6 shooter holster question

[TowPro]

Will a leather holster cause wear on a stainless steel gun? Do they make holsters lined with anything to protect the gun finish?

 

[Buffalo]

Yes, it will. However, since you are not wearing-off a coating, you don't seem to notice it. If anything, it will polish the metal, a bit.



I have a Smith & Wesson Model 66 that has been reworked. In the '80's I took many combat handgun classes. Some of which required rolling around in the desert dirt of the Phoenix area. The weapon was removed & reinserted into the holster probably thousands of times. It shown no serious wear other than some minor scratches.



At the classes I took, they highly recommended Alessi holsters. I have a number of them & love them all. They mount on your belt & place your weapon very close to your body. Actually touching your body. They are also quite high on the belt. This keeps your weapon out of the way & if you have a jacket on, you can't tell that there is a weapon concealed.



The snap at the top of the holster holds the weapon in place very well & is designed in such a way that it would be hard for someone to remove your weapon without your consent. However, when you need your weapon extracted from the holster, you just pull straight up & it pops the snap & your weapon comes out, easily. They are good quality holsters & have held up well for over 20 years, for me. I like these much better than the other holsters I've owned.



The company is Allesi Holster, Inc. Buffalo, NY.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[Mike Ellis]

Yes indeed it will cause a bit of wear to the finish, ends up being a bright polish of sorts. On a highly polished stainless gun, such wear is tough to notice. On a satin-finish gun it will leave "shiny spots" that are easier to see. The areas that get the most wear on revolvers are usually along the front edges of the cylinder, one side of the muzzle end of barrel, and trigger guard. On a semi it is usually the muzzle end of slide and trigger guard. On both types you can sometimes see a bright spot in the area of the frame directly under the holster's strap snap. Other sharp edges that slide along the holster will also be polished - edges of sights, slide release etc.



Most of the wear is from holstering / drawing, with the stainless sidearms there seems to be little effect from long term static contact with the leather, unlike the blued guns. Some holsters are lined with a softer leather (suede or glove leather) or synthetics but anything soft/padded results in more intimate contact with pistol and thus greater potential for wear in more areas, with arguably a slightly greater risk of snags so it is a tradeoff at best.



If you holster / remove the pistol daily, you would likely get some wear even if your holster were lined with silk - the inevitable dust that the gun picks up and transfers to the holster material acts like an abrasive. If you buy a top quality, fitted holster and remember to clean it out once in awhile so that dirt / sand don't accumulate in it, a stainless sidearm should last forever with minimal wear to the finish.

 

[The patriot]

I wouldnt sweat it unless it's a blued gun, or if you get very dirty during your normal work day.