I quess, if you don't know what will work, ask the Pards that do it!

[Ace Lungger]

So far I have spent all day trying to figure out what will work for me that I can get the most use out of and maybe  double duty.
I just ordered a pair of 1872 open tops in 4 3/4" barrel ( remember I am a newbie and live on Disabilty) I wished I could afford to buy a custom rig like you guys make, because they are AWESOME !!! I own 2 kinda chessy rigs for my other two sets of guns.
I see a lot of people wear there open tops double cross draw, and I like the looks of that, but if you buy double cross draws then that is how you have to wear them. If you buy strait RH and strat LH, could you not use them as double duty if you wanted to!
Or is that just plain STUPID    lIKE i SAID EARLIER, i WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A CUSTOM RIG BUT THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. What realy upsets me isthat I like working on guns, I have been putting togther these 2 Silver Dollar City Hawes 45 LC, they were used in the train robberies, there at Silver Dollar City, and because they are dated 1967 that was the year I went down there! Figure that out! I bought these 2 in a shoe box with a lot of pieces missing, and I am about done. My shotgun is a Double barrel New york Gun Company, I think that they made guns for 150 diff. gun co., I also bought this in a box, no but stock and most of it inards were gone, but the nice thing abought it, was they are simple, I have a little Atlas lathe and I built a lot of the parts. And I will never build a butt stock for a oval rear reciever.
But If I tried to make a holster, I just better stay home!
I sure could use some advice Please
I hope all your shoots hit the Bullseye
Ace

[Wymore Wrangler]

About the best "over the counter" holsters are COWS (Classic Old West Styles) holsters.  They normally run around 50-75 dollars each.  If you get stuff like Oklahoma Leather, your going to regret it, the leather is so flimsy that you run the risk of it folding and causing you to drop a gun, and that means an early day at the range... 

     http://www.cows.com/cows/holsters.html

Several companies sell COWS holsters, Delomonic or Terry Lane on this forum work at the Fort Western Outfitters and can get you a very good price...    877-907-3678 ext 199

[Dr. Bob]

Howdy Ace,

Today at the big [800 tables] KC gun show, I met Tom Hancock of Texas Gunslinger.  He has some cross draw holsters & belts at pretty good prices.

              www.texasgunslinger.com

              817-460-3840

              P.O. Box 17861, Arlington, TX 76003-1861

Good luck!

[Irish Dave]

If you buy strait RH and strat LH, could you not use them as double duty if you wanted to!
Or is that just plain STUPID

Ace:

I don't think that's stupid at all. In fact, to my notion, that's pretty sound reasoning.
Only thing to understand is that using regular strong side holsters (swung around to the opposite sides) will not give you a true cross-draw because of the angle -- or lack thereof. They will however, provide a traditional butt-forward carry a la Wild Bill Hickock and others. It may take a little practice to become confident that you are being safe and proficient in drawing them from those positions but it certainly can be (and often is) done with some regularity. The additional benefit is that it does provide you with maximum flexibility as you indicated.

There are many, many fine leathermakers -- both private and corporate -- out there catering to our hobby. And prices can vary widely. I would recommend avoiding the very cheapest of the lot as I believe you'll be disappointed with their quality and longevity and will be finding yourself hunting for a second rig in a relatively short time. You certainly don't have to go top-end by any means, but I think second-tier leather will serve you much better in the long run than the lowest priced manufacturers.

Hope this helps.