Where to shop for holster?

[HeavyfootHick]

My Wife wanted HER OWN handgun. So for HER BIRTHDAY went shopping.
Her selection: Walther PPQ in .45cal.
The shop, Northwest Armory in Milwaukie were very accomodating except they had no holster available for HER new sidearm.
Any suggestions where WE may go to shop for a holster in Portland / Vancouver?

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[WAYNO]

There are so many different dedicated holsters available for so many different handguns, the local gun stores have quit trying to stock a usable selection of holsters. Online, look at DeSantis, Bianchi, Safariland, El Paso Saddlery, and many of the other big names, and see what's available. There are many outlets online to buy from. As the brick and mortar stores are dying, and a feller has to buy online without being able to try clothes on for size, the same thing has happened with holsters. And that's why seasoned gun owners have dozens of holsters they've tried over the years, sitting unused in a box.

Places like Cabelas, Sportsmans, Fishermans, etc., may look like they have a decent assortment hanging on pegboard hooks, but seldom do I find a holster in a store, anywhere, that fits my current needs. That being said, these stores are still worth a look, and ya just might get lucky. If not, you'll at least be able to visualize the many different styles and uses of holsters.

 

[filsonhand]

ORYGUNHolsters is a member owned business on here and a great guy to deal with. He is in hillsboro area

 

[308]

Northwest Armory...not unusual they don't have a holster for the guns they sell
Advanced Firearms Training(Gresham)
Keiths Sporting Goods (Gresham)

 

[Lazyfaire]

My Wife wanted HER OWN handgun. So for HER BIRTHDAY went shopping.
Her selection: Walther PPQ in .45cal.
The shop, Northwest Armory in Milwaukie were very accomodating except they had no holster available for HER new sidearm.
Any suggestions where WE may go to shop for a holster in Portland / Vancouver?

I have bought several from Exodus Gunleather. He makes them to the gun in the material you choose. Horse leather, cow, even shark. The exotics make for a nice holster. He is in SC but I did meet him back in January. Great guy and a fellow prepare too. www.exodusgunleather.com

 

[Certaindeaf]

Stop in at

Custom Gun Holsters at Ted Blocker Holsters - The Finest in Gun Leathers Since 1972
9438 SW Tigard Street
Tigard, OR 97223 US

800.650.9742 (toll free)
503.670.7972 (phone)

they will custom make anything you want.. if you want.

 

[Ura-Ki]

+1 for both Ted Blocker and Oregunholsters for any needs. I have several Ted Blocker holsters and they are very capable of custome building what ever you need and in any set up you wish. Ryan out @ Oregunholsters can custom make ANY thing you can come up with. Next time I get a chance, I am going to go see him and get some ideas made up so I can try them out and see how I like them! You cannot go wrong with ether of these makers

 

[DirectDrive]

Stop in at

Custom Gun Holsters at Ted Blocker Holsters - The Finest in Gun Leathers Since 1972
9438 SW Tigard Street
Tigard, OR 97223 US

800.650.9742 (toll free)
503.670.7972 (phone)

they will custom make anything you want.. if you want.

Good advice ^^^

Your chances of finding a holster right off the rack and in the style you want for a PPQ are going to be slim.

Things to think about before buying :

1) What material, leather, Kydex or a hybrid of the two ?

2) Concealed or open carry ?

3) Inside waistband (IWB) or outside waistband (OWB) ?

4) What location ?
Appendix
Crossdraw
Small of back
3:00
4:00
etc

5) Style:
Pancake
Paddle
Shoulder
etc

6) Cant ?
15°, 30° etc

And there are some items I probably forgot to list.
A lot of things to consider.
Having a top notch custom maker (Ted Blocker) local to you is going to be a big help.

 

[HB of CJ]

Consider CrossBreed inside the pants Supertuck with the tan colored horse hide up grade. Non combat cutaway. Same with two mag mag holsters. Expensive. We are happy repeat customers. Life time warranty. You can carry a big .45 double stack 16 hours a day and ACTUALLY FORGET YOU ARE CARRYING BIG IRON WITH 39 ROUNDS OF .45 AMMO.

I carry a modified Springfield Armory XD Tactical .45 Blue Ambo Thumb Safety 5" bbl. .45. She now carries a modified Mark 3 ambo safety Browning High Power 9 mm. Believe or not both guns disappear under a light colored Tee shirt. Yep, I had to shout. Extremely pleased with CrossBreed and I have a whole drawer full of old holsters. So does she. That good.

<broken link removed>

 

[DirectDrive]

If you are going to look at Crossbreed, you should also look at Alien Gear...
IWB Holster (Inside the Waistband) | Alien Gear Holsters

 

[HeavyfootHick]

Thank you for all your input.
I will be conveying all considerations to my honey.
Best to know what you may want and have that narrowed down first, then go shopping.
More than likely be taking a look at local manufacturers first.

 

[Tony617]

I have a leather Alien Gear holster myself. Very comfortable and I bought one leather holster and two shells so I can carry different guns by putting a different shell on.

Concealed Carry Holsters | Concealment Holsters | Alien Gear Holsters

 

[11Charlie]

+1 on @ORYGUNHolsterCompany

Love the holsters he made me. If good guys finish first he has a lot coming back to him.

 

[DunRanull]

Check out the website that "Simply Rugged" holsters has online. Good stuff, good people to do business with.

 

[ob1]

I agree with the quality of the Blocker holster. I've had one for over twenty five years without so much as a stitch coming loose.

That being said...
a month ago I decided to touch up the finish as it had finally started to show it's years. I promptly lost a couple of small screws for the belt loop. Not knowing if these were of a non-standard length or head, I decided to send them an e-mail to see if they still had any in stock. They responded saying that it would cost me $5 for the two screws and another $5 for postage.
Call me cheap, but that forced me to take the holster to a hardware store where I found the exact same screws for .20 cents each !
Yeah... I know Blocker is a business and has to make a profit, but to charge a customer that much mark-up for what must be a common inventory part...yikes.
I guess a sign of the times.

edit:
If you do get your holster there, ask for extra screws...
{without being screwed}.

 

[WAYNO]

As you can see above, everybody has their own idea of what a good or usable holster is. A couple of the suggestions above, I consider junk or otherwise unusable for my purposes in this universe. That much more argument for ya just gotta get out and look for yourself. Even if you find in a store, a holster that doesn't fit your gun, you'll at least be able to see the features and witness the quality (or lack of). Then go online and find the same holster in the correct size and order it. I'd let the store order it if they would, but I don't have much luck with customer service in any of the stores in our area.

 

[BDA.45]

Ill 3rd that motion on @ORYGUNHolsterCompany......

 

[L84Cabo]

Usually what you will find in retailers are Galco, Fobus, Uncle Mike's, etc...mostly mass produced holsters. Some are ok...like Galco. Some I simply wouldn't touch. You will usually get a far better product from one of the oh so many various custom holster makers.

The problem with holsters, however, is that they are so intensely personal. Preferences, carry methods, body type, etc., all come into play here which makes it VERY hard for one person to recommend a holster for another. Because what I like and what works for me, simply may not work for you.

And the other problem...especially when you're just starting out...is trying to figure out which carry method you prefer. It's for all of these reasons that most people end up with a drawer full of holsters before they find one that they like. To this end, what I usually advise people to do is to try to stick to the higher quality more popular holsters makers and guns. Because in this manner you can usually sell the holster without a ton of loss if it doesn't work out for you.

Also, with holsters, the details matter. For example do you want leather or kydex? A holster for on body carry or off body carry like in a purse? Will this be for IWB or OWB? What position will she be carrying in? Etc. We're obviously not going to suggest you go check out Milt Sparks (an outstanding leather holster maker) if what she is really looking for is kydex. So the more info you can give us, the better we can try to help you.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Keith's usually has a very large selection of holsters for nearly everything.

 

[hatchj]

I really like the holsters ive ordered from ubgholsters.com
(I think thats thw website, search ubg holsters and youll fine it.)

Theyre about the least expensive hand molded leather holsters ive seem. Fit and finish is really nice