How does one shop for a holster

"...want to make sure my gun fits my holster..." Make it. Failing that, few holster makers don't have a stadard line. Any 4" revolver, for example, will fit in a 'K' frame holster. The belt you use is just as if not more important than the holster. Uncle Mike's ballistic nylon holsters work well and don't cost a big pile of money.
 
Earlier posts have givin' you a good start for tracking down a holster, and I have no doubt you'll find what you'er looking for. I myself have a "Friend" who does custom jobs for me, concealable holsters made to the exact specs' of whatever gun I need one for. For a private citizen I handle alot of firearms on a regular basis,sometimes as much as 30 pistols and as many rifles a month;and alot of my clients ask for holsters. I do alot of business with Gal-co, but custom jobs are becoming more and more common. It takes longer to get them,and I really jack-up the prices;but everyone comes away happy.
 
Just a thought, but we could start a "holster swap" thread similar to the pay it forward thread. I'm sure that most of us have holster that "just were not right for us" that we could send someone else in exchange for one that may fit us better.
 
Coupla tips from Sheriff Jim Wilson on buying holsters.
  • Buy a holster that is specifically made for the gun you have.
  • Buy a holster that is specifically made for the belt type/width you intend to wear.
I would add to that:

  • Look around before buying. There are a lot of holster variations out there and I've not seen many of them in local gun stores. Spend some time going through the online catalogs of various holstermakers.
  • Expect to pay $45 or more (probably a good bit more) for a decent leather holster. It's cheaper to start out with something expensive that's good quality, reasonably workable and that has a good chance of being a good fit for your application than to try to buy something cheap because it's cheap and you think you might be able to make it work. You're gonna have a holster box, but your goal is to have it be a SMALL holster box and the way to do that is to buy quality and shop around first. The possible exceptions to that rule are the minimalist plastic holsters that Glock makes. They're pretty decent and they're dirt cheap.
  • Try it on with the gun, if at all possible to see if it's at all workable for your application. Comfort should be part of the equation regardless of what some trainers try to convince people. There is no need to be uncomfortable in order to carry a gun.
  • Be realistic if you're trying to conceal. There's a reason that gun companies make small pistols for concealment applications. I know that if you read gun magazines and internet forums that every other author/poster claims to carry a full-sized pistol, a backup gun and several reloads for both, but I know a LOT of gun owners/shooters/permit holders and offhand I can't recall ANY of them EVER carrying a full-sized pistol concealed unless it was for some sort of competition. I don't know anyone who carries a backup gun either. Not saying these things can't be done or aren't done, just saying that in my personal experience they're not nearly as common as some would have you believe.
 
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