JTQ
Member
A member asked for some help with an IWB holster for his S&W Shield in another member's thread. To avoid fouling up the other member's thread, I've started this one.
A good place to start, from a holster education standpoint, is the High Noon FAQ page https://www.highnoonholsters.com/faqs
They have their own take on stuff, and you (or me) may not agree with everything, but it is a good source for holster information.
Horseshoe Leather is another with holster design information. http://www.holsters.org/holster-design.htm
The late Paul Gomez on choosing carry gear
Everybody looks for something different in a holster, so what I may value, you may not, and vice versa. One advantage hybrids have is they are generally pretty comfortable, but I think they compromise reholstering and drawing, since most have overly large sweat shields that make getting a full firing grip difficult, and and often security since only one side of the holster is molded to the gun's shape (Greg Ellifritz on holster design http://www.activeresponsetraining.net/features-to-avoid-when-buying-an-iwb-holster , the late Todd Green on similar https://pistol-training.com/archives/9692 ).
The other advantage hybrids have is their wide spaced clips are good for spreading out the weight of a gun. The Tucker "Answer" ( http://www.tuckergunleather.com/the-answer-iwb-holster/ ) is probably the original hybrid and was probably designed for a big gun like the 1911. Spreading out the weight of little gun like an S&W Shield is not much of a concern, and a hybrid seem like an awful large footprint for such a little gun.
For IWB, I'd recommend a Summer Special ( http://www.miltsparks.com/products-summer-special.php ) type holster, either in leather or kydex. Generally, they work better for the slim guys, are size efficient for a small gun, and are available from just about everybody that makes holsters. Here's an article from Heirloom Precision's Jason Burton on the 5-Shot Leather IBS (Inside Burton Special, Jason is the Burton in the holster's name), where he compares the Summer Special type with the Versa Max II type with the wide offset loops. Unfortunately, the excellent photo links became another PhotoShop victim and are not available. https://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=265817
A good place to start, from a holster education standpoint, is the High Noon FAQ page https://www.highnoonholsters.com/faqs
They have their own take on stuff, and you (or me) may not agree with everything, but it is a good source for holster information.
Horseshoe Leather is another with holster design information. http://www.holsters.org/holster-design.htm
The late Paul Gomez on choosing carry gear
Everybody looks for something different in a holster, so what I may value, you may not, and vice versa. One advantage hybrids have is they are generally pretty comfortable, but I think they compromise reholstering and drawing, since most have overly large sweat shields that make getting a full firing grip difficult, and and often security since only one side of the holster is molded to the gun's shape (Greg Ellifritz on holster design http://www.activeresponsetraining.net/features-to-avoid-when-buying-an-iwb-holster , the late Todd Green on similar https://pistol-training.com/archives/9692 ).
The other advantage hybrids have is their wide spaced clips are good for spreading out the weight of a gun. The Tucker "Answer" ( http://www.tuckergunleather.com/the-answer-iwb-holster/ ) is probably the original hybrid and was probably designed for a big gun like the 1911. Spreading out the weight of little gun like an S&W Shield is not much of a concern, and a hybrid seem like an awful large footprint for such a little gun.
For IWB, I'd recommend a Summer Special ( http://www.miltsparks.com/products-summer-special.php ) type holster, either in leather or kydex. Generally, they work better for the slim guys, are size efficient for a small gun, and are available from just about everybody that makes holsters. Here's an article from Heirloom Precision's Jason Burton on the 5-Shot Leather IBS (Inside Burton Special, Jason is the Burton in the holster's name), where he compares the Summer Special type with the Versa Max II type with the wide offset loops. Unfortunately, the excellent photo links became another PhotoShop victim and are not available. https://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=265817