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Howdy guys,
I'm looking to go to the gun show tomorrow in Houston, and want to take my XDS along to see how certain holsters fit it. My question is, should I take it? If so, how must I carry it, and will there be a zip tie through it, keeping it impracticable to testing a holster? If not, will there be blue guns there to use?

thanks!

If they even allow concealed carry, which most do not from my experience, carry a different gun if you have one. Then bring your XDS along, empty to test holsters. But yes it will have to be peace tied which might make it impossible to test fit. Your other option would be to find a dealer that has one and see if they'll let you test fit with theirs.

You will have to unload your gun and the officers working the show will put a zip tie through the gun to lock it. Not going to make trying holsters easy.

On a side note, I carry a XDS and use the Whitehat MaxTuck IWB holster and really like it. The horsehide is comfortable and suitable for our humid climate. Makes the XDS just disappear under my clothing really a great holster. I have additional kydex shells that I can switch out for my other handguns. A really nice design.

Don't waste your time and money on a show that posts 30.06 signs.

XDSConcealer wrote:unload your gun

Just a follow up.
You need to walk in the door WITH IT UNLOADED.
Do not walk in and think you can unload at that time.

Oh, and their normally isn't that many good concealed carry holsters at the gun shows regrettably, so you may end up just having a nice walk around the GRB.

I appreciate all of the good info you guys.

Teamless is correct... Not many cc holsters at the show.

As for etiquette, here's what I did at the Will Rogers show two weeks ago.

1. Unload carry gun in the car. Leave all ammo in the car. (Bring empty magazine if you like, but keep it in your pocket).
2. Re-conceal weapon in normal holster.

Upon entering the show, there's usually a police representative checking and zip-tieing weapons.
3. I approached the check station and politely told the officer "I have an UNLOADED carry gun that is concealed, I would like to unconceal it so you can check it and zip-tie it.
4. Officer said "ok" (didn't seem to care.... During the draw I made a small joke that I didn't want to leave the gun in the car in the parking lot, and I asked before unholstering because I didn't want to surprise him. He said "good idea, thanks")
5. I Unconcealed the weapon, pointed it in a (relatively) safe direction (ground), locked back the slide and handed the weapon to the officer, still pointed downward.
6. Officer checked the weapon, asked me if I was carrying any ammo or magazines (no), he zip-tied it and handed it back to me.
7. I put the weapon back in cc holster.
(the zip tie was rather small. It was pretty easy to reholster the weapon with the slide slightly open. YMMV
8. During the show, I wanted to test fit my gun into a holster. I asked the vendor if it would be ok, he said "sure". I calmly unholstered, making sure the zip-tie was easily visible to the vendor, tried the fit and returned the gun to my holster.
9. Nobody batted an eyelash. No shots were fired.

There's usually not a great deal of holsters or belts at the Houston-area gun shows. If that's your only reason for going, save the $8 plus parking (unless you go on Sundays b/c parking downtown is free then) & look online. XDS is pretty common, so you should be able to find exactly what you're looking for & at a reasonable price. It used to be that you could find really good deals at the shows. Not any more. They still are a great place to put your hands on a lot of different guns, though.

TexasCajun wrote:There's usually not a great deal of holsters or belts at the Houston-area gun shows. If that's your only reason for going, save the $8 plus parking (unless you go on Sundays b/c parking downtown is free then) & look online. XDS is pretty common, so you should be able to find exactly what you're looking for & at a reasonable price. It used to be that you could find really good deals at the shows. Not any more. They still are a great place to put your hands on a lot of different guns, though.

Yeah, I don't remember seeing many holsters in July, but I figured I'd make another round and possibly consider taking my gun to try them out. I'll prolly be leaving my gun behind.

recaffeination wrote:Don't waste your time and money on a show that posts 30.06 signs.

I haven't seen many holsters at gun shows in years.
Used to be some Uncle Mikes types, I had a drawer full of those I donated to empty holster protests because that's all they are really really good for imho,

Comp Tac is making holsters for the XDS now...

A couple of times I have found the holster I want to try and taken it to another table with the gun that I have to try it out. The holster person might want something to hold until you return their holster. So far they've been happy with my DL. They just slip it into their pocket and give it back when I give them their holster back.

Gun shows are a waste of time unless your looking to by used guns or reloaded ammo. I went to http://www.whitehatholsters.com/ they make excellent products and they will make just about anything you can come up with IWB or OWB. They have better prices than Crossbreed or similar products they still come with a lifetime warranty and a 2 week trial period. Best of all they are not just make in America they are made in the great state of Texas
this is mine and you can click on the image for a better look.

As long as they post 30.06 style signs, valid or not, I think proper gun show etiquette is to shop online.