My First Homebrew Holster

Here's my very first attempt at making a CCW holster for My Ruger SR9c. Be gentle...my ego bruises easily. Just kidding...give honest feedback so the next one will be even better!!

I bought a leather jacket (dedicated for CCW, but can be worn when not CCWing too!) at our second hand store for $12.99...yes, TWELVE dollars and 99 cents!!
I made a pattern using a paper grocery bag and transferred it to my piece of leather. I cut out the leather and I hand stitched the holster using waxed thread. I placed the holster inside the jacket where I wanted it and canted it for easy withdrawal and used a leather punch to punch through the holster and jacket so the snaps would line up nicely. I put one half of the snap permanently on the jacket (male part) and the female part of the snap on the holster. All you have to do is snap the holster into the jacket and slip the SR9c into it. I made this mainly for when I'm driving. Much more comfortable than IWB or OWB and having the pistol poking me in the leg when seated.

I need to do some minor sanding of the leather yet, but it seems to be working good so far.

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That's pretty clever actually!

Even Durable Dot snaps don't hold all that well. It's much too easy to pull the snaps apart—to unsnap them.
There is a form of Durable Dot snap that can only be undone from one exact place on the snap. You place that exact location so that it's highly unlikely that the snap can come undone accidentally. Otherwise, I would not rely on snaps to retain a holster that contained a loaded gun.
I also suggest that it would be better to use more than two snaps, and that the bottom-most snap be placed much closer to the gun (to better support its weight).

You might find gun access easier, if you would cut the holster so that you can more easily slip your fingers around the grip.
To my eye, you have cut the holster too close, just below the pistol's trigger-guard.

My, how I do go on... (sorry—but you did ask)
I am not a fan of "holster clothing," jackets in particular.
It's all too easy to take your jacket off, put it down, and thoughtlessly or forgetfully walk away from it.
The next thing you'd hear is: "Hey! What's this?" That might be followed by: "BANG!"


(I don't mean to be too critical, but in my life previous to retirement, I was a leathersmith. I've made more than a few holsters.)

How long do you drive at one time ? is this holster set-up only for driving?
Are you able to bend over without the gun falling out of the holster?
Maybe add a belt clip to also use as an iwb. Or turn the holster into a pocket carry if you need to take the jacket off for some reason
Maybe add a retention strap to hold the gun more secure when bending over and of course more snaps like previously suggested. Are the holster snaps connected to only the jackets lining.?
Looks as if it would be a little floppy if the jacket was unzipped and you were not in your vehicle.
I'll buy holsters from top names molded and fit specific to my handguns to only put them in the used holster box. trial and error
keep at it, let me know how it works out for you, great idea for driving
thanks for sharing this. :idea:

Looks like a pretty good 'niche' holster - one that is not suitable for every circumstance, but good for specific situations. :smt023

Thanks everyone for the comments!

The snaps on the jacket go through the lining and through the leather of the jacket, so they seem quite secure. I also wondered about them being easy to accidentally unsnap and I still have a concern in that regard. So far, so good though. I haven't tried running with the setup yet, so that could still pose a problem. The gun is pretty snug and I can bend over without it falling out. I'm going to wet form it around the trigger guard and that will snug it up even more. The "next" one will probably have a retention strap just to be sure.

It is primarily designed for when I'm driving. I always have the OWB holster on my belt and switch to it before leaving the car if I'm going into a restaurant or something. If I'm just going in to pay for gas, it stays in the jacket.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by acepilot

...The "next" one will probably have a retention strap just to be sure...

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Professional opinion: "Ordinary citizen" holsters do not need safety straps, which mostly just slow your presentation ("draw") down. Instead, tightly wet-mold the leather to the gun, and depend upon close, snug fit to retain your pistol in its holster.