Foam Holster for Air Guns

i need a holster / carry case for my pellet gun.

im not buying one so i guess im makin it.

Today im going to make a holster for my 1322 crosman pellet gun.

this method could be used to make a holster for any handgun (or tool for that matter)

it is made out of foam floor mat and fastened mostly with zip ties although you could use leather and sew it or use rivets.

total cost under 2 dollars(ahh now we see why hes doing it this way)

first we need a sheet of foam floor matting ,oddly enough the cheap dollar store variety works better for this as its thinner.

then some zip ties and a buckle (the wristband was too small for my wrist so its reuse time)

as for tools all we need are razor knife or scissors , hot glue gun and a hole punch.

i figured i might need a razor knife to cut this, turns out all i needed was scissors(still managed to cut myself so take care).

first thing was to find the center of the sheet and mark it. i discovered while doing this that i could make two complete holsters if i cut it lengthwise into 2 equal L shapes.

after cutting i laid the gun out where i wanted it to be and marked the outline in silver sharpie(nearly dry not good marks but good enuff)

Next step was to finalize the shape by cutting out the front so the handle is visible (i had to change the shape of this later no big deal as the foam cuts easy).

then to secure the shape i punched a hole near the top of the seam through both layers make sure they line up

now we taper the cut ends so it gets narrower towards the muzzle here is where you control how tight the holster is on the pistol a shallow taper wont grip as hard and will put less strain on the seam ,but since we are going to have a folding cover we dont need it to be too tight.

time to fold the cover over and mark where you want to cut it off. cut it off and shape ends to give it a pleasing shape.

now we want to add a fastener.

i chose the buckle from a paracord watchstrap that was too small for me and to big for my watch (lol)

i set it on the cover at the thickest part of the whole gun/foam sandwich with the second part inserted to make sure it would reach .

i then marked for the 3 holes the zip ties would go through(sorry you cant see the third hole but the end of the zip tie is covering it) i could have used 4 holes also. i inserted the zipties so the buckle part is on the inside trimmed the ends off and reinforced the holes with hot glue.

for the lower half i did roughly the same thing except i have the ziptie buckles on the outside so they cant hang up on the gun. also i had to use a screwdriver to punch the holes as the throat of my punch is too short.

now we return to that first set of holes we punched on the seam and put a zip tie in it this will hold everything together and help keep it aligned.

now every inch or so we want to make another set of holes through both layers .

starting from the first one i made 3 holes in a row and put the zips in and drew them closed but not to tightly just yet.

you will want to do that part with the gun in the holster so its marked and tied to shape .

continue the holes down to the end corner and check the gun slides in and out easily without hanging up.

now with the gun in tighten the zip ties and trim the ends off (heres where i cut myself on those huge scissors i should have used wirecutters).

now to pretty it up you can use a screwdriver to push/roll the ziptie buckles inside the holes so you don`t scratch yourself on them.

i added a plug to the bottom as this is as much a soft case as a holster but some styles leave it open so debris can fall out (or get in .. take your pick).

if you wanted to skip all the zip tying you could sew it up with net twine or paracord or just glue it(HINT wrap your gun in shrink wrap before glueing)

so here it is finished.

its done

its ugly

but it will keep the dirt outta my gun

i could have done a few things different (and will with the other bit of foam)

for example i could use the smooth side on the outside

or use all small zipties (neater)

or cut the taper straighter and at a steeper angle.

i could have used snap fasteners as a closure.

im sure ill think of other improvements and so will you.

feel free to add them in the comments

pictured are 2 prototypes i made before this one. they are made with the good foam mats and are 1/3 thicker than the material i used today. as a consequence i had to work harder to punch the holes ( my holepunch didnt fit) and it was harder to get the bends to hold .

both of the guns pictured here are 1322 crosmans the black one is new one and the brown handled one is 35 years old(sadly its worn out and unshootable now. was cheaper to replace than to fix)

thank you all and i hope this is useful to you.

PSi saw someone had just posted a instructable for making a leather holster for a webley airgun.

i bet mine was cheaper .go see

https://www.instructables.com/id/Making-a-Cheap-Lea...

lata lenny