A NEW FAVORITE: GALCO COMBAT MASTER BELT HOLSTER

I like the quality of Galco leather products. To me, it reminds of the glory days of Bianchi, which remains one of my favorite holster brands. At any given time, you are as likely to find me wearing a Bianchi design from the 70's or 80's as you are to find me wearing a Galco or custom holster.

I have two of these holsters, both gotten for way below half price on ebay. The first one was for a Colt D frame, for the Colt Cobra/Detective Special/Agent 3rd generation snubnose revolver. It carries my Cobra excellently. It carries a bit higher than most belt holsters but the design is such that the leather is fairly thin, allowing for better concealment with no excess leather, and it actually supports the weapon very well and very firmly despite the relative thin leather and the lack of reinforcing leather. This holster is in brown and was and is mint.

After using the first Combat Master holster and liking it a whole bunch, I got another deal on one for my Glocks. It carries both the Glock 36 and the Glock 19 and like the revolver model, it carries the gun higher than most belt holsters but due to the nature of the full coverage of the holster, it holds it quite securely.

It is very easy to holster a weapon while wearing this holster, which is rare for a holster with no reinforcing lip. It wears easily and very comfortably and seems to breath pretty well. Some holsters carry heat buildup under them, I don't know why, but I've not had that issue with this holster, and trust me, in Texas I've worn this holster under the heat of the sun on many occasions.

Under the right polo shirt, I can conceal my Colt D frame snubnose with this holster, and that's rare for a belt holster not to protrude so much as to print under any kind of shirt. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't offer the concealment of a IWB holster like the High Noon Mr. Softy or the Bianchi Model 6 IWB, but for a belt holster it's pretty damn impressive how much this holster can hide my Glock 19 under a shirt that is normal sized and not huge.

Over the last 30 years of regular gun toting, I've found that there are a whole lot of poor holsters, many good holsters and just a few outstanding ones. The outstanding ones are the ones that you should keep close, like a good friend, for they won't let you down.

Galco quality is excellent. I've never seen a Galco product, and I've owned numerous Galco holsters going back nearly thirty years to my first Jackass Leather Products horizontal shoulder holster for my Colt Python. I don't care much for some of their items, but for the designs I do like, you can't do any better than Galco. Literally, I feel you are getting custom quality for a non-custom price, and that's always a great deal.

The only complaint I have with the Combat Master is that the belt loops could be smaller. At most, a holster like this designed for concealed carry should have 1 3/4" belt loops, not 2" or 2 1/2". When cinched, the holster is steady and doesn't move, but that's because I wear a reinforced 1 1/2" gunbelt with it and not a regular dress belt. There can be some movement in the belt slots with the heavier Glock. I'm seriously considering sewing part of the belt slot shut with a plug and heavy thread on at least the Glock Combat Master, because I do have non-gun belts that are sturdy enough to support this holster and a gun and that are not quite the ordeal to wear with leisure clothing that a gunbelt/dressbelt is.