What to do with damaged leather items

[Seaspriter]

I am pretty confident I could do the repairs, I have done leather work before. It's just a matter of whether I should or not. I'm leaning toward it because In researching these, I've encountered quite a few that had the strap replaced

Go for the repair. Generally speaking, in the world of Preservation versus Restoration, Preserve it if it has a provenance (i.e. it belonged to Rommel, etc.); Restore it to functional condition if it is ordinary/common (what good is a dysfunctional antique?)

Refrain from rifles and buy a good Luger to fit the holster (what good is an empty holster -- it's like an empty gas tank).