I hope you've all enjoyed your Labor Day weekend! I'm having a hard time finding a suitable IWB holster option for my 3" Model 19 Carry Comp. I've been able to find holsters in 2" and 4" barrel lengths, but 3" barrel lengths seem to be a bit of an oddity... any ideas where to find these? Thanks for your help!

Milt Sparks makes one the best IWB holsters, the Summer Special.
Available for 3 inch Ks.

__________________
LEX ET ORDO

I've carried a 3" 65 in a Milt Sparks Summer Special II, and it worked very well for me. They're currently quoting 14-20 weeks.

I like Kramer Leather holsters, I've been using their IWB#3 for my Beretta PX4 Compact. I just checked their site, and they offer their IWB#2 for the 3" 65. They're currently quoting 7-9 weeks, which is accurate based on the last holster I ordered towards the end of May and received in early August.

TT Gunleather makes some excellent holsters. I have their reinforced Mike's Special IWB holster for my PX4. It rides a little lower than I'd like, but the quality is great. I checked their gun availability list and they include the 3" K-frame. You might want to check their website and see if they have anything that might interest you. They have the shortest turnaround time of the three I've mentioned, currently quoting only 2 weeks. The turnaround time for my holster, purchased last fall, was about 3 weeks.

With all of these options, I'd say, based on my experience, that they're worth the wait and price.

ETA: There's nothing wrong with using a holster for a 4" gun to carry a 3" gun, unless the extra length is a problem for you when carrying IWB (it can be an issue for some people because of body shape/type). I carried a 2" 64 in that 3" SSII holster. I'm currently carrying my PX4 Compact in a holster for a full-size PX4. Just something to think about if you can't find a 3" holster you like or that fits your budget.

The Bianchi #3S is also an option. They still make a version for 2 1/2" and 3" K frames.

As Continental Op said there is nothing wrong with the IWB holster being
an inch longer than the gun barrel. Here, below, is my S&W 642-1 with
a 2" barrel in a Baker Pancake made for a 3" J Frame. Not IWB, but,
not only is nothing wrong, it is also a positive. As Red Nichols pointed
out to me, with the cylinder (and the weight) above the belt the gun
would have a tendency to tip-outward. The extra inch at the muzzle
end helps to prevent such tipping.

Attached Images

SAM_1355.jpg (78.3 KB, 50 views)

__________________
In Omnia Paratus

Thank you everyone for your recommendations. I have done some research and settled on one of the holsters you recommended. Take care, and thanks again!

Ken Null’s work, highly recommended


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I use the Guardian holster from Next Holster.
https://www.nextholster.com/webdocs/Items/Details1.cfm

The holster is flat when it arrives, but molds to your hip in a day or two. It's a very comfortable holster that allows comfortable all day carry with a 3" 686+.

Another vote for the Milt Sparks Versa Max 2.

TT Gunleather IWB with snap loops

This one puzzles me, as the concept is stuck well in the past: the metal inside the mouth has no function other than to adjust the mouth opening; that is, the lamination of the second layer, then stitching it, is what keeps the mouth open, not the metal (that comes from the old leatherslaps of the '50s and '60s). So -- for an IWB wouldn't one want one's holster to be minimum bulk -- and so no metal in the holster on top of all the metal in the cylinder? It's stylish and the construction details are very good, too; but performance first, looks second (much what I had to say about the incredible bulk of the Alien IWB in another, concurrent thread).

__________________
The Holstorian

I agree the metal strip adds unnecessary width to the holster and that's a concern with a 686.

However, the Guardian holster I bought from Next Holster forced me to re-consider one of my long held beliefs. In the past I felt a double thickness mouth was essential for an IWB holster and a very nice thing to have on an OWB holster.

That's missing on the Guardian, but the the quality and thickness of the leather combined with the way the mouth is shaped (square front) does just as good a job of holding it open as does double thickness leather construction sandwiching a polymer insert.

The difference in thickness on the waist line is 1.800" versus 1.965", and while not a lot, that .165" difference is still noticeable.

Below is a Wild Bill Concealment's "Covert Carry" holster along side the Next Holster "Guardian". Interestingly the owner of Next Holster used to work for Wild Bill Concealment and left due to what he described as creative differences.

I switched because after years of business and a number of holsters, I got stiffed on a custom order for a 3" 686 holster (the one below is for a Model 66 and is slightly snug for the 686. I think it was an honest error on their part, but given the volume of business I'd done with them it was also a case where it should have been a case of "the customer is always right".

I was motivated enough to break one of my own rules about holster mouths and give it a try. After more than a year carrying
both 2 1/2" and 3" 686s in it, I am very impressed.





The WBC Covert Carry holster uses an offset clip to keep the thickness down, but the two clips and wider surface area of the Guardian make it much more comfortable. The Covert Carry is "noticeable but not uncomfortable" in all day carry, but the Guardian is "you don't even know its there" most of the time when used with a good quality carry belt.

The sole advantage of the Covert Carry is that it is a tuckable design.