With the holidays around the corner, RevolverGuys everywhere are busy building wish lists and buying gifts for loved ones. So, it’s a good time for me to share some thoughts about some great products that I’ve been playing with throughout the year, but haven’t featured yet, in our pages.
I’ve had firsthand experience with each of these, and am happy to recommend them for your consideration. You’ll probably hear more from me about most of them in future RevolverGuy coverage, but I don’t want to let the year close without giving them a little bit of the attention they deserve.
So, without further adieu, here’s some great ideas for your holiday shopping, which will make RevolverGuys of all stripes very happy!
Armed and Hammered
I’ll start the list with my friend and shooting buddy Chad Nelson, who hammers steel both on and off the range. Chad’s a blacksmith, you see, in addition to being a great shooter.
Chad enjoys making a variety of things in his shop, ranging from practical to whimsical. On the practical side, he crafts useful tools like fire pokers, steak turners, bottle openers, S-hooks, and hat racks, to name a few.
But he also makes some fun characters that will make you laugh. Chad’s got cowpokes roping steer, warming themselves by the campfire, fishing in the creek, and hanging out in the saloon, among other pursuits.
He hasn’t forgotten the guns, of course. One of our fellow shooters owns a gun shop, and Chad made a neat business card holder for his counter, which looks like a bow-legged cowboy drawing a pair of six-shooters. Fun, and practical!
You won’t break the bank on any of these unique gift ideas–everything you see above is less than $35, and many of the items are much less ($15 for the steak turner, for example). If you’re interested in Chad’s wares, reach out to him through his Contact Page on his website, armedandhammered.net. Make sure to tell him Mike sent you, and thanks for supporting one of us.
DeSantis
Longtime RevolverGuy friend Gene DeSantis started the gunleather company that bears his name and has become one of the powerhouses in our industry. His talented sons, Danny and Chad, are running the business these days, leaving Gene with more time to exercise his creativity at the workbench, designing new holsters and accessories, and improving upon the classics in the catalog.
We’ve profiled many of DeSantis’ fine holsters, pouches and belts here before, to include staples like their Speed Scabbard, 2x2x2 pouch, and Second-Six pouches, and newer designs like their L-Gat Slide and FLETC 2.0. We also featured their new Transit holster as part of our SHOT Show coverage this year.
The latest big news at DeSantis is the reintroduction of horsehide as a material choice for their popular OWB and IWB holsters. RevolverGuys know that horsehide is highly regarded as a holster leather, because it has a tight and robust grain that allows a maker to create an exceptionally strong and durable holster that is also thinner and lighter than one made from cowhide. My experience with horsehide holsters, dating back to the mid-90s, has always been very positive–they wear like iron, and do an admirable job of holding their shape.
Any of DeSantis’ excellent OWB or IWB holsters can be custom-ordered in horsehide now, for a $100 premium over the baseline price. The experts at DeSantis will hand-craft them and get them out the door to you quickly–DeSantis is advertising turnarounds in less than two weeks, which is exceptionally fast for custom leather these days, to say the least!
Gene provided samples of his excellent Speed Scabbard OWB holster, in both black and brown finishes, for the Smith & Wesson J-Frame, and I was impressed with each of them. Their horsehide construction helps to eliminate some bulk, which is always welcome on an OWB holster, and the reduced weight is both appreciated, and consistent with carrying a lightweight snub.
The holsters may be trim and light, but they’re super rugged and built to last. They feature all of the traditional Speed Scabbard features, to include an open top that’s properly relieved to get a good firing grip on the gun, a forward cant, a tension screw, and belt slots cut for 1.75″ belts. The stitching is clean and uniform, the pouch is nicely shaped for the gun (the tension screw seems unnecessary with the good fit), and the finish is attractive–particularly 0n the brown sample, which featured lighter streaks throughout the grain that created a most handsome pattern.
DeSantis has always made quality gear for RevolverGuys, and these new custom horsehide rigs will carry on the tradition, and offer an enhanced product without the normal wait times associated with custom work. Check them out, along with all of DeSantis’ other great products (and don’t forget a good holster needs a good belt to go with it).
DI Knives
I’ve never met a RevolverGuy who wasn’t a KnifeGuy too, to some degree, so I think this one will interest you.
DI Knives owner Rick Elm is a former United States Marine and Police Drill Instructor with a talent for building custom knives that are both functional and beautiful. As a dedicated hunter, he knows what the outdoorsman needs in a blade, and crafts camp, chef and skinner knives of his own design that will impress even the most particular user.
I was the fortunate and proud recipient of one of Rick’s knives, courtesy of a very generous friend who presented it as a gift. My knife is a 4.5″ San Mi custom skinner, with a high carbon, San Mai-style, laminate blade that Rick forged himself, using a 1084 steel core sandwiched between layers of 15N20 steel. The laminate blade is both strong and attractive, with decorative etching along the durable edge highlighting the contrast between the two steels.
My skinner features Thin Blue Line spacers that are accompanied by beautiful maple handles that have been stained blue, and a bold blue pin, to complete the theme. These cosmetic touches add a lot of visual appeal to the knife, and proudly proclaim my support of law and order, and the men and women who serve our communities while wearing the badge. The handles feel like they were custom made to lock the blade into my hand, and work in concert with the thumb ramp and guard to keep my fingers away from that sharp edge–important tasks for any knife, but especially for a skinner.
Rick says he’s really enjoying working with Damascus and will be making more knives using this beautiful and strong steel in the days ahead. He doesn’t build knives to spec, but instead lets his creativity lead the way. “I build the knives that interest and inspire me,” he says, and I think you can see that passion displayed in the final result.
You can find Rick at www.DIKnives.com and on his Facebook and X social media accounts, as well (see the links on his website for those). You’ll find some images of his work there, but Rick cautions that his inventory is constantly changing, and you’ll want to contact him directly to see what he has for sale. Please make sure to tell him RevolverGuy sent you, when you talk to him!
Galco
My relationship with Galco holsters dates back to 1991, when I purchased my very first concealment holsters (a first-generation Scout IWB for a Sig P-226 that I later gifted to a friend who needed it, and a horsehide pocket holster of the Chic Gaylord 8-Ball pattern for my S&W 640 that’s still in use, and still as good as new). Galco was a much younger company then, but they’d already developed a reputation for building quality holsters, and have continued to build on that reputation in the decades since.
I recently wrote about the excellent Galco Speed Master 2.0 belt holsters and Belt E-Z Loader Carriers that we used at the Colt Python Experience, and how much the students enjoyed using them. I’ve continued to run these since my return from Louisiana, and have really appreciated the performance of these designs. I’ve even had several shooters approach me to ask questions about them, after they were attracted to the good looks of this great leather (I know it wasn’t my good looks that drew them in!). While they were initially drawn in by the cosmetics, they soon came to appreciate the details of these designs, like the layered tongues on the back of the E-Z Loader Carrier which allow you to use narrow or wide belts, and still have the pouch fit tightly, so it won’t migrate on your belt as you wear it.
RevolverGuy friend, and Galco PR Man, Mike Barham, sent me one of their Revenger holsters for 3″ Medium-Large frame guns like the Colt Python, and I’ve been putting it through its paces as well. The Revenger is part of Galco’s Masterbilt Series, which is a line of premium-grade holsters built by Galco’s most talented craftsmen, using best quality materials, and believe me, it’s an impressive holster.
The Revenger is a tunnel and loop design that hearkens back to Bruce Nelson’s No.1 Professional (and the popular Bianchi Avenger, which emulated it, and inspired the name for this Galco version), but adds features like a full lining, a metal-reinforced belt tunnel for strength and rigidity, a sight rail for smooth draws, and a reinforced mouth to keep it open and facilitate holstering. The holster features belt slots for 1.5″ belts, a slight forward cant, detailed hand molding, and a beautiful finish that you can get lost in, like a fine blued steel.
The thing I appreciated most about the Revenger was the fit. Masterbilt Series holsters are dried on a form that prevents the leather from shrinking too much, and making the fit too tight. My 3″ Stainless Python went nicely into the holster and came out smoothly on the draw, without excessive friction and drag. Anyone who has been forced to endure breaking in an overly-tight leather holster will appreciate the exact fit of Masterbilt Series holsters like this Revenger.
Mike also sent samples of their new Cobra speedloader carrier and Pick Six ammo carrier for evaluation. The improved Cobra design adds belt slots for those who want to thread it onto their belts, and secures the cup that holds the loader in a way that it won’t spill away from the body when the snapped flap is popped. I think the version for the Small frame revolvers (like the S&W J-Frame) works best with HKS or 5-Star-style loaders with a prominent knob for fetching the loader out of the pouch, but the versions for the Medium, Medium-Large, and Large frame revolvers (like the S&W K, L, N, respectively) have scallops in the sides of the pouch that allow you to grip the bodies of loaders like the Safariland Comp II, with lower profile knobs. Be aware that loaders like the SpeedBeez, SL Variant or JetLoader will be too tall to secure the flap on the Cobra.
The Pick Six features tension screws between each pair of rounds that allow you to customize the draw tension for your needs or preferences (Galco suggests you might want less tension for the range, and more for the field, or concealed carry, for example). The tension screws do add some width to the carrier, which takes up more room on the belt than Galco’s improved 2x2x2 ammo carrier, but the extra spacing also helps to ensure that you’re picking a consecutive pair of rounds, and not single rounds from two adjacent cells, as I’ve done many times when using pouches made in the more traditional format (which not only complicates loading the gun, because of the irregular spacing, but increases the chance you’ll fumble a round or two from either your fingers, or the pouch itself).
As you can see, Galco has been busy crafting products for RevolverGuys, and I encourage you to check out their extensive catalog, because I’m sure you’ll find a lot to like there!
Hamre Forge
Ryan Hamre has been making big waves in the grip business with his Hamre Forge laser-sintered grips over the past several years, and continues to impress us with his growing catalog of excellent designs.
We did a lot of T&E work for Ryan on the prototypes of his boot grip for the Kimber K6s and K6xs revolvers, and his boot grip for the Ruger LCR and LCRx revolvers, and got a front-row seat to the extensive research and development effort that supports every one of Ryan’s new designs. He works very hard to get every detail and nuance just right, and holds himself to very high standards of quality control and performance. The result of this effort is a superior product that performs as good as it looks.
Ryan makes his grips from PA 12, a synthetic thermoplastic polymer. This powdered nylon material creates a lightweight, high strength, impact resistant, temperature stable, chemical resistant, and dimensionally stable material that’s ideal for handgun grips. Powdered PA 12 is sintered together with a laser in his special manufacturing equipment, like a sophisticated 3-D printer. The process gives the grips a texture that provides for excellent traction without being too rough on the skin, which is helpful for hard-kicking guns like snubs that are carried close to the body.
Ryan’s Hamre Hook on the right grip panel allows the grips to hook onto the waistline of your pants and secure the gun without a holster–an option I haven’t played with yet, but will experiment with in the coming year, at the urging of several RevolverGuy friends.
The big news for Hamre Forge this year was the introduction of Ryan’s licensed copy of the Craig Spegel boot grip for the J-Frame revolvers. The Spegel boot grip is widely copied, but rarely equalled, in the industry, and it was exciting to learn Ryan would be producing a Hamre Forge version of this iconic design.
The Hamre Forge J-Frame Spegel Boot Grip is available in either a low horn (for external hammer guns, like the Chief’s Special, as well as the enclosed hammer Bodyguard and Centennial frames) or high horn (for Centennial-style guns only) configuration, with an optional Hamre Forge hook. The grips feature Hamre Forge’s “Roughout” texture and a proper speedloader relief on the left panel, that doesn’t interfere with loading (even with my HKS 36 loaders–Bravo, Ryan!).
With the discontinued Uncle Mike’s licensed version of the Spegel Boot Grip getting harder to find and more expensive these days, the Hamre Forge Spegels came along at just the right time. For a fraction of the cost of a real set of Spegels, a RevolverGuy can get all the feel and functionality of those grips, in a durable replacement that will shrug off the bumps and scrapes that come with regular carry and use. Furthermore, they’ll be able to take advantage of an improved grip texture and the utility of the Hamre Hook feature.
Make sure you get a set of these for your favorite RevolverGuy’s J-Frame, and keep an eye out for two exciting launches this weekend: The Classic J-Frame Gunfighter Grip, the first of the “Classics” series for the J-Frame (on Saturday), and; The AFR Undercover J-Frame Grip, a collaboration between Ryan and our friends at American Fighting Revolver (on Monday). Also, through Cyber Monday, use code LU1121WASM for a 10% discount!
Harry’s Holsters
RevolverGuys who have been paying attention to Kevin’s great articles are already familiar with Harrison Jones and his excellent line of Kydex holsters for concealed carry and competition.
Kevin introduced me to Harry’s Holsters with his article on the Icon Holster for the S&W J-Frame, and I was immediately impressed with what I saw there. By the time I got to meet Harrison and shoot with him at the 2023 Pat Rogers Memorial Revolver Roundup, I was already a big fan of his work.
Kevin’s story on the Taurus 856 T.O.R.O. introduced us to the Monocle holster from Harry’s Holsters, which accommodates revolvers with optics attached, and set the stage for me to test the Masterpiece holster for revolvers without the glass, as part of my article on Taurus 856 Upgrades.
I was thoroughly impressed with the Masterpiece, a feature-rich holster that carried my Taurus 856 in comfort and security, and afforded an excellent draw from the appendix position. The draw stroke from the Masterpiece was smooth and efficient, even with the addition of a high-profile XS Sights front sight, and holstering the gun was easy, courtesy of the generous holster mouth that stayed open when the gun was removed.
Harrison kindly sent me a sample of his Icon 2.0 (an update of the Icon holster that Kevin reviewed previously) holster earlier in the year, but it sat on the bench for most of the season because it was not compatible with the Crimson Trace Lasergrip that I favor on my S&W 640 carry gun. However, my recent testing of the Hamre Forge J-Frame Spegel Boot Grip gave me the excuse I needed to put the Icon 2.0 into the game, and I’ve been very impressed with this fine holster, just as I was with the Masterpiece. I’m not surprised, because I’ve come to expect excellence from Harrison, but I am pleased!
I’d highly encourage RevolverGuys who are interested in a Kydex holster to run, not walk, to the Harry’s Holsters website, and start looking for their next holster. I know you’ll be as impressed with it as Kevin and I have been with ours.
John Oller’s Books
RevolverGuy Historian Tony Perrin sends his strongest recommendation for the books of Mr. John Oller, and particularly his latest book, Gangster Hunters, which chronicles the efforts of a young FBI to track down and arrest the most vicious gangsters of the Motor Bandit Era.
The power of Tony’s recommendation is strong enough, but the second I read the book description, I was immediately hooked, and knew I had to order a copy for myself.
Mr. Oller’s previous work, Rogue’s Gallery, may also attract the attention of RevolverGuy’s interested in crime, law and order in Old New York. Make sure you check out his website for more information about all his works.
Parabellum Woodcraft
Longtime industry friend Brandon Trevino is a RevolverGuy at heart, and a creative entrepreneur as well. When he began experimenting with machining grips for Ruger Wranglers and Super Wranglers earlier this year, I was excited to see where it would go. There was a huge learning curve, but he kept at it, and he’s now making some really beautiful grips for our favorite .22 revolvers under the Parabellum Woodcraft banner.
Brandon says he “didn’t realize how much was involved in making a good grip,” when he first started, and learned a lot about materials, machining and design through trial and error. In example, one of the early problems he had to solve was the fit near the cylinder frame–attempts to shape the grip so it was flush with the frame resulted in thin panels that were prone to warping and cracking, so the grips had to be cut thicker in that area for durability.
Brandon solved all the riddles though, and is now making some really beautiful grips for the Wrangler-series guns, in addition to some striking grip inserts and M-LOK rail covers for the Marlin Dark-Series rifles, that completely transform the look of those fine long guns.
The Wrangler-series grips are actually fitted to those guns, and aren’t just the typical, undersized, generic “Ruger Single Action” grips sold by some makers, so don’t try to fit them on similar guns from the Ruger catalog. Brandon is making them from various laminates and hardwoods (including Maple and Pao Ferro), and offers some texture choices as well, to include smooth grips and an aggressively-textured “Tiger” pattern. He says he’ll be experimenting with more woods and texturing patterns in the future, after he catches up with initial demand.
Brandon sent me a set of “Buck” laminate grips and a set of Pao Ferro grips to evaluate, and I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite between them. The Buck laminates feature a tri-color pattern of black, brown, and natural wood that really add some pizazz to my black Cerakote Super Wrangler, and give it a whole new personality, but the deep, rich stripes of the tropical Pao Ferro hardwood are classically beautiful, and give the economy blaster the aura of a more expensive custom build.
Both sets of grips fit the gun exceptionally well, and feel great in the hand. The smooth grips are comfortable, handsome, well-made, and affordable–what’s not to love? One of the biggest attractions of the Wrangler-series guns is their affordable price, but there’s nothing wrong with spending a few extra dollars to dress them up and personalize them a bit. Parabellum Woodcraft grips will help you do that in style, and I can’t recommend them highly enough.
Simply Rugged Holsters
Good friend Rob Leahy is no stranger to the RevolverGuy audience, as he makes some of the best custom gunleather to be had. You’ve seen us feature Rob and Simply Rugged before in our pages, and probably remember our discussions of his pocket holsters and ammo pouches, as well, which I use all the time for both daily carry and range use.
When we shot the preproduction Lipsey’s – Smith & Wesson Ultimate Carry J-Frames back in February, Simply Rugged provided each of us with a sample of their new Boomer holster to use with the new revolvers. The Boomers got a lot of use with the crowd of Boomer-aged shooters we’d assembled to shoot the new guns, and received glowing reviews from all.
The Boomer is an outside-the-waistband (OWB) holster that shares many design cues with the excellent Sourdough and Silver Dollar Pancake holsters that Rob sells by the truckload, but incorporates an added feature that makes it a particularly useful carry holster–an integral ammunition pouch, mounted forward of the gun.
The Boomers we used at the Lipsey’s – Smith & Wesson shoot were outfitted with pouches for strip loaders, like the Tuff Products QuickStrip loaders we were issued with the guns, but Rob later sent me a sample fitted for the HKS speedloaders that I use so frequently with my guns. In both versions, the spare ammo is carried on the leading edge of the holster, where it’s within easy reach of your primary hand when it comes time to reload your gun. Since I’m a fan of reloading methods that use the primary hand for loading, this is exactly where I want my spare ammo to be.
The ammunition carries securely in the Boomer, but can still be accessed easily. The pouches cut for round speedloaders have a relief that gives you some purchase on the body of the loader, and the pouches cut for the inline strips allow clear access to the loader’s tab. The loaders are carried with a slight forward cant, just as the guns are, to facilitate drawing them from the strong-side holster.
The Boomer holsters are built to Simply Rugged’s typically high standards. The leather is high quality, full grain cowhide from Hermann Oak, the nylon stitching is precise, the edges are burnished, and the finishes are handsome and durable, with a top coat over the dyed or natural leather. Belt slots are cut for 1.75″ wide belts. You can have your Boomer carved in a floral pattern, or stamped with a basketweave or border pattern, if you want to make it look fancy. Exotic materials like gator, ostrich, shark or elephant can also be used to make your Boomer stick out from the crowd.
Rob is also making an IWB version of the Boomer, cut for 2″ or 3″ revolvers (S&W J and K, Colt D) for those who prefer to carry inside the waistband. With the Boomer, you never have an excuse for being without a reload for your gun. Make sure to check them out, and tell Rob that we sent you.
VZ Grips
We just mentioned the Lipsey’s – Smith & Wesson Ultimate Carry J-Frames, and I’d be remiss if I failed to mention that VZ Grips is now offering the high horn boot grips they developed for those guns as part of their catalog!
We discussed these excellent grips in our detailed series on the Ultimate Carry (UC) guns, and know many RevolverGuys have been eager to purchase them for their other J-Frame revolvers, but they’ve been unavailable as accessories prior to now. Before this, all of VZ’s production was committed to filling orders from Smith & Wesson, and the only way you could get a set of these grips was to buy the gun (or be lucky enough to find an owner who wanted to sell his set), but VZ now has enough excess capacity to offer these for individual sale.
VZ Grips is offering the grips in four colors (Black, Black Cherry, Black Gray, and Hyena Brown) and two textures (the smooth VZ 320 option, as used on the UCs, or the raised Tactical Diamond version) to suit your tastes. You can also choose between black or stainless hardware.
I really liked the fit and feel of these grips, and think VZ will sell a lot of them. I know there will be lots of RevolverGuys hoping to find these in their stockings on Christmas morning!
XS SIGHTS
The good folks at XS Sights have sold replacement front sights for Smith & Wesson revolvers with pinned front sights for many years, but they always came with a string attached–the sight tenon was not drilled by XS, and the buyer was required to do the job himself (or, in most cases, pay a professional to do the job).
I’m excited to report XS Sights is now selling S&W revolver front sights that are pre-drilled for easier installation. There’s a Standard Dot for .38 Spl / .357 Mag J-frames, as well as a Minimalist set that includes a tritium Standard Dot night sight up front, and a rugged, fixed rear sight with a matching U-notch. The Minimalist night sight sets come in two flavors: For K/L-frames in .38 Spl / .357 Mag, and; For L/N-frames in .44 Mag.
The pre-drilled hole is slightly oversized to accommodate the variations in how S&W drills the sight bases at the factory, so a little bit of LocTite is required to help secure the sight in place, but the same system worked very well for me on the Taurus 856 that I recently modified, and it’s dramatically easier than having to drill the front sight tenon after purchase.
That’s all folks
That should give you a pretty good head start on your holiday shopping for your favorite RevolverGuys and Gals. They’ll be sure to smile if any of these goodies shows up under the tree or in their stockings!
What a potential shopping list to go broke with. Time to hide the Visa card!
The great thing about deceased bovine and equine epidermis is all of the wonderful toys, round and flat, that these epidermii can be lovingly molded to cradle and protect. As useful as ‘kydex’ is in some applications, nothing quite beats natural skin against steel. Can anyone envision John Wayne, Matt Dillon, Palladin, the Earp brothers, or the Magnificent Seven drawing and reholstering with kydex ??? Nyet ! (BTW, please relay to your friends at DeSantis and Galco that I’ll accept blems and rejects )
The blade is mankind’s oldest tool for survival and defense. When all other weapon platforms fail or become inoperable, a well made knife can mean the difference between life and death. There are countless makers, brands, and suppliers of blades of all sorts, but the percentage of those that would hold up to any survival or combat environment is very small. A knifeless man is a lifeless man, as the saying goes. Life is too short to carry cheap knives – box cutters not included.
A few of those Ruger grips would look rather nice on my Super Single Six and Blackhawks . . . which is the beauty of revolvers: The grip designs, shapes and sizes, along with materials, is nearly endless. Blued steel and wood – ah yes. Glock, SIG, eat your hearts out.
“A knifeless man is a lifeless man.”
I love it!!!
Brandon’s grips are the perfect accent to any Wrangler or Super Wrangler. I’m hoping he’ll branch into doing some Blackhawk grips, too!
Don’t forget that Simply Rugged Holsters (and probably many others) also makes affordable and fine belt-mounted ammo pouches (in various calibers) for speed strips, speed loaders and loose rounds, plus semi-auto magazines. Just received their 2 x 6 ammo pouch in the mail a few days ago and am pleased with it.
Nice to learn about another custom knife maker, Rick Elm of DI knives. If I were lost in the wilderness the one survival tool I could not do without is a stout fixed-blade knife. Carrying several with blade lengths between 4 and 8 inches would be even better.
You bet! Rob’s Sidewinder that I pictured is my favorite speedloader pouch, and I use his vertical strip pouch a lot, as well, which is useful. He’s got all the 2x2x2 pouches and belt loops available too. Great stuff, all of it!
Rick’s really a talented bladesmith. I highly recommend his beautiful and functional creations.
Great list. I’ve been using Galco holsters since 1976, when they were the Jackass Leather Company in Glenview, IL, and I still use a couple of holsters that are so marked. They last a while.
I recently got one of their speedloader carriers to replace the pouch on one of my Jackass/Galco shoulder holsters (the Shoulder System II, now the Miami Special) to try it out, and now I’m looking to get them for my other rigs. (Good leather is expensive.) I also like their Hornet strongside/crossdraw holster for small ordnance. If you want to carry an SP101 or a J-frame on a long drive, they’re the bee’s knees. They even make one for the 3-inch J-frame.
I’m a big fan of DeSantis, too, and own several of their holsters. They make a crossdraw similar to Galco’s Hornet (theirs is called the Roscoe).
I almost exclusively use thumb-break belt holsters, but the Simply Rugged Boomer with the built-in speedloader pouch looks quite fetching, as does the Sidewinder. I don’t own any Simply Rugged leather at the moment, but that will probably change real soon. Thank you for posting this.
My first duty holsters were thumb breaks too (started with a Don Hume, later went to a DeSantis), and I’ve always appreciated the merits of a good one. Still, the open tops are plenty good for most CCW applications, and a really good one–like Gene or Rob Leahy makes–will hold the gun securely. I think you’d definitely like the Simply Rugged Boomer and his various ammo pouch designs.
I tried the Roscoe, and just didn’t seem to have enough real estate around the waistline to make it work. I can see how it would be an excellent driving holster, though.
I pretty much agree with you about the open-top vs. thumb-break holsters. Now that I’m retired and (hopefully) won’t get into many scuffles, an open-top holster will probably suffice. As for the DeSantis Roscoe, the reason I went with the Galco Hornet is because the Hornet (at least to judge by the photo on the website) takes up less belt space than the Roscoe does. But the Roscoe still looks like a good holster nonetheless. (I don’t want to badmouth a company I like just because one of its products is eclipsed by another company’s similar product. I have several DeSantis holsters and I’m very satisfied with them.)
I went on Simply Rugged’s website, and the Boomer is offered for several 3-inch revolvers, including J-frames, K-frames, and SP101s. I’ve looked for holsters for 3-inch revolvers, and they’re pretty scarce. (The Hornet is made for 3-inch J-frames, but no others.) I think I’m gonna give myself a Christmas gift real soon. It’ll at least be different from the socks I get from the kids.
Hah! And it will last longer, too!
They’re all making great stuff, and we’re lucky for it, as consumers!
Hey Mike, you have done a fine job highlighting some really cool stuff here. Those Pao Ferro grips for the Ruger Wrangler from Parabellum Woodcraft were stunning. I’m crossing my fingers that he will expand his work to include some double action revolvers as well. If not, I’m going to have to score a Wrangler just to get a pair for it! Those knives were amazing, and Armed and Hammered art looked great. Good holsters, XS sites, I’m going to send my wife the link to this article for inspiration!
Uh oh. I’ll be in trouble with Mrs. McPherson again!
You sure know how to tease us right before Christmas!
I bought a sidewinder from Simply Rugged, and a boomer at Revolver Round Up. I love them both! I noticed that he also released a IWB boomer at the beginning of the week.
I will be a happy guy on Christmas morning because I was able convince my wife that I “needed” a set of black cherry high horn grips from VZ as well.
Merry Christmas to all, and it was great to meet you at the Revolver Round Up Mike.
Wade
Thanks Wade, I enjoyed meeting you and Gavin! Sounds like you’re properly outfitted for some great shooting with your new gear. Enjoy!!
Texas Grips makes an extended grip for single action revolvers. It extends 1/2 inch below the frame. I have them on my Ruger Blackhawks. They greatly improve comfort and control with Ruger only 45 Colt loads.
Thanks Ralph, those sound great! I could use a bigger grip for the Blackhawks.