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The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters

Let’s face it. Choosing the best way to carry a gun can be a daunting task. Whether you’re new to guns or have been shooting since you were a wee tot, this book can help you understand concealed carry methods, how to carry a gun safely, and the relative pros and cons of over 120 specific holster models. We’ll even teach you several ways to carry a gun in your underwear.

The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters - Available at Amazon.com

The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters – Available at Amazon.com

This book will help you make the right choice – saving you time and money – while offering a dose of humor while you learn.

Why do you need a book to choose and buy a holster? A few reasons really.

  • At last count, there are 4,187,237 different holsters on the market. Well, that might be an estimate, but there are a lot. If you had a dollar for each of those holsters, you could almost cover the Kardashians’ weekly clothing budget. So how do you choose the right holster with all those choices?
  • Hardly any stores carry a wide selection of holsters. Sure they might carry a couple of brands, but will they have a brand right for you and the model specific to your gun? It’s kind of like trying to find just the right shade of Morning Tropical Ocean Breeze Sunrise interior house paint at your local convenience store. It’s just not likely to happen. And that leaves you the option of having to search and buy from… the internet. And we all know that you can’t always believe everything you read on the internet. Well, except Youtube comments. Those are almost always true and thoughtful.
  • You can’t really try holsters out before you buy. Especially those underwear holsters. Gun store sales staff tend to get a little cranky when you start shedding clothes next to the ammunition aisle.
  • There are many different styles of concealed carry. Every day, innovative gun folks are inventing new ways to safely and discreetly carry guns. The variety of options is great, but how do you know which style of carry is right for you?

The editors at MyGunCulture.com have painstakingly documented all the holsters we’ve tried over the years and provided helpful commentary about pros and cons of different holster styles. In other words, we’ve tried just about everything. We’ve had great successes. We’ve experienced colossal failures. We’ve listened to so many gun show huckster sales pitches that the late Billy Mays would be impressed. And the result? The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters.

Topics Include:

  • A brief, entertaining and not entirely true history of holsters
  • Weighing concealment versus accessibility
  • Open or concealed carry? How to start a good bar fight.
  • Ladies only holster solutions
  • Belt carry holsters – inside, outside and underneath?
  • Body carry solutions. Undershirts, belly bands and harnesses.
  • Ankle holsters. You think your ankles were swollen before?
  • Pocket holsters. Don’t worry, we keep things PG rated.
  • You too can carry a gun in your underwear!
  • Stashing guns in your clothing. Pants, shirts and jackets.
  • Off premises parking. Ways to carry a gun not attached to your body.
  • Home, office and car holster options.
  • Magazine carriers and pouches. Ways to easily carry spares.

Loaded with pictures and the occasional comedic illustration, The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters will tell you just about everything you need to know regarding styles of carry and the pros and cons of dozens and dozens of holsters from numerous manufacturers.

Holsters are expensive. And important! The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters will help you make the right choice for your needs and lifestyle without breaking the bank.

Enjoy!

The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters - Available on Amazon.com

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“Entirely too much fun was had in the production of this book. You’d think such a through rundown of many of the holsters and carry methods out there would be dry and boring. You’d be wrong. This book is informative and fun to read.”

The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters

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El Paso Saddlery Pocket Max Gun Holster

Here’s another fine holster featured in The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters

El Paso makes an excellent pocket holster. Here’s why.

El Paso Pocket Max holsters

A pair of El Paso Pocket Max Holsters. Note the points that help the holster stay in your pocket during the draw.

The El Paso Pocket Max is constructed from horsehide, which tends to be stronger and more rigid than cowhide. It uses an inside-out construction so the rough side of the leather “grips” the interior of your pocket. This helps ensure that the holster stays in the pocket when you draw the gun. Not only is pulling a holstered gun out of your pocket less intimidating to most experience street thugs, it can be downright embarrassing. Talk about a total loss of street cred…

Another unique feature about the El Paso Pocket Max is the pointy leather tip at the very top edge of the holster. El Paso calls this the “grip tip” but that’s just a complex engineering term for “pointy thing.” The grip tip has an important purpose. It tends to catch on the inside fabric of your pocket when you pull the gun and holster upwards. This is a second feature (in addition to the roughed up surface) to help ensure that your holster stays in your pocket, where it belongs, as you draw your gun.

One last thing that we really like about the El Paso Pocket Max is the design of what you might call a stability flap. Note the “wing” that extends from underneath the barrel position. It’s made from a double layer of horsehide and helps to keep the gun in the proper upright position. This is particularly important for semi-auto pocket pistols where there is a lot of weight riding up high in the grip of the gun in the loaded magazine. With less sturdy pocket holster designs, this can allow your gun to torque, twist and turn while you’re going about your daily activities. Next thing you know, your pocket gun is completely upside down just when you need it most. The leather “wing” tends to keep things oriented in the proper direction — upright.

We highly recommend the Pocket Max. It’s functional, durable and reasonably priced for what you get.

The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters - Available at Amazon.com

The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters – Available at Amazon.com

 

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El Paso Summer Cruiser Gun Holster – A Hand Boned Delight

Here’s another holster featured in our new book, The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters:

El Paso Saddlery Summer CruiserEl Paso Saddlery has a deep and storied tradition of holster craft. Literally.

Peruse their online catalog and you’ll see holsters like the John Wayne, Patton, Jesse James and Doc Holliday to name a few. The interesting thing is that El Paso didn’t just name these holsters — they made them for the actual folks on the label! You’ll notice dozens of absolutely gorgeous western style holsters and if you’re a fan of spaghetti westerns, and pay close attention, you’ll see plenty of their models in the movies.

The El Paso Saddlery Summer Cruiser is an inside-out design to help it stay in place via friction with your clothing. It has two belt loops that are interchangeable. You can swap loops to fit different sized belts and choose black or brown to better match the belt you want to use.

For a comfortable inside the waistband design, the El Paso Summer Cruiser has a lot of structure. The holster mouth is reinforced with an interior metal band so it stays open to facilitate one-handed reholstering. A sight rail is molded and stitched into the holster that allows for snag-free holstering and reholstering. There’s even an extended leather flap on the inside to help keep the hammer, safety and/or beavertail from chafing your midsection.

Like many other El Paso designs, this one is hand-boned for near-perfect gun fit.

Holster Terminology Alert: Before you start questioning the PG rating of this book, know that hand boning is a process where the wet leather is pressed — by hand — around the specific contours of the gun. Back in the fourth century BC they used to do that with actual bones instead of metal tools, hence the name hand boning. Artisans skilled in the art of hand boning had little to do for centuries however, as gun holsters were not to be invented until the 1800’s. As a result of hand boning, you’ll actually see a pretty good outline of your specific type of firearm shaped into the leather. Hand boning isn’t done just to sound funny or look cool, the very detailed shaping is what provides solid holster fit and retention.

Read about more carry styles and over 120 different gun holsters in The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters - available at Amazon.com! Learn more about our Insanely Practical Guides!

Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters now available at Amazon.com

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The Real History of the Flashbang Holster - From The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters

The Real History of the Flashbang Holster – From The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters

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“Holsters actually pre-date guns. Do you really think bands of wooly mammoth hunters carried spears and rocks in their hands? After all, they couldn’t invent important things like fire and Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts with their hands all full of weapons.”

The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters