Like many people, I now own a sizable number of Kydex holsters. While I don’t have sales numbers, it wouldn’t surprise me to discover there are now more synthetic (Kydex, Bolatron, Carbon Fiber, Injection Molded) holsters sold than leather. While I certainly understand that, it also saddens me a bit.
Being a member of the Fudd Generation, I fondly remember the look and smell of a new leather holster as you take it from its packaging. Much like that new car smell, it was quite pleasing and as it went away with use, there was a bit of sadness. It was part of the wonderful leather holster experience.
I really can’t blame folks for transitioning to synthetic materials. They have a lot going for them. If I want to perform at my maximum, I will likely choose a synthetic rig. They’re darn-near indestructible, fast and require no break in period.
That said, they also have no real “take me home” appeal — pride of ownership — like the finely molded leather rigs of the past. They offer solid utility but not strong attachment. I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything.
Fortunately for us, there are still master craftsmen making leather rigs for almost every popular (and some not so popular) handgun available.
While walking the aisles of the NRA Show in Dallas last Spring, I ran into my old friend Mike Barham at the Galco booth. Knowing I really like leather holsters, he wanted me to see their new Masterbilt line, a nod to the finely crafted leather holsters of the past. I asked Mike to send me a sample for testing.
The rig Mike sent to me was their Thunderclap model, a holster based on Bruce Nelson’s classic Number 1 Professional holster. Knowing that I’m a fan of this part pancake, part pouch style rig, a holster of this type can be both fast and concealable. It’s an excellent example of the entire Masterbilt line which also includes the Revenger holster, similar to the Thunderclap but for revolvers, and the Stow-N-Go, an elegant IWB rig for pistols and revolvers alike.
Perfectly paired to either EDC guns or that collectible special-occasion pistol, the Thunderclap offers a unique set of features and the best possible construction methodologies. The Masterbilt line combines the finest-quality premium leathers with the skills of Galco’s most experienced craftsmen. These rigs are the pinnacle of leather holster construction, unlike anything else on the market.
The Thunderclap’s mild forward cant is intended to give a fast, wrist-locked draw stroke, while the reinforced opening provides easy, one-hand reholstering. Relieved at the base of the trigger guard, it allows a full firing grip while the metal-reinforced tunnel-style 1 .5-inch belt loop pulls the pistol tight to the body while the rear slot pulls the grip in close. A molded sight rail prevents snags on the draw. All Masterbilt rigs come in either black or brown.
While I prefer a vertical ride on my belt holsters, I recognize a canted holster can both carry well and draw clean if done right. It has been my experience over the years that the forward cant of any holster cannot be standard; it must be based on the handgun carried which includes the girth, weight and length of a selected model. You can’t expect a full size 1911 to ride and draw the same at a J frame snubby. After wearing the Thunderclap around town under a loose-fitting shirt in the heat of summer, I was happy to discover it carried quite well. The pistol I selected was a Dan Wesson Commander-length 9mm with a single column magazine. But carrying doesn’t tell me a thing about presentation. The only way to gauge that is to head to the range and “run” the gun and holster a bit.
Since draw speed is a thing, I decided a side-by-side test of leather versus Kydex was in order. I enlisted the help of my son-in-law for this project for several reasons. First, his fast twitch muscles are certainly superior to mine and I wanted to give the Thunderclap its best showing. Second, I know what I wanted to get from this small test, so it was better that I be behind the camera holding the PACT Timer.
It’s actually a simple test, but I wanted to make sure it was conducted as consistently as possible. At seven yards on a six-inch square target, I had Daryn draw and fire one round as fast as he could ensure a hit. I didn’t want him to just “fling” the gun towards the target in an effort to please the timer.
The test would be conducted with both the leather Thunderclap rig and a quality Kydex holster. Each rig was used in the same position with the hands starting in the same place to try and standardize the path of travel. Three draws were conducted with each rig with the average of the three reported here. Daryn couldn’t help himself, which I suspect would be the same for most people, he tried to go as fast as he could without a complete regard for accuracy. IMHO, the definition of the combat draw is the gun arrives where you need it, not just a fast time. Of course, when he tried to go all out, he missed the six-inch square.
I’m not a FUDD… and I like leather holsters too. But…
The first problem with leather holsters is that an all leather holster was not that great for IWB concealed carry, the second problem with leather holsters is that quality leather holsters are more costly and resource intensive to produce — these have caused a shift in the holster market to more rigid material resulting in a market flooded with holsters that are Kydex, Bolatron, Carbon Fiber, and Injection Molded. But its also true that some manufacturers have attempted to address both these issues with various combinations of leather and a synthetic material to add rigidity for IWB carry while trying to lower their own manufacturing costs while at the same time demanding premium leather $$$ for their product, so this again drives the majority back towards a market flooded with holsters that are Kydex, Bolatron, Carbon Fiber, and Injection Molded at lower cost.
But also another problem with all leather holsters is they focus more on OWB carry which is more adaptable to open carry rather then concealed carry, but they have a major problem and that’s retention from gun grabs. Now, people will claim that gun grabs by bad guys are rare…but actually they are not all that rare when you consider that even if an attempt is not made that when you open carry frequently, simply by being seen in public places (e.g. shopping, getting gas, etc…) the more likely it is that someone will look at your gun and seriously consider a grab for it especially in urbanized areas. Then there is the thing that actual gun grabs (including attempts) do in fact happen more than one would think. I’ve had it happen to me, an attempt, and luckily I was able to counter enough to keep the guy from removing it from the holster completely and I was able to retain control of it as we struggled. I was wearing a holster that had that passive friction retention like those shown in the pics with this article. I rarely open carry, just happen to have been that day for the range and kept the holster on as I ran a quick errand for my wife after I arrived back from the range. I should have done my normal thing of putting on an IWB concealed but open carry is not frowned upon here in the stores so I just ran the errand without thinking about doing that. But that experience pointed out something to me …that passive retention holsters as popular as they are when it comes to open (or even semi-exposed) carry its only inviting trouble.
I get my hands on a lot of holsters and all sorts of gun accessories for free, my brother is a free lance sales broker for the firearms industry and they give him lots of stuff for free and most of it he gives to me. Everything from holsters to scopes to optics, and sometimes maybe a gun. But that day, that gun grab, I learned that gun grabs, including attempts, are not all that rare because the police told me they get many reports a month about gun grabs, including attempts (most are not successful), and further research since revels its been there for a while nation wide and although its infrequent in the news its not really as rare as some people and some holster manufacturers would imply. So although I give away almost all the holsters and scopes and optics and other firearms accessories I get for free and actually only keep very little of it for my personal use I stopped taking boxes of brand new holsters to the range to let people just take what they wanted, because they were the passive retention types both leather and synthetic materials from name brand companies (Galco is one) and that evening of the attempted grab day I destroyed over 100 brand new holsters still in the manufacturer packaging that were the passive retention friction fit, and no matter how custom fit it is or how tight you can get that passive retention adjustment screw its not going to stop someone from getting that gun out of the holster if they really make a dedicated grab to do so. The guy that grabbed for mine almost got it out of the holster, it was coming out of the holster and the only thing that stopped him from getting the gun was that he did not have a firm enough grip on it and I was able to grab his hand and break what little grip he did have.
I became real observant about people around me eyeing the gun in the rare cases I do open carry, which is mostly back and forth to the range but sometimes I stop for gas or maybe a soft drink or coffee or snack but sometimes I do run errands open carry and I use a level II holster now for open carry. But I’ve made a conscience effort to be especially aware of people who are eyeing the gun and although a lot of times its just curiosity or a passing glance there have been times it was more than that with unsavory types trying to jockey for position probably for a grab attempt.
Sure, leather holsters can have a thumb break retention strap and there are plenty of these on the market. But a thumb break retention strap alone is not enough, ya think a bad guy thinking about grabbing for your gun in that thumb break retention strap holster is going to go “oh, a thumb break retention holster. Oh well, I give up trying to get this gun.”? Nope, that’s not going to do it – they know about thumb breaks and they just come up behind up against you and push you forward and off balance while reaching down on the gun just as you would and snap open that thumb break and out comes the gun.
What you need is at least a level II holster if you are going to open carry out in public. Unfortunately, most leather holster manufacturers don’t make level II leather holsters. Sure, there are a few level II leather holsters out there (for example, h ttps://www.falcoholsters.com/lvl-2-retention-pancake-leather-owb-holster-with-security-lock-c142), but still most people don’t know about them.
I have two Galco leather holsters. One is for a full size 1911 that I’ve never used for carry, but it’s there if I ever need it. The other is the Fletch holster which is for cold weather/private property/mountain carry. It’s super comfortable. I don’t have to worry about it moving due to the retention strap. I can drive while carrying no problem. I forget it’s there.