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Are there any holsters that dont scratch up your gun over a period of time?

I see guys with holsters on youtube but there guns are all scratched up and ugly? Who wants a gun with holster damage? how do you get around that?

Public Comments

1. Looks like a worthy inquiry. Those FOBUS and SERPA plastic holsters work well for retention, but are really tough on a gun's finish. Even leather, over time, will wear on a gun. By the way, NEVER store a blue steel gun in a leather holster. The tannins in the leather eat the blueing. You'll spend plenty, likely over a hundred bucks, but you can buy lined holsters. Typically the lining is suede leather, and again, they don't come cheap. See the link below for a typical holster. Most of my carry guns are either stainless steel or black duracoat of some kind, and I use real leather holsters, not plastic or that Uncle Mike's crap. I only own one revolver that is blue steel, and its never going to see a holster. Its an unfired S&W K-38 Combat Masterpiece, 1974 manufacture, new in box, never fired. Its the same gun I carried in the Air Force.
2. Ha, ha! You're cracking me up! Listen, my friend, if you saw my EDC pistol 5 years ago and you saw it again today, you'd be shocked! You're right - It's all scratched up. The edges of the muzzle have turned silver and there are very fine line scratches along the sides of the slide from the thousands of presentations I've made from my Blade-Tech Kydex holsters. Kydex is definitely harder on a pistol's finish than leather. The thing you have to realize is that Kydex (or most polymers) is a heck of a lot faster to draw from than any other holster material. When it comes to my carry piece I care about only one thing: It has to be 100% reliable, not even so much as a hiccup in a thousand rounds! After you've got a reliable pistol you need to have a reliable gunman behind it; and THAT takes practice. Now, I'm good with a pistol; but, pistol shooting skill is a, 'degrading physical ability'. The reason I remain skilled has more to do with the 15 or 20 minutes of dry fire practice that I do everyday as well as the 150 to 200 rounds I (try) to fire every week. When I'm at the top of my game I'll fire upwards of 1,000 rounds a month; and many months I'll do better than 1,500. In my experience there is NO WAY to handle a pistol well AND keep that pistol looking all spiffy and nice at the same time. THAT is impossible! Either you've got a gun that looks almost new, or you're carrying something that shows a lot of, 'silver' and wear. Whenever I see a well worn handgun I know that I'm looking at someone who is quite possibly: (1) a highly skilled gunman, (2) an older cop, or a (3) security guard - The latter two of which haven't cleaned the thing, anytime, in the last ten years. ;) What I've done in the past with a choice piece is to use the heck out of it and, then, send it off to be repolished and either plated or otherwise refinished. (If I'm still around in another 10 years that's what will be done with the Glock(s) I'm now presently using.) My answer? DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT! Many leather carry holsters can be slow. Nothing is faster than a clean presentation from an (ITB) Kydex rig. I own some beautiful leather holsters that anyone would be proud to show-off; but I don't kid myself. If speed is what I need, then, (scratchy) Kydex is my holster of choice.
3. it's the coating of the gun that's wearing away from use and use alone, bluing isn't indestructible, it'll eventually wear away like anything else. just watch what your doing and if the gun doesn't look good to you, bring it to a gunsmith and they'll reblue the whole thing for around $40-$50, just general maintenance like on a car where you need to get it painted if the paint wears away. but it takes a while for a firearm to lose it's bluing, so you don't need to do this for a few years anyways.
4. My open carry holster is the Blackhawk Tactical, and while yes, it does cause wear on my firearm, it's NOTHING like the wear I got from using a leather holster. The Blackhawk is molded specifically for my handgun, has a positive retention clip (so if I get into a scuffle, it's much more difficult for my assailant to take my gun from me), and it double clips into my waistband. It wears a little near the trigger guard and on the front of the slide, but that's easily remedied by rebluing it from time to time.
5. Only the cheapo unlined leather and Unlce Mikes holsters will scratch. When you buy a quality holster like Galco, Bicanchi, DeSantis - they do not scratch - and have options for some very nice linings. You get what you pay for.
6. After purchasing a quality retention holster specifically made for your model of gun, you can also line it with moleskin where you see that it is rubbing. Unfortunately, being tactically sound and keeping a gun pristine do NOT go hand in had...so those of us who truly love our guns have quite the conundrum. You need to draw quickly and often...so you may want to consider this when making your original decision and choose your finish accordingly. (Parkerized, stainless, etc.)
7. Glacierwolf was actually hatched from an egg from an ostriche. That is why he is so stupid.
8. There is no holster made that will not wear off the finish. You can rub the finish off with a piece of flannel if you apply enough elbow grease and a little accumulation of dirt.
9. If you carry a handgun, then you should understand that the gun will, over time, show some wear & tear on the finish. This is an acceptable consequence of having a handgun on your person in a time of emergency. If you like a particular gun and don't want the finish to wear-off from being holstered, then leave it in your gun safe and buy a second gun for use as a carry gun.