Which holster for a 625 Mountain Gun?

[chaim]

I want a holster for my 4" 625 for two purposes. Generally, it is to be used as my woods gun when camping. Six .45LC could be nicely reassuring if I encountered dangerous animals in the woods (whether of the 4-legged or 2-legged variety). Once in a while, mainly in the winter when I wear more layers, it would also be used as a concealment holster.

My first choice is the El Paso Saddlery 1930 Austin. Beautiful holster, especially with the floral carving option I'd probably take. However, it is pretty expensive, especially with the floral carving ($198 or $218 depending upon which quality of carving I went with). It also would probably be better suited to woods carry and "just because" than concealed carry anyway (though that would be fine when in VA: they have open carry laws so if it wasn't totally concealed, that would be fine). Further, this is a nice holster. A gun with stock rubber grips just won't look right, I would have to get some nice wood or stag stocks to go along with it . Especially since I'd likely need two holsters for this gun if I went with this (a second more concealable holster for when I'm in PA and need to keep it under wraps), this is likely to have to wait.

More realistic holster options are:
-Simply Rugged Sourdough Pancake
-Mernickle PS6-DA
-Galco Summer Comfort (though I think "comfort" may be a bit optimistic with an IWB holster for a 4" N-frame)
-Milt Sparks Versa Max (though it is a bit more than I really want to pay)
-And several El Paso Saddlery Holsters: the Double Agent (probably carved), the C-Force IWB, the Allegiance, the Crosshair (probably carved), and the Street Combat.

So, who here conceals a big revolver? What holster do you use? Are there any IWB holsters that are actually comfortable with a big wheelgun? Any tips on concealing a big revolver?

Thanks

 

[SixgunFife]

Good morning and happy Thanksgiving!

This topic is near and dear to me. A few months ago I took delivery of a personal "grail gun," a five-inch barreled Model 27-2. And I knew I wanted to be able to carry this revolver, not just look at it fondly from time to time and put it away.

Options abound, pretty much all of them the custom route given the now less-commonly-manufactured five-inch barrel. Lobo Gunleather and Ryan Grizzle are among the folks I corresponded with, both of whom would no doubt craft a winner for this or any handgun. I wound up choosing Black Hills Leather out of TX. I picked their Improved Belt Slide variant and went with plain-Jane black, could have opted for other colors, carving, etc.

I am thrilled with this holster. It is one big piece o' leather - that's the first thing that struck me when it arrived, but of course it's not meant to hold a squirt-gun, either, ha-ha!

Best of all, it holds this very large revolver close and tight. I have made a point of wearing it for all-day stretches in both casual and slightly more "formal" events (weddings / church services under a sport coat). I'm no stranger to carrying big handguns but I just can't emphasize enough: comfort is not an issue with this gun / holster combination. This is THE best holster I've owned to-date, hands-down.

With a four-inch gun, you have even more options. There will be lots of good picks from the "stock" holster racks of Galco, Don Hume, etc., in addition to the custom-crafters. You mentioned Simply Rugged - I read LOTS of good comments on their products, especially on the pages of this forum.

I don't have experience with IWB carry, but I've read of folks using going either the Milt Sparks Summer Special route or using a Kramer "Thomas Perfectionist" holster with good results.

I'll include a few pics of my 27-2 and it's Black Hills holster. I hope my diatribe here helps a little - good luck on your search!

(I need to take some new pics - the 27 now wears a spectacular set of Kurac grips in Cocobolo! Pic of just the gun and new grips included haha!)

 

[chaim]

Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm checking out Black Hills Leather and they seem to have some nice holsters at nice prices. Best of all, the price for carving is quite reasonable. I'll definitely have to give them some real consideration.

 

[SixgunFife]

I forgot to mention that turnaround time for my holster was right at three weeks (ordered in late August 2012).

Just noticed this, too, FWIW:

 

[chaim]

Haha, that didn't take long...After looking over the website they were looking good. With your testimonial, 3 week delivery time for your holster, and the coupon code...I just bought this in the dark chestnut finish:
Black Hills Leather - Only the best custom gun leather western cowboy police holsters rigs

Tell them they owe you a commission

I may still give the Galco Summer Comfort IWB a try as well.

 

[SixgunFife]

Hahaha, awesome-looking holster, sir - heck, I love the commission idea, too!

Haha, that didn't take long...After looking over the website they were looking good. With your testimonial, 3 week delivery time for your holster, and the coupon code...I just bought this in the dark chestnut finish:
Black Hills Leather - Only the best custom gun leather western cowboy police holsters rigs

Tell them they owe you a commission

I may still give the Galco Summer Comfort IWB a try as well.

 

[chaim]

Hahaha, awesome-looking holster, sir - heck, I love the commission idea, too!

It does look like a nice carve job. I'm already anxious for it to get here . I went with the dark chestnut because looking at other makers who show more photos of their carved holsters, carved leather seems to look best in a darker red or brown color. The only thing, now I have to start looking for new grips (want to anyway). Having the big ugly rubber Hogues sticking out of such a nice holster just won't do. I'm going to have to step up and get some nice hardwood boot grips (maybe the Eagle Secret Service grips) or some nice bone grips (probably elk).

 

[SixgunFife]

The one thing I'd change about my holster order is the color, actually, I would prefer a dark brown myself. I went with black as everything else I have at the moment - speed loader pouch, speed strip pouch, etc. - is also black.

I guess all I can do is order another holster, darn it!

I hear you on the grips, too, and there are so many good options out there - happy hunting on those, too!

 

[Neumann]

All Mountain Guns have a common frame and cylinder size, "N", with a 4" tapered barrel and short lug.

I have a 29-8 MG, which I carry in an Alessi CQC pancake holster, or a Sparks VM2 IWB. It is much easier to carry a large revolver OWB, but a 4" is hard to conceal that way. Carried IWB, the barrel intrudes on your hip pocket, but otherwise is good to go. Belt tension on an IWB tends to bind on the cylinder. The steel band on a VM2 overcomes that tendency.

 

[breakingbad]

El Paso makes good holsters; I have purchased some items from them.

If you want to consider a "Tanker" rig, look at Old West Reproductions #130 Tanker. I chose it over El Paso's version. It's cheaper too. Rick Bachman, the leathersmith, carries his .45 that way in the #130 when he bushwacks, so he knows what he's talking about. He made me one for my 3" 629-6. I use that when I'm hiking/bushwacking if I have a backpack. It rides center chest. I also have a field holster with thumb break for in the city/car. I like the tanker bec it's quick to access when hiking/camping. And with a backpack and waist strap, you can't really carry it on your hip. But, it's in plain sight and if I'm on a trail and run into ppl, it's obvious. Around camp in daylight I usually wear in field holster. Around camp at night, the tanker is a good option to have.
If you go #2 in the woods, with the tanker it's not an issue. Especially at night with light/TP in hand - your gun is right there on your chest, not on the ground somewhere.
For CCW it's kinda big, but hey, why not? Check out 5 Shot Leather LLC and Garrity Gunleather. They both make excellent CC rigs that ride high to conceal that big Smith you carry. I'm having Garrity make a Hybrid for my Springfield Armory .45 Tactical. 5 Shot is making a Concealment Pancake for my Browning Hi-Power. Both with Thumb break. Not cheap and you have to wait, but they are no more costly than El Paso.
By the way, Garrity will do anything you want - truly custom.

 

[MaximumLawman]

I have a holster from haugen handgun leather for my 625 Mountain Gun. While it's lighter than the 25-5 I used to carry as a duty gun, it's still pretty darn big to carry concealed. Haugen's holster is fine and I'd recommend a thumb break if you're going to be carrying it around.