Will an Uncle Mike's holster hurt the finish on my gun?

[BHPshooter]

I have been trying to find a leather holster for my BHP, but it isn't very easy to find one I like. I have been considering an Uncle Mike's hip holster to hold me over, but I'm concerned that the rough nylon stuff will scratch or rub off my finish. I know I sound anal, but hey, it's a new gun.

Thanks.
Wes

 

[telcom911]

Nylon

will be a lot easier on the finish then leather ever will be. No matter how rough the nylon feels, it is a lot softer and more forgiving then leather.


The only way to avoid holster marks- do not holster. If you must and still want to minimize wear, use nylon. If you have to have leather (i do) then spend money for a good holster (Fully lined with somthing very soft) and live with the wear you will eventually get.


The best solution I have found for this problem, go buy another BHP, thats what I did with my 1911's. If you have two of each then if one wears a bit you don't feel so bad, cause you have a pristine gun in the safe.

 

[Ala Dan]

quite simply "NO", it won't hurt the finish at all!

I prefer lined, real leather holsters as made by
Safariland, John Bianchi, Don Hume and other's,
for my personal inventory of handguns. But, even
then you have to watch out for tiny particles of
unwanted matter getting caught in the lining
and scratching the weapons finish!
This probably would hold true with holsters of nylon,
or Kydex?


Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

 

[MikeJ]

I have used an Uncle Mike's nylon holster for my Glock 23 with no signs of wear.

 

[BHPshooter]

Thanks for the responses, very informative.

Wes

 

[Lone_Gunman]

Any blued gun is going to experience holster wear, regardless of material.

The Glock 23 mentioned above is not a good example, because the finish on it is much more durable than bluing. If your Hi power is blued it will wear much more than the Glock.

Are you sure you would want to put a Hi Power in a cheesy nylon holster? Take a look at some of the web sites of good leather holster makers; I am sure you can find something you will like.

 

[Topgun]

I must be nuts

but until my gun has a nice mellow holster wear pattern on the muzzle edges and a wee bit o the bright on frame and cylinder (if it has one), I don't feel I have made it "my" gun yet.

I like the looks of minor blue wear. NOT on a collector item, but on what I carry, heck yeah.

My CCW baby is a M36 I have carried since 1965 and it is just now getting some real "character."

Even the diamond grips have the neat ole smooth-from-holdin' wear pattern.

 

[dairycreek]

Uncle Mikes won't hurt!!

For good and relatively inexpensive leather holsters try FIST http://www.fist-inc.com/ or Don Hume http://www.donhume.com/. Both make excellent holsters which will fit your handgun quite well. Good shooting

 

[CWL]

I am of the opinion that any holster, whether kydex, horsehide, leather or lined leather will wear away the finish/polish a (non-hardchrome) gun.

It is simply a matter of time.

You must just deal with this and move on to more important issues.

 

[10-Ring]

The Uncle Mike's holster shouldn't hurt the finish on your gun

 

[jsalcedo]

I'll have to concur I've been using an uncle mikes for my blued taurus 66
for 17 years and there is no sign of wear.

My Sistema was practically de-finished by my kydex IWB holster in a months time.

 

[Ishootstr8]

watchout for sidekick

I have an uncle mikes sidekick for my gp100 357mag...there is a little sticker inside covering the rivet for the snap.....watch it..the sticker slid down and exposing the rivet,,,which scratched the cylinder in 3 places. I wish I had checked it out better before i bought it..a sticker? all my nylon holsters went in the trash..now I'm looking for better holsters..

 

[Strykervet]

I won't use 'em. Not because they hurt the finish, but because they aren't very good at retention and they don't wear well. Most of us that have been carrying for awhile have spent enough on holsters trying to find the right one that we could have gotten a new pistol. Or two or three.

I suppose if it is a holdover, that is okay.

But some advice would be to immediately order a good leather one (Milt Sparks VM2 is my favorite, I have three) and a good leather gun belt. Those two things are at least as important as your pistol is for carry.

Milt Sparks will also take a few months to get it done, so you need the CC number now, but they won't charge it until later --just make sure you have money on the card in a month or so just to be safe, if they try and charge it and it comes back empty they won't call or anything. Too busy, they don't NEED your business (as much as I need theirs!).

Good luck. And forget about the finish on a carry piece. It will wear no matter what. Blued finishes and whatever Beretta uses wear pretty easy, but they won't rust (Beretta anyway). Glocks just take it with a grin, that is what I carry.

I have one from the '80's that was used as a police pistol for a decade, then I got it, shot the snot out of it, I've carried it, my wife has, on and on. The finish looks about the same as the G21 I got fifteen years ago but seldom use. Not now though, it was a test mule for Duracoat so now it looks like a new one.

Finally, cheap holsters will cost you more than a good one in the long run. Trust me here.

 

[mgmorden]

Holy thread resurrection Batman! This thing was just brought back from it's last post 8 years ago .

 

[1SOW]

Ishootstrt8 ,must have wanted to post a warning. Good reason to post.

An old U.M. hasn't left any finish damage to a basic Sig P 239.

All holsters cause finish damage/wear. Some more than others.
Wear is like wrinkles, They're ok if you EARN THEM.

 

[PT92]

I don't worry about 'character' wearing whatsoever.

However, I have dropped two of my handguns on concrete and dinged them both and it made me nauseous.

-Cheers

 

[22-rimfire]

I'm using an Uncle Mike's from my Ruger LCR-22 for the time being. Not the best choice, but it works. Will probably order something else in the next couple of months since I am not likely to carry this gun anyway. (But, I might.) The nylon holsters are easy on the finish overall. You have to assume that there will be some wear if you use a holster much. I don't carrry any of my "range guns" in a holster.

 

[bigfatdave]

So, BHPshooter ... now that it is almost 9 years later, did it wear your BHP?

 

[Hk Dan]

I like you Strykervet. That was perfect.

And yes, any holster will eventually cause wear on the high spots and corners. It's parkerizing, not diamond plate. Heck, it only adds character. Those of you who have used a holster for 3000 years with no holster wear--draw your gun more. You need to practice. If you're practicing drawing and reholstering, you'll see wear. If the gun sits in the holster 24/7 you will not.

 

[Drail]

The holster isn't what causes wear to a gun's finish. The grit and dust and dirt that collects inside the holster is what causes the wear. A perfectly clean new holster will cause no damage to a quality gun finish but in time will accumulate enought grit to start abrading it. Ever look at all of the grit on your dress shoes after one day outside on the street? That's the problem. Nylon fabric fibers will collect and hold a lot of grit and it's hard to get all of it out. Same for leather. Kydex would probably be great if you cleaned it very well every day. Who does that? Over time they will all turn into fine sandpaper. As others have said, a gun that spends much time in a holster is going to show show wear in time. IMO opinion if that is a serious problem then leave it in the safe and don't carry it. I don't worry about the finish on my carry guns any more. Life's too short.

 

[TennJed]

I know this is a zombie thread, but somebody must be following me. After much back and forth I ordered a uncle Mike's sidekick for my new blued Judge last night. I was worried about the nylon being too rough on the finish(only have leather holsters now). I am glad this thread came up.

Perfect timing

 

[Certaindeaf]

I think burlap is best for a Hi-Power.