El Paso Saddlery- Gone Down the Tubes?

[JayFramer]

Gang I was interested in an El Paso Saddlery holster for my Ruger Blackhawk but apparantly for some reason they are getting a huge amount of TERRIBLE reviews starting from about a year or two ago. The Google and Yelp scores are quite low.

Anyone dealt withe EPS in the past year or less? Hoping they haven't gone down the tubes.

 

[UncleEd]

El Paso is notorious for long waits and
a lack of feedback to its customers.

It's been that way for years.

I have a few of their holsters and like
them very much but if I was in the
market for new leather, I'd go elsewhere.

A great past reputation can only go so far.

For Western crafters, plenty of other makers
are in the business, some catering to SASS,
Single Action Shooting Society (Cowboy Action
Shooting).

 

[6thtexas]

I have bought two holsters from them in the last 12 months and have no complaints, other than their website needs some tuning. I usually try to call if I can when I order a holster from them, but don't always get someone on the first call.

 

[usmc2427765]

Patience is a virtue when dealing with them and I have never been disappointed with the product. Instant gratification is not an option...milenials beware!!

 

[prairieviper]

Like the OP, I have also been considering a nice, leather holster purchase but have eliminated El Paso Saddlery as a choice due to reviews. I really like what I see in their work and folks seemed pleased with the quality but the customer service appears to be lacking. There are just too many other options to risk having a hassle.

 

[Bullet Bob]

Love EPS. I'm a patient type, tend to order and forget about it until the product arrives. No hand holding required.

 

[Glashaus]

You do need a good amount of patience if you order from El Paso, but the wait is well worth it. I wanted a belt and holster for my 6 1/2” 2nd Model HE in .44 Special to wear around the hunt lease. I decided to go with a 1917 holster made for a 6 1/2” barrel and a gun belt from El Paso. It took a few emails and about seven months to get, but it is very nice. This was back in 2016.

 

[Bakebfr480]

All of my El Paso Saddlery holsters are flawless! I'm a lefty with some out of print handguns/pistols and I never wait over 6 weeks. I've been a customer for over 10 years now. I used to swear by Bianchi holsters but they are now Mexican made and the quality has dropped off IMHO!

 

[SAFireman]

Jay,

I have been to their shop in El Paso. It is a small family operation and they are producing some good quality rigs. They may take longer to answer the phone/emails, but they are making you a solid product with generations of knowledge at their disposal. They bought out S.D. Myres and all of his tooling, patterns, ect.

Good luck.

 

[Joe Kent]

I too have had great luck with El Paso and will continue to buy from them.

 

[kthom]

I haven't ordered anything from EPS in a good long while. Last couple of holsters I ordered took some time to receive but came in and the quality was what I expected. Just last night, I ordered a couple of single OWB mag carriers to wear on my belts. Just really needed one, but the shipping cost was only a couple dollars more for two, so I ordered two. These are leather products that have a slip tension fit for the mag. I have an older EPS mag carrier that is similar but made more in the style of a knife holder which I like a lot, but it hangs more below the belt and as such can peek out from underneath my shirt tail during summer months.

It appeared that these items were in stock. At least there was no backorder indicated when I placed the order. We will see how long it takes me to get them, and I will also report on the quality and utility of these mag carriers. I have been ordering and using EPS products for nearly 50 years and have always found them to work well and last well. I'm used to the longer delivery times so I'm expecting that possibilty. I'll report back when I get the package.

 

[JayFramer]

Thanks, gang. Well I'm currently in Central America with the military so I've got time. Won't be back in the US for over a month. Went to order one of their gun belts and found out I need a tape measure to measure my waist to get the center hole measurement. DOH! Where the heck am I going to get a tape measure way out here in the jungle??

I'm wanting one of their Tom Threeperson's holsters for my Ruger Blackhawk and a Texas belt with 24 loops for them fat .45 Colt torpedoes. Now do I want the border stamping on their? Also on the belt? Guys if I'm anything, I'm indecisive!!

Been reading a lot from Keith and Skeeter, got that single action and good leather fever!!

 

[Glashaus]

Jay, that is an El Paso Texas belt in my post #7 with my 2nd Models, it is a great belt!

 

[Horn]

Leather Holster? Go Leather Artist

Okay, I've read all of these and I'm sure there's some really nice guys making nice leather holsters. For my money and I've put my money here. I mean this guys an artist with leather and all hand
crafted__even the stitching! He's really not expensive considering this is a one person operation. Artists are funny that way. Just
investigate this guy. Check out his web site. check out all the images. And___if you're attractive to his Diamondback rattle snake skin holsters__he catches his own here in Arizona!
This will become your to to leather stuff.
thorshammercustomleather.com
I use his Yaqui holster. But I used the original Jeff Cooper Yaqui
when in plain clothes before most of you were born. Cooper copied it from one of the peon militia he was with. Actually, I think he (surely paid him) got it from that peon.
Stay safe
Poli Viejo

 

[Kiwi cop]

Why bother reading the reviews?

Most reviews posted online tend to be negative in some way. The OP mentioned that in this case a number commented on the wait time.

In my experience these reviews are written by those who:

- Are after some sort of discount if not an actual freebie, and don't get it,

- Will complain about the smallest thing and be obsessive in documenting the complaint when a few seconds action on their part will fix it,

- Are put up by business competitors or simply online trolls who think it's funny to ruin someones business.

Thankfully the OP decided ot ask those who actually use EPS products for their experiences to help him make a decision.

Quality that'll last longer than my dog's attention span when there is someone new outside to meet takes time. Given EPS's long production history and the fact they are still a family concern the wait may not be a negative aspect at all.

 

[JayFramer]

Jay, that is an El Paso Texas belt in my post #7 with my 2nd Models, it is a great belt!

Looks great! I'm torn between having the belt border stamped or not. Yours appears to be plain and looks fantastic. I think I'll have the holster border stamped but am not sure if it'll look wrong with the belt not so stamped?

 

[shell627]

I have a couple of El Paso carved holsters.A belt and mag pouch and full moon clip pouch and they were worth the wait.But the best carved carved belt and holster I have owned or seen comes from our own Keith44spl.!!!

 

[Glashaus]

Looks great! I'm torn between having the belt border stamped or not. Yours appears to be plain and looks fantastic. I think I'll have the holster border stamped but am not sure if it'll look wrong with the belt not so stamped?

Yes, the belt is plain, and is very nice and very well made. I had them make the holster lined and it is just superb. If I could do it over again I would get the holster embossed with the Texas Star, I did not see that option when I ordered it, I noticed that they had that along with the US and USN, USMC later. I like the plain look, but that is just me. I thought that it would look good with the 1917 holster.

 

[cowboy4evr]

Contact " Cochise Leather Works " in SE Az . They have an easy website and quality products . He's a one man shop so don't expect him to spend 1/2 hr talking about what you want . Time is money to him . He usually has about a 2month backlog of orders . Regards, Paul

 

[rednichols]

Given EPS's long production history and the fact they are still a family concern the wait may not be a negative aspect at all.

A Kiwi cop could be my neighbour (I'm in Oz).

So long as no one thinks EPS has actually been operating since 1889, but instead since 1978, they'll be right . One of the sons of the '78 founder is still involved but from the company documents for R.E.M. Industries (El Paso Saddlery is a 'dba'), it appears to be a junior role.