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06-16-2018, 08:31 PM
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Hunter Holster
Like the KalamazooKid posted in another thread, "I think I have a problem." I just love leather holsters! Where his affinity was for smooth holsters, mine is for carved ones. As an example, it was after 2am a few days ago. I was halfway watching an episode of Mannix. Being hardly able to hold my eyes open, I started to get ready to go to sleep. I turned off the TV and grabbed my iPad to plug it in so it would charge overnight. I glanced at it one more time and it happened to be on eBay. Of course, I have to refresh it! I go to my summary to see what a holster, I was interested in, sold for earlier in the night.
You know how you get the notice on eBay "This item has sold, but here are some similar items that may be of interest to you." I am dead tired but I HAVE to look! What do I see, it's a Hunter holster. I don't have a Hunter holster! Wait, it is floral carved! It is also for a snub nosed gun! It has a very reasonable BIN! I am now under it's control! I MUST buy it!
So, needless to say, I now am the proud owner of my first Hunter holster. It is a model 3100 #29. The seller says it fits a S&W revolver with a 2" barrel. I have one of those!
I think I need to block eBay from all my computers.
Larry
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06-16-2018, 09:50 PM
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Were Hunter holsters actually carved - or were their embossed designs stamped?
I always had the impression that Hunter mass-produced inexpensive holsters.
If that is true, then actual hand carving seems like it would be too expensive.
But then again, I may be totally off base on their quality level...
Last edited by BC38; 06-16-2018 at 10:35 PM.
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06-16-2018, 10:01 PM
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For me, it's brown or tan basketweave holsters. I have a very nice Bianchi 5BHL for my 6 inch 686-4+. I actually got the holster before I got the gun. No pics yet, though.
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06-17-2018, 12:59 AM
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BC38,
You may be completely correct. I used the word carved very liberally. The quality, while not Heiser, Myres, or Lawrence is pretty good though. That is another point about my problem. It doesn't have to be the best to tempt me.
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Last edited by boykinlp; 06-17-2018 at 01:02 AM.
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06-17-2018, 01:22 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boykinlp
BC38,
You may be completely correct. I used the word carved very liberally. The quality, while not Heiser, Myres, or Lawrence is pretty good though. That is another point about my problem. It doesn't have to be the best to tempt me.
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I hear ya' man. I have a couple of Hunter holsters myself. They are good quality - good enough for me anyway.
None are carved, but I don't care much for floral carved
I prefer the plain ones myself - though I do like basketweave.
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06-17-2018, 02:13 AM
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I'm not an expert, but quite sure that Hunter did do actual carving,
not embossing. I believe that neat little holster you picked up is carved.
Appears to be for a J Frame. Will work well with a concealed hammer
model such as 642 because the retention strap goes over the trigger
guard instead of the hammer. Here, below is one of my carved Hunters.
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06-17-2018, 06:47 AM
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IMO, the Hunter Holster is one of the best for the $ out there, and has been for years. This little cross-draw has carried a variety of "J" frames for 20 years, and is still my favorite carry holster
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Last edited by OLDSTER; 08-08-2018 at 06:34 AM.
Reason: photo
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06-17-2018, 05:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crazyphil
I'm not an expert, but quite sure that Hunter did do actual carving,
not embossing. I believe that neat little holster you picked up is carved.
Appears to be for a J Frame. Will work well with a concealed hammer
model such as 642 because the retention strap goes over the trigger
guard instead of the hammer. Here, below is one of my carved Hunters.
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Phil is right -- again :-). Hunters were 'Mexican carved' as Heiser labelled it, not embossed with a plate. Hunter is one of the Denver makers: Heiser, Hunter, Colorado Saddlery, Fred Mueller, A.H. Hardy. Off the top of my head I can only think of Brauer as using embossing plates (and we used them at Bianchi to do the floral rifle slings, quite hard to tell from the real thing because the plate itself was created by heavily plating a hand-carved sling the way baby shoes are. Preserved the hand cuts and every flaw, too).
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06-17-2018, 06:28 PM
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This is all cool info to know.
Sounds like Hunters are a little higher quality than what I had always believed. I thought they were kind of the low end of leather holsters, but sounds like I my impression was wrong. Good to know - makes me value the ones I have a little more.
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06-17-2018, 09:22 PM
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Hunter Holster
I have been a fan of Hunter Holsters since seeing one in a gun magazine in the late 1950s but never had one. I decided to remedy that and went on a search. The search was complicated by the fact that I am a sinister Lefty. Finally found what I was looking for, a J Frame S&W left handed Hunter. I is "old school" for sure and I have yet to achieve my standard of a one second draw and hit. But, for stomping around my pasture it is just the ticket for my S&W M-34. Of course, it also works to carry my M-642 and M-60.
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06-17-2018, 09:52 PM
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Sweet little holsters guys!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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06-18-2018, 12:20 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crazyphil
I'm not an expert, but quite sure that Hunter did do actual carving,
not embossing. I believe that neat little holster you picked up is carved.
Appears to be for a J Frame. Will work well with a concealed hammer
model such as 642 because the retention strap goes over the trigger
guard instead of the hammer.
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Looks pretty good to me. I think the M&P would work too.
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Last edited by boykinlp; 06-18-2018 at 12:21 AM.
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06-18-2018, 12:55 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BC38
This is all cool info to know.
Sounds like Hunters are a little higher quality than what I had always believed. I thought they were kind of the low end of leather holsters, but sounds like I my impression was wrong. Good to know - makes me value the ones I have a little more.
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That's such a great point. I was the same until I realised that the 'Hunter holster' is not a style unique to that company; it's a style that was popularised by the likes of Heiser. Both use(d) a full-grain leather of an appropriate thickness and temper. Here's a Heiser of that style that is eminently collectible (the image and the holster are bmcgilvray's) and the mark suggests it is over 100 years old -- so, this is amongst the earliest designs, long before there was a Hunter Co. (founded '52):
bmcgilvray (1).jpg
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06-18-2018, 02:45 AM
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Here are some examples of embossing, carving, and tooling, left to right:
Neffleather embossed.
Myres carved.
HC (Henry Cassady) tooled.
Red mentioned embossing by Brauer Bros. 2nd photo from left
is an old embossed Brauer Bros. with my model 19. It has another
owner now, but I still have the photo.
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06-18-2018, 12:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crazyphil
Here are some examples of embossing, carving, and tooling, left to right:
Neffleather embossed.
Myres carved.
HC (Henry Cassady) tooled.
Red mentioned embossing by Brauer Bros. 2nd photo from left
is an old embossed Brauer Bros. with my model 19. It has another
owner now, but I still have the photo.
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Nice examples Phil.
As one can see in the photo, a quality embossed holster is almost indistinguishable from a carved one - at least from just a little distance. Of course up close you can tell the difference since the edges of the patterns are sharper when they are carved.
I believe that some mass-produced leather goods are actually "semi-carved" as well aren't they? By that I mean that the overall design is applied with an embossing plate, then some detail carving is done to the design to enhance it.
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06-18-2018, 03:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BC38
Nice examples Phil.
As one can see in the photo, a quality embossed holster is almost indistinguishable from a carved one - at least from just a little distance. Of course up close you can tell the difference since the edges of the patterns are sharper when they are carved.
I believe that some mass-produced leather goods are actually "semi-carved" as well aren't they? By that I mean that the overall design is applied with an embossing plate, then some detail carving is done to the design to enhance it.
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That is probably true. Anything the could think of to make the
process faster and less costly.
That particular embossed holster is probably one of the best
examples of embossing I have ever seen.
It seems that 99% of carving follows the same general pattern.
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07-03-2018, 08:54 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by galena
I have been a fan of Hunter Holsters since seeing one in a gun magazine in the late 1950s but never had one. I decided to remedy that and went on a search. The search was complicated by the fact that I am a sinister Lefty. Finally found what I was looking for, a J Frame S&W left handed Hunter. I is "old school" for sure and I have yet to achieve my standard of a one second draw and hit. But, for stomping around my pasture it is just the ticket for my S&W M-34. Of course, it also works to carry my M-642 and M-60.
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I have noticed that Tex Shoemaker made a lot of left handed
holsters. There is usually a pretty good assortment on the big
auction site. And his holsters were good quality in my opinion.
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07-03-2018, 09:40 AM
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Absent Comrade
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I have a Hunter (plain) that came with a model 14, but I don't use it. I need a nice lined holster for my 4" 686. Maybe some day.
Have a blessed day,
Leon
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07-10-2018, 06:57 PM
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GOT TO LOVE OLD HUNTERS
I just purchased one from rj. It fits my 640 Pro great. Now I'm looking for one that fits my new Colt GCNM.
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07-10-2018, 08:44 PM
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When I bought this Old Model Ruger Single Six with 9.5" barrel I knew that finding an appropriate holster may be difficult. But I guess I got lucky and this one appeared on ebay a very short time later at a very reasonable price. It serves its purpose quite well I think.
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07-10-2018, 10:51 PM
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Great holsters, sdb and Walter. I think you got a nice quality vintage holster for a reasonable price. Good find.
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07-11-2018, 08:44 PM
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Interesting Hunter holster trivia: I was watching an episode of the 1st season of The Man from UNCLE on DVD and in one scene I got a good close up of the black shoulder holster rig that David McCallum was wearing. You could clearing see the Hunter powder horn logo stamped onto the rig.
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07-11-2018, 10:09 PM
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With Hunter’s neutral cant, they can be carried butt- forward. Convenient with a long barrel.
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07-11-2018, 10:19 PM
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Hunter did/does? make some nice ones.
I forget the number on the back of this one.
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08-08-2018, 12:44 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OLDSTER
IMO, the Hunter Holster is one of the best for the $ out there, and has been for years. This little cross-draw has carried a variety of "J" frames for 30 years, and is still my favorite carry holster
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I love that holster. It looks like the 1100. Is it a number 6 or 7 ? I just purchased the S&W Model 637 and I'm looking for one just like that...
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08-08-2018, 02:09 AM
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I almost bought an old Hunter holster last year in at a roadside flea market in North Carolina while I was driving back home from Kentucky. It was a tan leather with brass snaps. Think it would have fit a 4" K Frame. I think the guy wanted twenty bucks. Should have bought it but I passed.
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08-08-2018, 10:36 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OLDSTER
IMO, the Hunter Holster is one of the best for the $ out there, and has been for years. This little cross-draw has carried a variety of "J" frames for 20 years, and is still my favorite carry holster
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This photo jogged my (failing) memory.
I have a neutral-cant holster for a 3" j-frame that is very similar to your cross-draw.
Came with the belt and 30 rounds of nickle-cased 130gr LRN ammo. I paid $35 OTD for the whole rig IIRC. It is Hunter brand as you can see from the snaps.
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08-23-2018, 03:43 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OLDSTER
IMO, the Hunter Holster is one of the best for the $ out there, and has been for years. This little cross-draw has carried a variety of "J" frames for 20 years, and is still my favorite carry holster
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Is your holster canted for cross draw, or is it neutral cant for
strong side or cross draw? Just wondering if it could be worn
on strong side hip.
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08-23-2018, 06:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crazyphil
Is your holster canted for cross draw, or is it neutral cant for
strong side or cross draw? Just wondering if it could be worn
on strong side hip.
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crazyphil: It is actually a "neutral cant". I always wear cross draw, so my holsters are rear cant, neutral cant, or "designed" cross draw. My description may have been misleading .
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08-23-2018, 02:28 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OLDSTER
crazyphil: It is actually a "neutral cant". I always wear cross draw, so my holsters are rear cant, neutral cant, or "designed" cross draw. My description may have been misleading .
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I like the looks of your Hunter so much that I found one just
like it and bought it. I will post a photo of it when it comes.
It says 1100 and size 29 on the back. 29 is size for 2" s&w
J frames. (according to Hunter size chart)
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08-24-2018, 04:45 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jim.c
I love that holster. It looks like the 1100. Is it a number 6 or 7 ? I just purchased the S&W Model 637 and I'm looking for one just like that...
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The model number is 1100K 7
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