5 Shot Leather = 5 Stars!

[N-frame Smith]

I finally got some of my holsters from John Ralston at 5 Shot Leather 5 Shot Leather, LLC and they're great. I got a black CP (Concealment Pancake) with crocodile trim and matching mag pouch, and a brown UL (Uncle Lou) IWB with shark trim, all for my S&W M&P 45. He's also making me another holster for my 3.5" S&W 29 but I won't see it for a couple of weeks. He has to alter his pattern to accomodate the odd barrel length, but he was very willing to work with me and charged nothing extra.

The holsters are absolute works of art, everything I could have expected. I had heard nothing but good things about John and now I see why his work is so highly praised. He's got a pretty good backlog but it was worth the wait. I'm sorry to say that he's not currently taking orders, but hopefully that will change soon.

Here's some pictures of the holsters:

Black CP with crocodile trim


SMP mag pouch with crocodile trim


Brown UL with shark trim and loops

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[TonyW]

Very nice!

[QKShooter]

He does real nice leather work.

[Sicilia Mike]

And the wait was.........?
Was it worth it in your opinion

[wagglebee]

John's work is beautiful!

[N-frame Smith]

And the wait was.........?
Was it worth it in your opinion

I placed the order the first week of February and they were worth the wait in my opinion. Of course, I already had a holster for my gun so it's not like I couldn't use it while I was waiting.

I'm still waiting on an order from Alex Nossar which I placed the first week of January, and an order I place with Lou Alessi the middle of last October. I'm used to waiting for quality leather and it doesn't bother me.

[Sicilia Mike]

Thanks for the reply. Knowing he isn't taking new orders I was thinking perhaps much longer. Beautiful leather. Let's hope John gets caught up on his orders. Many of us would love to be on that waiting list

[Bowie]

Those are awesome, congrats! You take them for a spin yet?

[N-frame Smith]

Those are awesome, congrats! You take them for a spin yet?

Thanks! Yeah, I've worn both already and they're excellent. Of course I expected the pancake to be completely comfortable and it was, and the IWB made carrying the big M&P a breeze.

I can't wait til I buy another gun so I can order more holsters from John!

[slimjim]

Beautiful holsters.

I notice the Uncle Lou is different than other typical iwb's given it has no "sweat shield"? Is that something you specifically requested?

[N-frame Smith]

Beautiful holsters.

I notice the Uncle Lou is different than other typical iwb's given it has no "sweat shield"? Is that something you specifically requested?

Yeah, I really don't like the sweat shield as they tend to interfere with my grip, so I order all of my holsters without them and if I pick up a used holster that has one I cut it off. I've never missed them but I can see where someone that's use to them would always want them.

As far as I know, John includes them on all his designs as a standard feature.

[REDTAIL]

beautiful work, nice holsters but I never had a thing for the fancy stuff if your going to carry concealed, then nobody is suppose to see it any way, plus a little expensive for my taste, no dissrespect to John but very nice work

[retsupt99]

Great looking holsters!

Cost? Waiting time?

[XD 45]

He does some nice work

[wagglebee]

Great looking holsters!

Cost? Waiting time?

I think John's wait time is around 8 months and his prices are right in line with Milt Sparks and Del Fatti.

And it's understandable because his holsters are beautiful!