Shield and J frame OWB holsters?

[Axis II]

I am in the market for a shield and J frame holster OWB only. Right now everything rides in a serpa holster but they stick out too far. Im looking for something that hugs a hair better and was looking at the offerings from Bravo concealment but even those seem they would bulk a lot.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

I have a couple Tucker Gun Leather HF1 leather OWB holsters that I am very happy with. If my pants are on, one of them is too.
I ordered one of their compact pancake holsters for my LC9s Pro a few days ago. The last holster only took about two weeks to get so I hope to see it soon. They make great mag holders too.
Not that you need to be told, a good belt is essential for an OWB holster.

https://tuckergunleather.com/outside-the-waistband-owb-holsters/

 

[JTQ]

The Mitch Rosen Upper Limit is pretty much designed for those small guns. It is available as a Full Detail model, or in their less expensive Express line.

Mitch Rosen https://mitchrosen.com

Lobo Gun Leather's Enhanced Pancake http://lobogunleather.com/owb-outside-the-waist-band/enhanced-pancake/

Simply Rugged (probably the Cuda for the Shield and the Silver Dollar pancake for the J-frame) https://www.simplyrugged.com

 

[the Black Spot]

What about the "avenger" style holster?

 

[JTQ]

What about the "avenger" style holster?

They work well for a lot of folks, but I look at them as the "jack of all trades, master of none" holsters.

I'll use the Lobo line-up as an example because they cover the three OWB styles I'll reference.

Their Combat Classic ( http://lobogunleather.com/owb-outside-the-waist-band/combat-classic/ ) is the old style OWB holster. It has a single tunnel loop on the back side of the holster. It has a mouth that stays open for easy access for draw and reholstering, is straight drop and allows for easily grasping the grip, but concealment isn't very good as the grip tends to stick out a bit and the straight drop doesn't help concealment.

To improve concealment, the Nelson #1 Professional/Avenger style was developed. The Lobo Enhanced Avenger is an example of this style ( http://lobogunleather.com/owb-outside-the-waist-band/enhanced-avenger/ ). It retained much of the easy access of the Combat Classic style, but to improve concealment, a trailing loop was added to rotate the grip closer to the body. For concealment, this is an improvement over the Combat Classic, but many are still straight drop, though there are many canted version (admittedly not that big a deal with little guns), and the leading edge of the holster still sticks out a bit.

Next came the pancake design as represented by the Enhanced Pancake ( http://lobogunleather.com/owb-outside-the-waist-band/enhanced-pancake/ ). It kept the trailing loop of the #1 Professional/Avenger, but added the leading loop to bring the holster even closer to the body, and with the classic pancake it increased retention just by the simple shape of the design. The pancake downside is they often close up when the gun is drawn sometimes making reholstering difficult.

In a nutshell (limited to my opinion of course)

- the Combat Classic is a great range/competition holster where concealment isn't needed, but lots of drawing and reholstering is required.

- the #1 Professional/Avenger keeps some ease of access features, but adds some concealment.

- the pancake gives the best concealment, but gives up some access.

 

[Sistema1927]

Look at MD Whitefield: https://mdwhitefieldleather.com/

 

[Hooda Thunkit]

I use this Desantis for a S&W Shield. Less expensive than some options, a minimal design, works very well.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/957183/desantis-mini-scabbard-holster

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

From Tucker Gun Leather, ordered 7/27 arrived today.

 

[roo_ster]

I like two OWB holsters for my J-frames.

Don Hume JIT Slide
https://www.donhume.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65_5&products_id=53
https://concealmentholsters.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/001.jpg
Like the J-frame, it is light and non-bulky.

De Santis Thumb Break Mini Slide
https://www.desantisholster.com/thumb-break-mini-slide/
Has a thumb break over the trigger guard. Nice for shrouded and enclosed hammer J-frames.

 

[Jonesy814]

I am in the market for a shield and J frame holster OWB only. Right now everything rides in a serpa holster but they stick out too far. Im looking for something that hugs a hair better and was looking at the offerings from Bravo concealment but even those seem they would bulk a lot.

I have a DeSantis mini standard for my Shield and really like it. It holds the gun in close to the body. For a J frame the Galco Combat Master would be hard to beat

 

[labnoti]

For the J frame: Galco makes a few OWB. The Fletch High Ride, Cop 3 Slot, Combat Master, Hornet and Concealable are a few. They all have a butt-forward cant except the Hornet which is neutral and the Cop 3 Slot which has an optional slot that lets it ride more vertically and can be used at 10 o'clock for cross-draw or 4 o'clock with a neutral cant. With the other slot, the Cop fits just like a Concealable model but the belt slots are narrower.

Fletch and Concealable are what they call "forward molded." It means the body side of the holster is narrower and the outside top is wider, so it rotates the gun on the bore-axis so the butt hugs closer but the sight-plane sticks out more. It can keep the butt from printing behind by tucking it closer, but it can also make the sight-plane stick out more on the side. Whether it works better or not will depend on your body shape and how far you want it to ride behind the hip bone. The differences are the Fletch has a retention strap, and Concealable does not and is offered in exotic leathers.

Cop 3 slot and Combat Master are more traditional pancake designs. For me this shape conceals better when I wear it right at 3:30 or 4:00. The Concealable might work better at 5:00 or 5:30, and the Fletch prints badly, but my body shape is a factor too. I have no love handles to blend the sight plane. The differences between the Cop and the Combat Master is the Cop has the third slot and a retention strap and the Combat Master does not.

The Hornet is more a neutral-cant belly holster but can work at 10:00 for crossdraw. I don't have one and never tried one since I don't carry in those positions. I did try the Cop at 10:00 but it didn't work for me so I didn't look any farther into that.

 

[cw308]

R Grizzle leather holsters are the best I ever bought and believe me I have a box to prove it . I don't buy crappy holsters either , the custom holster ( R Grizzle ) was the first and not much more then the Bianchi or DeSantis holsters . Fits the firearm like a glove and won't feel like your carring a brick on your side . If your carring a firearm , do yourself a favor and check out R Grizzle , you can thank me later .

Chris

 

[Cokeman]

Only if you post a picture

 

[cw308]

Posting pictures are a problem for me , the holster I have from R Grizzle is called the countryboy but doesn't look anything like the name sounds , I ordered it in mahogany .

 

[JTQ]

R Grizzle https://rgrizzleleather.com/owb-holsters.html

 

[cw308]

That's the company , they do excellent work .

 

[Triggernosis]

How fancy do you want? I make these.

 

[denster]

The absolute best for concealment, retention and longevity particularly for small guns like the shield and j frames nothing beats a leather/kydex hybrid. That is a single layer heavy leather backer that has the belt slots and a Kydex outer shell. This was one of my most popular holsters when I was still in business. Currently Crossbreed makes a similar one.

 

[cw308]

I also use a Vedder LightTuck AIWB kydex holster for easy on easy off situations , the OP seems to like a good leather holster , I also .