I'm finding this a little frustrating. I've worked the gun and holster repeatedly with no joy in sight. I had an ALS for a 1911 years ago and it was perfect, this holster is hit and miss as far as locking the gun in the holster and when it does sometimes it's a battle to get it released. The upside is I was going through my box of holsters and found a Simply Rugged that fits the gun perfectly. It may have been from my previous 229. Either way I've got leather.

A nub mod might help.

https://store.otdefense.com/collections/nub-mods

quote:

Originally posted by gunsmoke92:
I'm finding this a little frustrating. I've worked the gun and holster repeatedly with no joy in sight. I had an ALS for a 1911 years ago and it was perfect, this holster is hit and miss as far as locking the gun in the holster and when it does sometimes it's a battle to get it released. The upside is I was going through my box of holsters and found a Simply Rugged that fits the gun perfectly. It may have been from my previous 229. Either way I've got leather.

Hmm, this is weird. Which model do you have? On the holster it'll say 6378-XX-XXX with X being numbers. I'm interested in the 3 digit number that indicates what model pistol the holster is made for. When I checked the Safariland website and selected the P229 Elite in the holster finder, the 6378 didn't come up. However, when I checked the holster fit guide I noticed that the 229 Elite line was for the non-railed version.

You have a 229 Elite, correct? Does it have aftermarket Sights?
Does it have a rail? What caliber is it?

Did you purchase the holster direct from Safariland or a reseller?

Ok, numbers are 6378-74-P-229 40 19.
The pistol is a P229 Elite with a rail, no aftermarket sights, 9mm. I bought it on ebay, NOS damaged package. The packaging indicated it was compatible with the railed model. I thought about calling Safailand and picking their brains.

I might add, this does not have the tension screw through the opening at the muzzle.

quote:

Originally posted by gunsmoke92:
Ok, numbers are 6378-74-P-229 40 19.
The pistol is a P229 Elite with a rail, no aftermarket sights, 9mm. I bought it on ebay, NOS damaged package. The packaging indicated it was compatible with the railed model. I thought about calling Safailand and picking their brains.

I'd contact Safariland, that -74 can supposedly fit a 228,225, M-11 and 229R. But, the -74 dosen't seem to fit a 229R-1.

I'll give them a jingle tomorrow. As a side note, I took everything apart, wiped everything out, and put it back together. I actually tightened everything up after I inserted the gun. The gun is locking in place and releasing, I just have to insert the gun and focus on the click when it locks. It's a tight fit.

quote:

Originally posted by gunsmoke92:
I'll give them a jingle tomorrow. As a side note, I took everything apart, wiped everything out, and put it back together. I actually tightened everything up after I inserted the gun. The gun is locking in place and releasing, I just have to insert the gun and focus on the click when it locks. It's a tight fit.

How did that turn out for you? Where they able to verify that the holster is the right one for your pistol?

Didn't get to call, apparently I was the target of a case of the Green Apple Quickstep. Slept for nearly 21 hours with periodic runs to the bathroom. Hopefully tomorrow. So far since I disassembled it, it worked well. I'll keep playing with it.

quote:

Originally posted by gunsmoke92:
Didn't get to call, apparently I was the target of a case of the Green Apple Quickstep. Slept for nearly 21 hours with periodic runs to the bathroom. Hopefully tomorrow. So far since I disassembled it, it worked well. I'll keep playing with it.

Oh Dear lord, feel better.

I went back and looked at my noted from when I sold Safariland. I have a 744 for the fit code of a P229R. Keep in mind this was from about a decade ago.

Just got off the phone with Safariland. They show it as an older model from 2019 and believe it is for the non-railed model although she didn't seem very positive. I wish I had kept the packaging as it indicated it was compatible with the railed gun. Oh well, I'll work with it and for a range holster it should be fine. I've still got the Simply Rugged.

PS.... the body is back to normal, thank goodness. At 71 that was no fun.

quote:

Originally posted by gunsmoke92:
Just got off the phone with Safariland. They show it as an older model from 2019 and believe it is for the non-railed model although she didn't seem very positive. I wish I had kept the packaging as it indicated it was compatible with the railed gun. Oh well, I'll work with it and for a range holster it should be fine. I've still got the Simply Rugged.

PS.... the body is back to normal, thank goodness. At 71 that was no fun.

Glad to hear you are feeling better.
I was afraid it would turn out to be the wrong holster body. However, It sounds like the holster is currently functional.

It's also possible that the seller had multiple holsters and put the wrong holster in the wrong package.

Anything's possible, but since there's no return or warranty to worry about, I can play with it a little. I took a little off the block that hits the trigger guard allowing the gun to sit a little deeper in the holster. It locks a bit easier and as the lining wears in it slides nicely into place.

I’ve noticed recently that a lot of “influencers” on YouTube and social media have been posting a multitude of problems with the ALS/SLS holsters.

Then all of them become an advertisement for Alien gear holsters. All of the “problem” videos are formatted exactly the same. Almost as if Alien Gear puts out what to say and how to shill it.

ALS is still the best, regardless of what the shills get paid to say.