water and being tackled on a daily basis...and you can only fall on your holster because...reasons. And don't ever take care of that leather after it's gotten wet, which apparently happens constantly.

For your "faults" to be valid that's what it would take.

Did i say on a daily basis? No, you did.

If you like leather, fine, dont let me stop you, but you've made it abundantly clear you have no actual argument. So have a great day

 

[zackmars]

I don't go swimming with a pistol strapped on. But then I am not a SEAL.

And leather was used for duty belts for many, many decades. Relative was a LEO. Leather was all he ever used. Never had a problem.

Yes, many, many decades then better options came out. See my previous comments. If you have an actual argument, I'd love to see it.

 

[General Zod]

Did i say on a daily basis? No, you did.

If you like leather, fine, dont let me stop you, but you've made it abundantly clear you have no actual argument. So have a great day

Whatever, Dr Jones. The fact remains that leather only fails like you've described if it's constantly abused and treated like crap. All the stuff that you've described has to be on a daily basis for any of your arguments to be valid. Otherwise, the worst you wind up with is a slightly scuffed-up holster. But whatever, Adventureman.

 

[oldag]

Yes, many, many decades then better options came out. See my previous comments. If you have an actual argument, I'd love to see it.

Just experience and observations. And what you say here does not change that.

If I ever join the SEALs and become tacticool, spend my time mud wrestling and scuba diving while carrying, then I will give full consideration to plastic.

Enjoy the last word, it is yours.

 

[V-Tach]

A "soft" leather holster is a ruined holster.......jmho.....

Carry on........