Leather vs plastic holster

[Mr. Ed]

Supposedly Horsehide being more dense, it resists sweat better.

It is also harder to dye

And it smells like an amazing horse, when wet. Tastes like raisins, I'm told.

 

[Mark75H]

If I’m involved in a shooting, my gun goes on the ground for police to see and recover.

A reholster can also be mistaken for a draw

I have heard conflicting LEO preferences on this . Most did say reholster but keep your hands away from it. Those with this preference said control is imperative. You don't want some bystander to get it. People do do stupid things.

 

[Bikebreath]

I've been happy with an OTW leather holster with a retention screw, DeSantis mini slide.

THUMB BREAK MINI SLIDE

The Mini Slide with thumb break retention is a premium leather OWB holster available in black & tan, right or left handed.

www.desantisholster.com

 

[outrider58]

If you have a clip to hold the holster. Reholster shouldn’t be much an issue. You shouldn’t be in a hurry to reholster. Just pull out your holster put your pistol in its holster then put back inside your pants. few more steps but it is safer.

My Vedder IWB is very difficult to secure inside my waistband with the gun in it. The steel clip is very stiff. I normally remove my gun from it, place the empty holster into the waistband/belt, then holster.

Holsters are like shoes. They fit people differently. A shoe that hurts one person's feet won't necessarily hurt an other's.

 

[swinokur]

The bullet holes offend me more than butt crack

 

[outrider58]

I've been happy with an OTW leather holster with a retention screw, DeSantis mini slide.

THUMB BREAK MINI SLIDE

The Mini Slide with thumb break retention is a premium leather OWB holster available in black & tan, right or left handed.

www.desantisholster.com

I love my mini slide. I wear it most of the time I carry.

 

[jrumann59]

My Vedder IWB is very difficult to secure inside my waistband with the gun in it. The steel clip is very stiff. I normally remove my gun from it, place the empty holster into the waistband/belt, then holster.

Holsters are like shoes. They fit people differently. A shoe that hurts one person's feet won't necessarily hurt an other's.

I agree, I do it the same way, a good kydex is easy to re-holster as long as you clear clothing before re-holstering. As for leather if its a good quality leather and you have time to break it in it should be fine though trigger guard deformation is always a concern

 

[outrider58]

I agree, I do it the same way, a good kydex is easy to re-holster as long as you clear clothing before re-holstering. As for leather if its a good quality leather and you have time to break it in it should be fine though trigger guard deformation is always a concern

Many of the DeSantis leather holsters come with retention screws. I'm new to carrying, so I'll see how this holster holds up. So far, so good though.

 

[wreckdiver]

It is such a personal preference.

I have leather, hybrid, and kydex. I used to only use the kydex holsters for shooting sports. I didn’t love the feel of kydex for IWB until I found a better holster. Now, I may actually lean towards kydex over leather for Iwb just because it’s so thin and offers good retention.

 

[Bob A]

I have a Foxx leather/kydex IWB for my CZ Rami, and I hate it. I have a leather Urban Carry OTW pancake for the pistol, and I really like it. It has an adjustable plastic thingy that latches onto the trigger guard to retain the gun, and it works just fine,

Because MoCo, I have a leather IWB holster made by Eric Larsen which I'm now using; it is reinforced with leather at the mouth of the holster to keep it stiff. It's fine as well, though on the whole paddle holsters are more comfortable. There's also the fact that Larsen customises his holsters to accommodate the wearer's preference. I suspect I'll be ordering a few more from Mr Larsen.

I'd probably have a kydex by one of Blaster's preferred makers, except they don't make one for my pistol. So I can't say that I'd actually like it. I have no problem with leather holsters, and while they might add a fraction of an inch overall to the thickness, kydex is noisy and required a snappy draw. Leather, like some of my exudations, is silent but deadly.

I'm planning on getting a shoulder rig as well, for those interminable road trips, but I'm in no hurry, as I have no immediate destinations in mind.

 

[Biggfoot44]

It's not about leather being " softer " per se , it's the little bit of flexibility that lets leather holsters conform to everyday body movements .

Yes . literally , Kydex * can * be thinner than leather . That may or may not be significant . Many leather holsters are " suitably thin for intended application " . Already in this thread we are seeing comment of preference for leather even in IWB , because of its inherent qualities
YMMV , will vary with each person , and vary with specific holster designs .

The * Blaster Signature Stealth Handgun Presentation to Gain Tactical Advantage over Hijackers and other Bad Guys TM * Strongly favors leather , and can be difficult or impossible with Kydex .

If you haven't guessed , I generally , and default prefer Dead Cows , but occasionally make use of kydex or other synthetics for particular uses .

I use several inexpensive Fobus OWB holsters for my G26, G27 and Sig P365, the latter being my EDC combo. I can wear it all day, including driving, without an issue.

Please don't use Fobus . I'm not being a snob about inexpensive gear in general , but this is specifically Fobus related .

Design issues are seperate discussion . but in particular the material is subject to plastic fatigue , and in daily use it is when , not if a catastrophic failure .

Several large and small makers offer low cost similar holsters , please use any of them instead .

 

[Biggfoot44]

Some leather holsters do allow for one handed (re) holstering , other specific ones not so much .

Does your employment and lifestyle regularly involve taking suspects and gunpoint followed by quickly reholstering to go hands on to cuff or scuffle ? If so , yes one hand easy reholstering is important requirement .

If not , it's one secondary factor among many , and not a deal maker/ breaker by itself .

A rapid draw * can * be critical . Putting it away isn't time critical in the context of fractions of seconds .

Have a recalcitrant holster , but need to quickly not have a gun in your hand ? Default Plan B = Suck in your breath , and slip into waistband , in the vicinity of what is nowadays thought of as AIWB location .

 

[rickyp]

yes it safe to reholster with the holster off of you. BUT did you not see where you should be able to reholster with one hand.

Like you had to pull your firearm and maybe not even use it. Person gives up, you call the cops, they show up. You want to be able to put the gun away easily.

Think cops start pulling up, you put your support hand in the air, use strong hand to reholster. VS cops pull up and your sitting there trying to get your holster off to put the gun in it, using both hands, which takes a lot longer plus a lot more movement. And the cop is responding to a call of someone having or pulling a gun. And lets see, the whole time your cell phone should be in your hand while your on with 911 so now you have one hand on your gun the other hand is holding your phone.

Ricky, I really wish I was the person who taught your class. you would have learned so much more than you did. Also you might not have done stupid things like cut up an 80% with a tool meant for cutting people out of cars.

If police are showing up I am dropping the mag and locking slide open if time permits and putting my sidearm on the ground and stepping back from it,

if I should pull it and the threat removes itself then there is no issue with removing a clipped on holster to reholster the sidearm and is a safer way.

the ar15 was a protest of sorts and to show personal damages because of the law. Now the state can not say no one was hurt by their law.

a few months back new york Court refused to do a tro of the new sensitive places because no one suffered any damages.
not to mention this was a crappy lower and it was cheaper to replace it with a blemish psa stripped lower then have someone engrave it And it actually works with out issues.

there is a lot of ways to fight the state but getting tossed in prison, loosing your income and loosing your right to own firearms is not a great option

 

[rickyp]

Some leather holsters do allow for one handed (re) holstering , other specific ones not so much .

Does your employment and lifestyle regularly involve taking suspects and gunpoint followed by quickly reholstering to go hands on to cuff or scuffle ? If so , yes one hand easy reholstering is important requirement .

If not , it's one secondary factor among many , and not a deal maker/ breaker by itself .

A rapid draw * can * be critical . Putting it away isn't time critical in the context of fractions of seconds .

Have a recalcitrant holster , but need to quickly not have a gun in your hand ? Default Plan B = Suck in your breath , and slip into waistband , in the vicinity of what is nowadays thought of as AIWB location .

with all the compact pistols being used nowday if you have to quickly use both hands simply slide the pistol in a empty pocket. I generally do not keep anything hard in my right pocket so if I have to the max 9 can quickly be put in my right pocket. I can also draw it fast again if needed

 

[Biggfoot44]

with all the compact pistols being used nowday if you have to quickly use both hands simply slide the pistol in a empty pocket. I generally do not keep anything hard in my right pocket so if I have to the max 9 can quickly be put in my right pocket. I can also draw it fast again if needed

Also potential Plan B , or Plan C . Depending upon your pistol , and your pocket .

 

[rickyp]

I just ordered a own plastic holster to try and see if it is more comfortable.

since this is a compact pistol my shirt should cover it

 

[Phoenix_1295]

<snip> simply slide the pistol in a empty pocket. <snip>

NOT a recommended practice. An unprotected trigger presents a serious risk for being pressed/pulled during entry and/or withdrawal. And definitely not good if you were to end up in a hand-to-hand situation. Attempting to guard/retain your firearm while grappling, with a loose gun in your pocket, could easily result in it firing.

 

[rickyp]

NOT a recommended practice. An unprotected trigger presents a serious risk for being pressed/pulled during entry and/or withdrawal. And definitely not good if you were to end up in a hand-to-hand situation. Attempting to guard/retain your firearm while grappling, with a loose gun in your pocket, could easily result in it firing.

It is better then shoving it in your waistband. There is never going to be an ideal situation. If you are in a hand to hand fight and you have a sidearm in a holster it would be easer for them to get it out of the holster then it will for them to get it out of your pocket.

 

[Phoenix_1295]

It is better then shoving it in your waistband. There is never going to be an ideal situation. If you are in a hand to hand fight and you have a sidearm in a holster it would be easer for them to get it out of the holster then it will for them to get it out of your pocket.

Firearm retention is better in a holster. You maintain pressure/force on the butt of your firearm to keep it in your holster. This provides for positive control of the firearm. A simple single gross motor skill to maintain control of your firearm vs having to use fine motor skills to maintain a grip on/around your firearm and keep track of the trigger. In a grapple situation, you will have a diminished ability to utilize fine motor skills for firearm retention.

 

[Stoveman]

Keep in mind that dependent on how many rounds you needed to pop off to come out the winner in a DGU your gun could now literally be a heater which would be very uncomfortable shoving in your waistband next to your flesh.

I had a front row seat watching a Dindu in Charm City do the "ooch, ooch, ow, ow" dance after he had shoved his HiPoint into his crotch after performing a mag dump into a Toyota mini van.