Shield 9mm, looking for help in choosing one. Leather or other?

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There's so many to choose from, but if you want something very, very inexpensive, (and this will sound funny) get a Glock Sport holster. They work great (I have one on my hip with a Shield 45 in it as we speak), and only about $12.
Alien Gear makes a good one as well. AG has a great warranty on their products. These are both plastic or kydex.

Welcome to the forum! Good Luck and good shooting.

Thanks for your service.

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SFC, US Army, Retired

I picked up the Safariland 578-183-411 for my Shield 45. So far so good. It comes with a paddle and a belt hook. Found it on fleabay for ~$26.

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Shield 45, SW40VE, 586, 1000

+1, I use one for my XDs .45. It fits well, it's comfortable and I like the retention aspect of it. I also use one for my M&P CORE 9mm in local competition and am very happy with it.

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Improvise, Adapt, Overcome

This guy makes almost all my leather holsters. Very reasonable and quick turn around. Nice guy, American made.

Jason Winnie Leathergoods

I got this retention holster for my first try at carrying the 9mm Shield. It worked very well, but decided on IWB instead.

Hands down, the Wright Leather Works "Predator" is the best I have ever seen. I have carried my Shield 9mm in this one for about 3 years, and the fit and retention are still spot on. Worn on a proper gun belt, it will hug your body. I wear mine on a Wrights Bull Hide or a Wilderness Instructor with 5 rows of switching.
Concealed Carry Leather Holsters - Wright Leather Works LLC

[IMG]S&W Shield 003cf3 by Jerry Jaynes, on Flickr[/IMG]

I've been looking for one too & as usual I can't find anything I like.

Ideally it would be an OWB with a thumb-snap & a closed muzzle, kind of like a Bianchi 5BHL for revolvers, in brown leather.

The closest I've seen are the Model 75 Venom & the Model 57 Remedy, although Jay's WLW Predator looks pretty good too.

Some of the Galco "Scabbard" ones look OK.

My Shield resides in a Galco Stinger. It's leather, which I like, and was only about $45 when I got it 3 or so years ago. It's a belt slide type. Hope this helps!

I've always favored leather and looking at my favorite / most used holsters....they all have the same name Bianchi. This was not on purpose , after 40 years of using guns and holsters these have risen to the top . The others fell apart and were tossed.
The one holster I thought was a Galcio is in fact a Bianchi...
Custom holsters are nice , I just can't afford them .
I have three or four Bianchi's , purchased in the 1970's and still in use.
Gary

I carry my Shield 9mm in a Wild Bill's Concealment - Fusion paddle holster. They are located in NC and have a website. Prior to retiring at work I carried a Glock 23 in one of their fusion holster. Very comfortable and easy on / easy off. Leather holster and synthetic paddle. You can adjust the cant of the holster. It rides high and offers excellent concealment under a jacket, sport coat, sweat shirt sweater, etc.

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Zlogonje Leather. Great pancake holster.

Thanks for the info on Wild Bill's. I just searched it and it appears they are only about a 25 minute drive from my house. I need to make a trip to check out the paddle holster.

Glad I could help. When I was working my job required concealed carry. Often I was in the office and needed to take off my pistol. I bought and tried several different national brands of paddle holsters. None were comfortable and easy to take off / on. Wild Bill's was at a local gun show and I tried theirs. Perfect for me. I carried a Glock 23 in one while working. When I retired the employees gifted me a Shield 9mm - I immediately ordered the Fusion paddle for it.

That's a nice looking holster.
If you don't mind me asking, how much of the holster hangs below the bottom of your belt?

About 1 1/2". What makes this holster nice is the small paddle. When travelling in car for some distance I can take it off with pistol in it and then put back on easily before getting out. Same with sitting at a desk, etc. Can carry pistol holstered in briefcase and then put on quickly when needed.

The holster also rides high similar to a pancake type holster.

I highly recommend.

I use Blade Tech holsters for EDC, they work well and are economical. Gun Holsters | Blade Tech | Holsters (I use race holsters in competition)

What Jaysq said about Wright Leather Works Predator holsters. I've been carrying concealed for almost 50 years and the Predator is the best holster I've encountered. Not cheap, and a long wait time. I have one for my Shield 9 and just ordered one for my SP101. Many holster makers use a J-frame pattern which is an almost-fit. But not quite. The Ruger is a bit larger than the S&W Model 36 so it goes in but barely covers the trigger itself. Whereas WLW has a separate set of dimensions for the Ruger.

I bought the DeSantis Mini Scabbard holster. Keeps the weapon in close and comfortable to wear.

MINI SCABBARD HOLSTERS, Keltec Holster, Concealed Holster, DeSantisHolster.com

VaTom, After looking at their website and seeing the nice price on this paddle holster I had to order one. Thank you for the pictures and the discription of it.

I carry OWB. I tried several different leather holsters - one was supposed to be for a Shield but it was such poor fit I tossed it. The other one I purchased off of flea bay and it works well - has good retention, etc. but I can't remember the maker.

I also sometimes carry my Smith Model 36 snub and for that, I got a Fobus holster. I liked it so much that I got one for my Shield and not that is the only holster I carry OWB. It slips on and off easily, has good retention and yet you can draw quickly. Everybody has their likes and dislikes but for me, I'm sold on the Fobus holsters. I even got one for my Combat Masterpiece as I sometimes carry that and it works great. They are lightweight yet sturdy, have good retention and quick to put on and take off when needed.

I have the same holster for my XDs 45 and I have to agree. It will be ordered for anything that gets the leather OWB treatment from me in the future.

I used to buy Fobus holsters for all of my pistols and I really liked them for a low price model. However, I bought one for my Bersa Thunder 380 that held it like a vice and I actually had to use a screwdriver and pliers to rip it apart in order to get the pistol out. Since then, I've been using the Blackhawk CQC Serpa (paddle and belt attachments) for the low price alternative. For more invisibility, I still prefer the leather pancake style.

Wright for .380 Bodyguard. It's mostly a pocket gun, but I like to carry in the Wright occasionally. I nearly always carry a Sig 290rs in a Wright.

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Open Top Pancake with Body Shield - J111 - Jason Winnie Leathergoods

Good stuff.

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Jorge

I usually carry my 45 Shield in a belly band, but I also bought an OWB holster... DeSantis DS Paddle Holster S&W M&P Shield 45 ACP Kydex Black. This is a nice Kydex type holster that has both a paddle type mount and a belt mount. The Shield fits perfectly and has a good snap in and slide out.I like the belt mount best. The paddle was very long for me (gouged my boney hip - LOL) so I took a Demel to it and shortened it about 1/2" and change the bottom contour some. Not bad now but I like the belt mount better.

After being used awhile, how is the retention? I noticed there isn't a retention adjustment like the DeSantis I have. But I really like the paddle style like the Wild Bill and how high it rides. I read their break in instructions, did you use the silicone or gun oil method to break it in?

Simply Rugged makes a great leather holster. I use the Cuda for my Springfield 45 compact. I like steel guns and leather holsters.

I have a DeSantis mini scabbard for my Shield 9mm and it works great.

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