To put your weapon away in Starfield, you simply hold the reload button for about half a second.

Quick Scoop: How to put away your weapon

  • On Xbox controller: Hold X (the reload button) until your character lowers and holsters the weapon.
  • On PC (keyboard & mouse): Hold R (the reload key) for roughly half a second instead of just tapping it.
  • If you only tap the button, you’ll just reload instead of holstering, so keep it held briefly. Once it’s stowed, your character moves a bit more freely and looks less threatening in cities and settlements.
  • To draw your weapon again, just tap reload, aim, shoot, or select the weapon from your quick‑slot/quick‑keys.

In short: think “reload but hold” whenever you want your Starfield character to stop waving a gun around and walk around peacefully.

Mini tips and context

  • Use holster in towns and hubs so NPCs don’t react like you’re about to start a fight, and to keep the screen clear of a big gun model.
  • The control can be rebound, but the logic stays the same: whatever your reload key or button is, hold it to put the weapon away.

TL;DR: In Starfield, holster = hold reload (X on Xbox, R on PC) for about half a second, then tap reload/aim/shoot to pull the weapon back out.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.