Thanks to open carry, holster sales soar at Stock Show

Roger Pierce’s business is booming, and not by coincidence.

“I have seen at least a 40 percent increase in holster sales here at the Stock Show over this time last year,” said Pierce, the owner of DeSoto-based Huckleberry Gun Leather, who is selling his firearm-related wares in a busy booth in the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall. “I had to go back to my shop and bring more stock up because we sold all we had in the first week.”

The reason is the recent legalization of open carry in Texas, which allows concealed handgun licensees to display their pistols in public.

“A lot of people are buying. But you see that there are not a lot carrying,” said Pierce, who is in his fifth year of marketing at the Stock Show. “I guess they’re buying in case they want to carry.”

The Stock Show allows patrons to open carry in certain areas and signs are posted where they are not allowed, such as the livestock barns when youth shows are being held.

Pierce said one type of holster is selling particularly well.

“Shoulder holsters have increased. That’s part of the new law. They can carry in those now,” he said.

But, even though Pierce is benefiting from the change in the law, he is not enthusiastic about the concept.

“There’s a controversy about whether it is smarter to keep it covered up, or should I show all my cards and have my gun sitting on my hip, which kind of makes you a target if somebody comes in to do something,” Pierce said. “Go with this scenario: You’re in the bank and you’re waiting in line and you’ve got your gun on your hip. Two guys come in with guns. Then you might be the first one to go because you are the threat. If you have a gun on you, you are the threat. So I’m keeping mine concealed.”

Some of his customers also seem to have a degree of ambivalence about the idea of open carry.

“I’m from Oklahoma, and we have open carry up there too,” said Wendell Custer of Cushing, who bought only a belt at Pierce’s booth. “I will probably come back and look at their holsters, because I need a holster for the gun I carry in my truck.”

But Custer said he had no immediate plans to carry his weapon openly.

“I’m neutral. I’m not opposed to open carry. It just doesn’t make any difference to me,” he said.

In addition to holsters, Pierce offers a number of other gun-related leather items, including belts designed to deal with the weight of a gun.

“See the thickness of that,” he said, holding up one of his belts. “These belts are made extra heavy so your gun doesn’t droop. They only fit in bluejeans. They don’t fit in slacks.” The booth also offers rifle scabbards, bullet belts and a holster that has more than one application.

“It’s a leather phone case,” he said, showing a cellphone nestled in a holder designed to attach to a belt. “But it can also double as a gun holster.”

Pierce said one of his challenges is making sure he has good fits for his customers.

“There are a bunch of different sizes and barrel lengths. So it is a pretty complicated deal to get everybody’s gun covered,” said Pierce, who operates his booth with the help of his wife, Julia Pierce; and daughter, Diane Bilke.

To help his customers know which holster is the right size, Pierce keeps more than a dozen “dummy guns” (bright blue plastic guns that resemble the real thing) in his booth.

Pierce got into the leather crafting business almost by accident.

“I had retired from the pawnshop business, and I was going out to gun shows,” Pierce said. “I met a guy who was making holsters and wanted to sell out. So I bought all his stuff with the agreement that he would make them and send them to me. But I never got those orders. So I just went out and bought a sewing machine, got some family members involved, and started making them.”

And now, thanks to the new law, Pierce is well positioned to openly benefit from his career change.

This story was originally published January 29, 2016 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Thanks to open carry, holster sales soar at Stock Show."