Shape

• The ideal concealed carry holster is not shaped like a holster at all. Instead, it is shaped like the handgun it conceals.
  
  The common designs (Sam Brown, belt and paddle holsters) all add bulk. Even a small backup gun like a .22 is bulky in such a holster.
  
  Your objective is to produce a holster that adds very little profile to the gun---a hard case that fits the handgun perfectly.
  
  A way to do so is to wrap your handgun in a sandwich bag to protect it; then to soak a piece of leather in 3 parts isopropyl alcohol to 1 part ordinary water. Use C-clamps, spring clamps or whatever you can find to wrap the leather around the handgun in an envelope (folding the leather along the top of the gun). Form the leather to the gun while the alcohol and water dry. You should have a "shell" that forms over the handgun and two flaps of excess leather. Measure 1/2 inch from the gun--for example, from the trigger guard--along the underside of the barrel, and cut off the leather. Stitch along the leather, 1/4 inch away from the hardware, with heavy-duty thread or dental floss.
  
  

Leather

• Most commercially available holsters (for example, from Biachi or Galco) are manufactured from heavy-duty cowhide of 8- to 10-oz. weight or from synthetic materials.
  
  Purchase instead a piece of cowhide in 4- to 6-oz. weight. You will find that a cowhide "shoulder" or "bend" is more than enough to make a holster (enough to make two or more, but a shoulder or bend is the smallest available size).
  
  A shoulder or bend is a square piece of leather, cut from a cowhide. It is not the most high-end, high-quality part of the hide, but it is perfectly sufficient for a concealed holster.
  
  

Considerations

• The leather will be very smooth and slick, lacking any resistance. So when you attempt to draw the handgun, you will likely draw the holster along with it.
  
  Cut two 1-inch-wide by 2-inch-long pieces of rubber shelf liner, and attach them to both sides of the holster with craft glue. This will provide enough resistance to keep the holster in your pocket or belt line.
  
  A concealed carry holster requires no retaining strap or snap; likely, you wish to draw your handgun quickly.
  
  You must, of course, have a permit to carry a concealed handgun, and laws vary by state. The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) is a good up-to-date reference of handgun laws.