Shoulder holster for .44

J

jagger67

Joined
May 26, 2009
Messages
191
My daughter lives in Alaska and does quite a bit of camping, canoeing, hiking, fishing and mountain climbing. This will be her 7th winter. This is how they count time in the 49th....in terms of winters. I bought her a S&W .44mag for Christmas to carry while on her escapades. Interested in thoughts about different shoulder rigs that are comfortable and functional.
 
The shoulder holster keeps the gun handy but out of the way ,protected from weather. You must adjust the holster for the shooter.Mine are old so I couldn't tell you what new ones are available.
 
I like the hunting rigs, with the gun closer to the lower chest/ stomach area. A flap is nice to keep the elements at bay.

I find under the arm shoulder holsters to get in the way too much.


I am not sure of any currently built ones as my current hiking rig is a simple flap holster I had made.
 
I sometimes carry my 629 in a a Bianci leather rig. VERY comfortable, but that said, a .44 is big in a shoulder rig.
 
Check out Cliff Fendly. He make a really neat bandolier rig.

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I like the kydex holsters that rely primarily on pressure for retention. They usually have a secondary strap and snap. When you are in an area where you feel you might need to access the revolver quickly, you can disengage the strap and still feel confident about retention.

I've done well over a dozen wilderness raft/canoe trips in AK and Northern Canada. I have reservations about leather holsters in wet conditions, despite the various treatments you can apply to them.

DancesWithKnives
 
I've yet to find a shoulder holster that was comfortable for me to wear all day. If I was in the market for another shoulder holster for a N-frame S&W I would check out Simply Rugged Chesty Puller. Simply Rugged offers good prices on quality leather products.

http://www.simplyrugged.com
 
Check out Galco Jackass shoulder rigs. Mine works real nice for my 8" smith n frame.
 
Dad, cool present!

No so sure that comfort and functional can really apply to a shoulder holster for a BIG N frame..would not be my first choice...a Kydex cross draw on a good belt would be...excellent retention in weather proof material and out of the way for free use of both arms.

I toted a 629 6" in quality leather cross draw while deer hunting for several years in hopes of an opportunity to use it to take a buck..never did, finally got tired of humping the extra weight and stopped...NO BEARS where I hunted though..
 
dewingrm said:
I've yet to find a shoulder holster that was comfortable for me to wear all day. If I was in the market for another shoulder holster for a N-frame S&W I would check out Simply Rugged Chesty Puller. Simply Rugged offers good prices on quality leather products.

http://www.simplyrugged.com
Click to expand...

That "Chesty Puller" is pretty close to what I use, but mine carries canted and more to the side.

I found such designs to be nice when I carried scoped TC Contenders in the field.
 
Well that Diamond D outfit is apparently located in AK so they must know how to treat leather for AK weather. However, in my experience, leather is not as good a choice as synthetic in moister parts of AK---especially if doing any whitewater.

DancesWithKnives
 
DWK2,
LawmanLeather has a model called the STU (cool rig BTW) and they claim it is somehow treated to resist the elements. If you read it over, tell me what you think about it.
 
I don't know. The advertising copy makes it sound pretty water resistant. And your daughter can always keep it treated with Sno Seal. People have made leather holsters work in AK. Heck, a friend of mine even took a blued revolver on a whitewater trip during rainy weather. It kept him busy cleaning off rust, oiling, etc. but the gun survived the experience. However, I prefer minimal maintenance equipment because on an AK wilderness trip you always seem to have plenty of things to keep you busy.

Lawman sounds like a well-established company with a good reputation. Hopefully they would take care of any problems if the STU did not hold up to your daughter's needs. If you go with leather, that sounds like a reasonable option.

DancesWithKnives
 
I ended up picking up a Galco open front rig that works with the jackass system and I really like it.

My gun is a 686 in 6" and I needed something vertical.

It's discontinued for some reason so you need to dig a bit to find one but it's worth it.
 
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