Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns How many holsters do you need?

I have drawers full of holsters, it seems that I have several for every gun I own.

These came in the mail today. The two on the left are from Lobo Leather, an enhanced pancake and a IWB belt loop style for my S&W mod 66. The one on the right is from Gary C's Leather for my Ruger 1911

Maybe it's because I'm a lefty that I feel the need to have more holsters than I need. Anyone else have this problem?

I could use a few more lefty holsters right now. Make sure you have a few righties.

Nope. I have one for each revolver I carry. For some, no.

I was going to be stupid and say I just have one, a Crossbreed knockoff that I use for daily carry. Then I got a sudden picture in my mind of the shoulder holster that came with my revolver, then another picture in my mind of the other one that came with that other revolver. Then there's the one that came with that black powder revolver, then there's the unclemike's shoulder rig that....you know I have no idea where that one came from. Does that belly band in the back of my sock drawer count? Oh! I almost forgot about the one that fits my late uncle's old H&R 949 snubby.... I guess that's how many I, personally, need. For right now.

I have more handguns than I do holsters and I don't have a lot of handguns.

Here's a few more that I have

I think they're like bras and for reasons I don't understand, it seems if you need them at all, you need more than one.

I like that paddle holster! also being a lefty harder to find holsters I like old leather ones, but tend to be a bit cheaper when I do!

I like holsters... I gave up trying to understand it. I may have 3+ to fit one particular individual handgun.

Buy the time I'm done with a handgun I've collected 2 or 3 holsters for it. When I used to sell my guns (I no longer part with any firearms*), the holsters never went with the handguns. I've got a large box full of leather holsters, Kydex holsters and leather gun belts dating back to 1982.

*Except the Gary Reeder S&W 500 Magnum, that I'm TRYING to sell, that I have a feeling I will never sell, and it will be given to my son or daughter when I pass.

saddlering said, (Hi buddy, it's me..Ron)



I got lucky and found this on line that would accommodate my Beretta PX4 Storm with the laser/light on the rail. ....and it's Left Hand

Need? Probably one per EDC. But holsters are like clothing - depends on conditions. So a few holsters/EDC allows for some flexibility.

I still lean towards well-fitting leather in strongside IWB configurations.

For a CCW gun that gets carried a lot, I need an IWB holster for sure and, usually, an OWB holster. I also may have some “administrative holsters” for things like nightstands. For a pocket gun, it needs a pocket holster and may or may not need an IWB and/or OWB holster. Most limited purpose guns only need one holster suited to the purpose.

The problem for me is that finding the holster that fits my particular needs usually involves some experimentation. It has taken a long time to figure out what works best generally for particular types of guns, so I have a lot of holsters that never will be used again.

Only in the last year have I bought holsters for my handguns.

I'm a bit nervous about buying holsters as I'm still new when it come to buying holster, I like leather ones, and worried that I'll go through an expensive trial and error finding what I like then being stuck with several holsters that will sit collecting dust in some drawer.

Am also left handed which limits me in trying to sell them too. Which I'm discovering there isn't a big demand for used holsters.

Cheyenne, I think you nailed it.

as many as it takes till ya get it right. iwb, owb shoulder, pocket, 3-4 tries each........?

So, I'm going to expound on what I hinted at above.

If you carry a handgun, you should have at least two holsters of your favorite design for at least one (your most carried) gun - one left-hand and one right-hand. Same for any alternate option you are likely to use. If you don't already have both, you should see to fixing this now - before it becomes an issue.

You never know when you might lose (temporarily or otherwise) the use of your strong hand. As with other things - best to prepare in advance. Everything else is gravy.

I had that covered.....barely, and for only one gun.

I have purged my leather collection a couple of times, but I still have around a dozen holsters. At a minimum, I need one holster for every handgun I own. Most of my guns get carried, even my BBQ gun goes on CCW duty regularly. I have strong preference for IWB, my favorite being a custom COM III from HBE Leatherworks; that's my first choice go to hoslter. After that I tend to wear my Milt Sparks VM II, Mitch Rosen ARG, and I have a El Paso Saddlry C-Force on the way (Rosen ARG knock off).

I've been kicking around getting a CZ P01 to replace my LW Commander as my primary CCW gun. If I do that I'll be putting in another order for a HBE Com III post-haste.

Here's my favorite; HBE Com III

I seem to "need" one more holster than I have.

As a bare minimum I usually have a good leather belt holster for my most favored handguns, a paddle holster for those I grab for any spur of the moment walk around the property, and an IWB for those I use for carry. I also have an equipment/duty belt with a holster capable of handling my bedside gun with weapon light.

Then there are a few "multi-use" nylon holsters for those pistols that are not carried very often but still make it out the safe. That is a half dozen in various sizes to encompass revolvers and semi-autos. These aren't really fitted but they get the job done. A couple of shoulder rigs/bandoleers for scoped hunting pistols rounds out the mix.

Oh, and as previously mentioned, at least one weak side holster for carry purposes. I have a "universal" slide that I picked up when I had surgery on my strong hand. For the couple of weeks I did not have use of my strong hand I felt that was sufficient. I might have to pick up a dedicated off side holster in the near future. I mostly have what I need for the strong side.

Holsters are like Lays Potato Chips- you can't have just one...

What a silly question.........almost as silly as asking how many gun you "need".

MM