In another thread of a member’s Milt Sparks holsters, I mentioned a few that I had buried in a collection of holsters. I love the craftsmanship of fine leather holsters almost as much as the firearms that they carry. Over 30 years of carrying concealed firearms, I’ve ordered holsters from Milt Sparks, R Grizzle, TT Gun leather, Kramer and, many others. The four above I will single out because everyone I have dealt with at the above companies have been some of the most gracious people with their time and assistance. This thread is for anyone who’d like to display their custom holsters and the firearms they carry.

I’ll start with a few Milt Sparks holsters I had made for my S&W 3” CS-1 686 revolvers.

PMK w/ shark trim

[IMG:left] 71183C32-8ED6-4896-8E37-01680618C4B3 by David King, on Flickr[/IMG]

VMII

[IMG:left] 55691834-2415-4414-9544-89F592D66EB1 by David King, on Flickr[/IMG]

Here are my remaining 3” CS-1 revolvers. A few years ago while going through my safe I stumbled upon a 4th one I didn’t remember buying. I managed to sell that to a retired Customs agent that was issued one as his first duty gun. It felt like that was the right place for it to go as the agent had been looking for one he could afford for years.

[IMG:left] 604869B7-7451-4EE5-BB4F-99C7467ECD38 by David King, on Flickr[/IMG]

Here is the rig that Ryan (R Grizzle) made for me last year. I’m looking forward to getting a custom order from them sometime in August. They are awesome!

[IMG:left] 4495D53A-8027-4209-960C-32CA879C729D by David King, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG:left] E39461A0-5A23-40DE-BF9F-F5FCA4CA7564 by David King, on Flickr[/IMG]

The S&W 66 P&R it was made to carry.

[IMG:left] 2633BC91-B336-4FDB-A503-DEFD5E2FC73F by David King, on Flickr[/IMG]

Looking forward to the show and tell from others.

Love it - that is some great leather (and “iron”)!

I’ll contribute here soon.

 
Andrews Custom Leather suede lined "saddle style", holding a SIG P220 Stainless Elite 10mm-SAO-Nitron. Over the years I have had Andrews leather for all of my handguns, and I always use his saddle style for how I like to carry them. The widely spaced belt loops make for a secure platform to draw from. On his web site, he shows this holster with a slight cant, but he will make any kind of cant you want (I prefer straight drop), add a thumb break, etc. all for the same price.
 

Andrews is on a short list of makers that I have been wanting to try. I have been contemplating a Monarch rig but really don’t know if I really have a need for a shoulder rig. I used a shoulder rig 30 years ago when I lived in a not so nice neighborhood and was raising a puppy during the winter in Connecticut. It was so easy to throw on under a coat when duty called. I would imagine long car rides would be nice too, but I rarely wear a coat in Tennessee.

TRS IWB holster from Rafter-L Combat Leather / Erik Little along with a Milt Sparks IPD IWB magazine pouch and a belt from Relentless Tactical. Gun is a Les Baer UTC 1911 in .45 ACP with stag grips.

I bought the gun from the original owner who, IMO, wonderfully spec’d the pistol with a semi-naked slide and no forward cocking serrations.

For me, nothing carries IWB as well as a 1911.

P.S. Orange paint on front sight blade was performed by, ah, The Front Range Custom Shop!

Awesome rig, I absolutely love the honest wear on that LB. I love guns that look like they’re used and enjoyed.

^^^ Thank you! I’ve always heard that LBs had “weak” bluing, but I’d assumed this one had made an extra pass or three through the bluing tanks, as it took seemingly forever for the gun to show any wear at all. At last, it’s showing some evidence of use haha…

I guess I'm considered a Milt Sparks fan/user/collector, as I've been using his products since the mid-1970's. Here's a few of the rigs I've picked up in the not too distant past that I may have ordered or (more likely) grabbed when I saw them advertised on their webpage as "In Stock" items.

A HSR in black sharkskin for my 5" N-frames, including this S&W Model 27-2 with African Blackwood stocks.



Black #1 AT for 5" Model 1911 pistols:



Black elephant hide Nexus for standard sized 1911s:



A Summer Special from a special run of carved leather versions that Milt Sparks offered as "In Stock" a few years ago. It's Commander sized.

Andrews McDaniel II with a DW CBOB




Simply Rugged Cuda with a DW CCO




C5 Montana with a Colt




Kramer IWB#3 with a BHP

Love seeing nice leather, makes me want to buy either more guns or new leather. I've used Ryan Grizzle, Mernickle, Mitch Rosen and a few others.

Lance Nixon


Mernickle


Ryan Grizzle

Pocket holsters by Matt Del Fatti (for my Seecamp LWS 380 in elephant hide) and by Ryan Grizzle (for my Ruger LCP in ostrich hide):





Here's one of several holster/magazine pouch combos made for me by Ryan Grizzle using the hide from a Cape Buffalo that I took on a hunting safari in the Selous Game Reserve (Tanzania):

Some "Old School" quality from the 1980's. Here's my G. Wm Davis holster for 3" L-Frame S&Ws and my 3" Colt Python. Here it's holding my 3" 686 CS-1 (with stocks by Craig Spegel). I've got another of the same holsters for my 3" S&W Model 66.

The wait times for Milt Sparks leather is just out of control.
I ordered a PMK for my short barrel Ruger Redhawk at the beginning of December last year. December 9th to be exact.
Cordovan cowhide with Black/Dark Grey Elephant trim.
Quoted 20 to 26 weeks.
26 weeks was up on June 9th.
I'm sure it will be nice when it shows up.
I called them on the 9th, the nice guy who answered the phone was helpful.
He said likely at least one month behind schedule.

quote:

Originally posted by cee_Kamp:
The wait times for Milt Sparks leather is just out of control.

I seem to remember it being at least half a year to get a Milt Sparks back in the early 90s. Nice holsters though!

quote:

Originally posted by cee_Kamp:
The wait times for Milt Sparks leather is just out of control.
I ordered a PMK for my short barrel Ruger Redhawk at the beginning of December last year. December 9th to be exact.
Cordovan cowhide with Black/Dark Grey Elephant trim.
Quoted 20 to 26 weeks.
26 weeks was up on June 9th.
I'm sure it will be nice when it shows up.
I called them on the 9th, the nice guy who answered the phone was helpful.
He said likely at least one month behind schedule.

I just ordered a couple of new holsters from them. Yea, there's a wait, but it's definitely worth it!!! You'll be pleased with the results!

So I have a few from Ryan Grizzle. I cannot speak highly enough of Ryan, as a person, and a craftsman. All around, just a fantastic human.

If you’re not familiar with the War Pig, it is a dual purpose holster. It can be carried OWB, through the slits cut in it. If you need to really hide it, there are two Allen screws that attach to up only snaps and a couple of belt loops that quickly and easily convert it to an IWB holster. It’s by far the best holster design I have ever owned.

This is the War Pig in cordovan with elephant trim for my micro 9.





Here is a War Pig in mahogany calfskin and elephant trim, for the P228.



I did have an SSR for the micro 9, but my friend of 42 years needed a holster, so I sent it to him. It was also in cordovan with elephant. I wish I had a photo to share, but I never took one.

Ryan and Kay are two of the nicest people you will ever encounter. I am looking forward to my upcoming order. I’m going to try and dig out some more leather and take some photos this weekend. Beancooker, that leather is stunningly beautiful.

The only 'custom' holster I have is one I made when I was in S.A.S.S. back in the 90's...

LOVE this thread - all of this gunleather is great!

Below is some work from another of my favorites, particularly for revolvers: Barranti Leather. Mike “Doc” Barranti’s efforts came to me via the postings of famed former Texas Sheriff Jim Wilson a few years back, and I’ve been a fan ever since.

Shown here is a sampling of their gear along with a lovely S&W 27-3 four-inch .357 Magnum wearing a set of Bear Hug Grips: Summer Classic IWB holster, Barranti Spare speedloader pouch, SS Spare speed-strip pouch, a brace of Triple-Deuce 6-Pack 2x2x2 pouches, and a Three-Speed 2x2x2 pouch.

Carrying an N-frame IWB is not a “mainstream” approach. All I can say is that Barranti’s slogan of “Comfortable Peace of Mind” is not just lip-service.

quote:

Originally posted by TheFrontRange:
LOVE this thread - all of this gunleather is great!

Shown here is a sampling of their gear along with a lovely S&W 27-3 four-inch .357 Magnum wearing a set of Bear Hug Grips: Summer Classic IWB holster, Barranti Spare speedloader pouch, SS Spare speed-strip pouch, a brace of Triple-Deuce 6-Pack 2x2x2 pouches, and a Three-Speed 2x2x2 pouch.

"Old School" leather and Bear Hug grips ??? I like how you roll!

I got these Bear Hug stocks from Deacon Deason and the Milt Sparks rig right after S&W came out with their limited run of Model 24-3 .44 Specials. I had my 6.5" barrel trimmed down to 5" (just like Skeeter preferred), an action job, and a smooth "Combat trigger" installed by James Hoag in Canoga Park. Neither the revolver or the accessories will part from me as long as I'm around to appreciate them.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: pulicords,