Not too many people all that interested in shoulder holsters it seems. Times change. I started packing when the shoulder holster was it for concealed carry. Now there are IWB holsters, paddle holsters and any number of quality hip holsters, made of leather,kydex or nylon.
Big problem with the shoulder holster is cover. Back when everybody wore suits that wasn't a problem. I started with a Randall holster for a 1911A. Good holster, bad rigging. The straps were much too narrow to support a 35 oz gun. For a while there due to desparation, non-availability and stupidity I seemed to be making a collection of useless holsters. Years later I got a Bianchi horizontal holster for a PPK, then another for M-36 snubby. I sweated the stitching out of both, had one re-stitched in a shoeshop and returned the other to Bianchi for new elastic, only to get a brand new metal spring holster back. I picked up a beautiful pigskin shoulder holster in Madrid. I loved it and I'm glad somebody stole it off me because it was worthless. Sure was pretty though. Gradually, as my guns and needs changed I became convinced that shoulder holsters were a bit outdated for my purposes. Because of opportunity and personal preference I spent more and more time in the warmer and more humid latitudes. I used to carry the Bianchi holsters for the PPK and snubby under a nylon shirt. Now, how'd I get away with that? I don't know. Now it prints and flops about. If I still wore suits, which I don't, I might still wear some sort of shoulder rig. I've had an inclination to get one of the Galco horizontal rigs for my compact SIG, but why? Almost forgot, I have a couple of nylon shoulder rigs, one in camouflage. Now I wear leather hip holsters in winter and sometimes a pocket holster in summer. I tend to wear my longer, knit shirts out and loose. They cover my sub-compact holsters well enough. I had a preference for IWB kydex holsters for a long time, then got my hip messed up and the scars don't take to kydex. So, I moved to hip holsters, which gradually moved forward from behind the hip to in front of it due to a buggered up shouder to go with the hip.
In my experience climate, clothing and physical condition seem to dictate the preferred type of carry, them and the threat level. From time to time I still see mall gunfighters wandering about looking for the OK Corral. I've already been there and done that. Old Timer
Big problem with the shoulder holster is cover. Back when everybody wore suits that wasn't a problem. I started with a Randall holster for a 1911A. Good holster, bad rigging. The straps were much too narrow to support a 35 oz gun. For a while there due to desparation, non-availability and stupidity I seemed to be making a collection of useless holsters. Years later I got a Bianchi horizontal holster for a PPK, then another for M-36 snubby. I sweated the stitching out of both, had one re-stitched in a shoeshop and returned the other to Bianchi for new elastic, only to get a brand new metal spring holster back. I picked up a beautiful pigskin shoulder holster in Madrid. I loved it and I'm glad somebody stole it off me because it was worthless. Sure was pretty though. Gradually, as my guns and needs changed I became convinced that shoulder holsters were a bit outdated for my purposes. Because of opportunity and personal preference I spent more and more time in the warmer and more humid latitudes. I used to carry the Bianchi holsters for the PPK and snubby under a nylon shirt. Now, how'd I get away with that? I don't know. Now it prints and flops about. If I still wore suits, which I don't, I might still wear some sort of shoulder rig. I've had an inclination to get one of the Galco horizontal rigs for my compact SIG, but why? Almost forgot, I have a couple of nylon shoulder rigs, one in camouflage. Now I wear leather hip holsters in winter and sometimes a pocket holster in summer. I tend to wear my longer, knit shirts out and loose. They cover my sub-compact holsters well enough. I had a preference for IWB kydex holsters for a long time, then got my hip messed up and the scars don't take to kydex. So, I moved to hip holsters, which gradually moved forward from behind the hip to in front of it due to a buggered up shouder to go with the hip.
In my experience climate, clothing and physical condition seem to dictate the preferred type of carry, them and the threat level. From time to time I still see mall gunfighters wandering about looking for the OK Corral. I've already been there and done that. Old Timer
