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belt?

cloudcroft

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 13, 2007
Messages
1,908
Location
El Paso, TX (formerly Colorado Springs, CO)
boomer92266,

Good to see you want to get a REAL "gun belt!" Most carriers seem to just use whatever belt they normally wear. They shouldn't.

You only have to buy a GOOD gun belt once, as it will last for many years. Mine is from Comp-Tac (in Houston, TX) and it's 2 layers of leather with a length of Kydex in between them:

http://www.comp-tac.com/product_info.php?products_id=43

...VERY stiff and it STAYS stiff after the several years I've been wearing it.

Comp-Tac is in Houston (as mentioned) but they do NOT have a STORE you can go to. So when I lived in Galveston, TX (just 50 miles "down the street" from Houston) I STILL had to order it online and have it shipped to me!

Weird...


P.S. Got my "adjustable cant" (so I can carry Cross-Draw) Kydex holster (for my Colt Series 80 Government stainless-steel 1911) from them also...
 
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wittmeba

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2014
Messages
143
Location
New Castle, Va

Firearms Iinstuctor

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2011
Messages
3,428
Location
northern wis
I picked up a S@W brand double lined Pistol/duty belt at a garage sale for 3 bucks. Just keep looking. the real good belts that come into 2nd hand stores don't last long.
 

skidmark

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
10,444
Location
Valhalla
what is a good belt for the money? how good are the daltech force The RoughCut® Bull Hide, Tan belt. thanks

The belt you inquire about http://www.amazon.com/Bull-Hide-Belt-RoughCut-BULLBELT®/dp/B00LI5HJJG lacks features that many folks look for in a gun belt.

The primary one is the absence of a "stiffener" layer. A holstered gun is going to create torque and a gun belt has to be able to resist that.

The second one is its advertised thickness - 3/16" to 1/4". Measure the slots of your holster to see if you can get something that thick through them. If it's goping to be a PITA to force your holster on and off then you may be less inclined to go through the bother and change to a looser-fitting holster that then gives you a whole new set of problems.

Third is that being rough cut it will tend to shave both the back and edges from putting on/taking off the holster as werr as from just daily use. I have no idea how much you sweat so could not say if body moisture accumulation will be quick or slow, but over time you will get sweat on that unfinished leather.

"What is a good belt for the money?" Might as well ask if you should ask a blonde, a brunette, or a redhead to marry you. Everybody has an opinion but few of those are based on precisely the same criteria. That's why there are so many beltmakers out there.

stay safe.
 

DWCook

Activist Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2010
Messages
432
Location
Lenexa, Kansas
Not to revive this thread by any means, but for a first time buyer for a gun belt for daily where what would guys recommend? I am leaning towards the light brown leather as my next holster I am researching will be as such color. Looking for a good open carry light brown leather holster that's either a mid to low rise configuration.

I checked out some of the links and the belts. The only thing I am worried about is the holster flapping around if I ever start running, that annoys the day lights out of me! My usual dress wear is a dress shirt tucked in wearing a nice pair of jeans. Main reason for picking the brown leather style is it looks extremely nice and my outfit won't make me out to look like I"m still on the job.
 

skidmark

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
10,444
Location
Valhalla
A good holster attached to a good belt should not flop around. Match the belt width to the width of the belt cuts of the holster - making a few adjustments to deal with belt thickness is easy.

It seems about half of the plainclothes cops wear brown/tan belts and holsters, so there should be quite a bit of choice for the handgun of your choice.

When you think you have found the holster you think you want, check the holster maker to see if they offer matching gun belts. Then compare that with the possibilities of some of the belt makers mentioned here.

It's probably answering your wife when she asks if she looks fat when __ than asking which holster and then which belt to get. The first scenario involves only you and one other person. The second scenario will draw every expert and operator and knowitall out of the woodwork, and most of them will be telling you why what you announce as what you are going to get/did get is wrong.

Good luck to you. You will need it.

stay safe.
 

cloudcroft

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 13, 2007
Messages
1,908
Location
El Paso, TX (formerly Colorado Springs, CO)
"The only thing I am worried about is the holster flapping around if I ever start running,..." -- DWCook


Then consider a pancake holster -- they lay flat and don't budge.

I assume you would be OCing, so that'd be an OWB pancake holster specifically. Lots of choices & a few colors in that category as it's a very popular holster design.

Good luck...
 
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MAC702

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
6,331
Location
Nevada
I've been wearing a Bianchi Gunleather belt for about 22 years. The stitches are broken in the worn areas, and it shows the marks of three changes in sizes, but it still doesn't sag at the holstered 1911.
 

Grapeshot

Legendary Warrior
Joined
May 21, 2006
Messages
35,317
Location
Valhalla
I've been wearing a Bianchi Gunleather belt for about 22 years. The stitches are broken in the worn areas, and it shows the marks of three changes in sizes, but it still doesn't sag at the holstered 1911.
Contact Bianchi and offer them your testimony (22 years!!) - they just might send you a new belt (size?), especially if you suggest that they might do that. Who knows but they might have it bronzed. :)

We antiques, do love our antiques. Continue to use both a Lady Kenmore washer and a dryer from 1969 and still wear Ted Williams (Sears) kangaroo leather boots that I bought 50 years ago.

To stay on topic - I use these items while OCing with a 5.11 belt. :p
 

DWCook

Activist Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2010
Messages
432
Location
Lenexa, Kansas
I am having a huge issue of finding a good pancake OWB leather holster for my FNH FNS 9mm. Mine is not the LONG slide, it's just a standard full size. It seems like all I find is the long slide edition of these holster. Then you have the usual not pancake style and not leather holsters which are annoying to wear on a daily basis. Anyone got any possible links or locations that I can look at to find a leather pancake OWB Holster for my FNS 9mm standard full size?
 

WalkingWolf

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
11,930
Location
North Carolina
I am having a huge issue of finding a good pancake OWB leather holster for my FNH FNS 9mm. Mine is not the LONG slide, it's just a standard full size. It seems like all I find is the long slide edition of these holster. Then you have the usual not pancake style and not leather holsters which are annoying to wear on a daily basis. Anyone got any possible links or locations that I can look at to find a leather pancake OWB Holster for my FNS 9mm standard full size?

Is there a tack shop in your area? Have the saddle makers make you one.
 

cloudcroft

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 13, 2007
Messages
1,908
Location
El Paso, TX (formerly Colorado Springs, CO)
DWCook,

I don't know if this site has what you need (they have a whole LOT of holsters so it'd take a lot of time looking -- will leave that to you), but they might. Certainly worth investigating:

http://www.falcoholsters.com/

I got my "mahogany" colored leather Cross-Draw pancake holster for my TT-33 Tokarev there. And that's saying something because "civilian" holsters for a Tokarev pistol are REAL hard to find anywhere, as the gun was expected to be carried a military flap-holster only -- I have several such USSR/Red Army milsurp VERY nice quality leather flap-holsters for it, but of course, they aren't for OCing out there on the street (but the best protection for the gun out in the field, SHTF, WROL, TEOTWAWKI -- i.e., combat situations -- as per design). Falco has a number of holster designs for a Tokarev (and the leather is form-molded to the gun so it fits snugly), and would be the FIRST place I'd recommend someone look for a civilian-type Tokarev holster. Or an FN Hi-Power, or a Makarov...or American guns too -- whatever brand guns they say they make holsters for.

But back to YOUR issue...

Yes, it takes a while to get your holster if Falco doesn't have it in stock -- if they don't, they MAKE it for you, and IIRC that's done at a factory in Serbia (so they know how to make holsters for European/former Eastern Bloc handguns first & foremost) -- but all went well and the process went exactly as they described and took as long as they state. Do they make the BEST holsters? Probably not in ALL offerings (some may be better designed/made than others), but they are certainly decent and serviceable. MINE sure is, and the leather retaining strap fits the Tokarev perfectly, not too tight or too loose...even after all the time I've been wearing it (I'd make only minor design changes to the holster if I could). And the Serbs know Tokarevs! ;-)

I wouldn't hesitate to order from Falco again, even though it takes a while to get your order.

Good luck...


P.S. I have an excellent/high-quality (they do great work) El Paso Saddlery shoulder-holster (with offside handcuff case & double mag pouch) for my Colt Series 80 1911 Government (stainless-steel) and asked them to make me a custom "civilian" Cross-Draw holster for my Tokarev -- they said, "No, we won't." Short & sweet with no explanation given. Don't know if they don't like Russians (like fellow OCDO member il maresciallo here) or what, but they refused to help me out. Insulted by their terse response, I kept looking and found Falco. Glad I did.
 
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