The holster and the belt as a whole.

[TN Mongo]

Amin,

I put "hole-through" female end Chicago screws in the leather block (between the layers of leather that make up the block) that I use for a belt guide.  Then I punch holes all the way through the holster skirt and attach the block with male Chicago screws.  That way I can change the size of the leather block if the customer wants a different width of belt sometime in the future.

The other Kirpatrick design that uses a single peice of leather, is attached with short Chicago screws

[amin ledbetter]

That sounds like a good idea Mongo! I was thinking I would rivet it, but a Chicago Screw would be easier yet. And removable. It just so happens that I ordered a couple bags of them from Tandy, I needed them to do my Badge Slide, so I'll put some of the remaining ones to use in these belt guides! That will work out great! Thanks again!   

[MontanaSlick]

I do almost the same as Farmer except I use C screws.

Latigo eh, mmmmm, ya got me thinking Farmer.

[JD Alan]

I want to make sure I understand what ya'll are talkin about. You guys are anchoring your holsters to the belt in these various ways: tied, Chicago screws, etc. So in effect you're making Buscadero rigs without the drop. If so I'm wondering why.

I like to be able to adjust the position of my holsters, but maybe others don't see that need. It's just a curiosity question   

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

I want to make sure I understand what ya'll are talkin about. You guys are anchoring your holsters to the belt in these various ways: tied, Chicago screws, etc. So in effect you're making Buscadero rigs without the drop. If so I'm wondering why.

I like to be able to adjust the position of my holsters, but maybe others don't see that need. It's just a curiosity question   

       JD, you're not wrong in your thinking pard, a lot of Cas shooters want to be able to shift their holster to the front when shooting a stage, and then back to the their sides when finished, having a tied or fastened to the belt holster would mean you would have too move your gun belt, but even then, most wear a two gun rig, which would mean you would still have to leave at least one holster movable, for this reason , I like my lock set up, it keeps your holster locked in place, but you can still move it from side to side with a strong push, I personally do not like putting holes in any of my gun belt, but that's just me, I guess it's all in what a pard is happy with and what works well for them,TN Mongo's  idea of the Chicago screw is a good idea for those that use a lot of different sized widths for there gun belts, for me my standard is three inches wide for gun belts, having this standard allows me to use any number of the holsters I make to be worn with any belt I have made or will make, it just keeps it simple.


                                 tEN wOLVES 


                       

[TN Mongo]

Ten Wolves explained it well.  I don't want holes in my belts.  The leather wedge I attach to my holsters to act as a belt guide keeps the holsters in place very well.  I can move the holsters side to side if I want, but it keeps them from moving up with the gun during a draw.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

  Mongo, I think you and I are on the same page, I've made belt channels just like the one your showing, and it does work well, and when you have enough pitch out from the belt like yours, it will work just fine, that's one benefits of using heavier leather, when you make the bend in the skirt, it will hold that pitch for a long time, or forever depending, my little do- dad works as yours does, but forces a little more pitch out, and that's just the way I like mine, what is nice about these little tricks, is that it allows us to just about make our holster do exactly what we want them to, I've even put a fairly large wedge in the back of the bucket after wet molding to get that pitch, and when dry, it holds pretty well, another trick is to use the belt channel and build a wedge at the back in order to force the pitch.

                             And I'm still looking and playing with new ways of doing this.


                                           tEN wOLVES 

[amin ledbetter]

That's a great reference pic Mongo! I do have another question I thought about tonight for you guys. How wide do you make the locks? Holster width or just an inch or so?

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

That's a great reference pic Mongo! I do have another question I thought about tonight for you guys. How wide do you make the locks? Holster width or just an inch or so?

    amin , that's pretty much up to you, I like to make mine so that they're not seen when the holster is on the belt, there isn't any set rule on this, you can go all the across or like mine just in the back, either way your holster will be anchored in, and your holster won't rise on you when you draw your gun, one other thing I do to anchor the front of my holster, is to put a couple hole at the bottom of the back of the holster, and the directly across on the skirt, I pull a piece of rawhide or stripped leather, through the holster and then through the skirt, and tie it. this keeps the front of the holster from coming out of its loop. as you can see in this picture, the stripped piece of leather I have at the bottom, I think it also gives a nice look, and can also be made longer  to be used as a leg tie down, either way it will secure your bucket to the back of the skirt.

           tEN wOLVES 

[amin ledbetter]

I have the skirt tied to the bottom of the holster body already. I have a leg strap on the holster and it goes through the bottom of the body then through the skirt and is tied in back. Even with the leg tie the holster still rises on the belt though, so I need to make a lock for them. Well I have my project tonight.  Thanks Ten Wolves.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

  amin, you answered your own question, the lock anchors, the holster to the belt, the tie down at the bottom of the bucket to the skirt anchors the bucket ( holster its self ) to the skirt, so there isn't any rise when the gun is drawn. it takes both these measures to make a holster efficient, these are things that some commercial makers over look, or maybe it's just not cost effective for them to do it. this has been an issue with pards I've made gun leather for, and rightfully so.


                  tEN wOLVES 

[TN Mongo]

Amin,

My belt guide is about 2" - 2 1/2" long.  I'd have to measure one to be sure.  It's made of 3 layers of 8-9oz leather.  Normally it's just a rectangular block, but on the holster pictured a post ago, one piece of the belt guide goes higher up.  I did this on this particular holster because it is metal lined and the owner wanted the holster body moved away from the skirt.  I was worried that if I didn't make one layer of the belt guide higher, the belt might slip because the holster pocket was so far away from the skirt.

[JD Alan]

I've been asked again about securing the holster to the belt, so I thought I'd drag this thread back to have a look see.

I notice on a well known and respected maker's website that they use what appears to be embedded t-nuts and male Chicago screws placed on the skirt just under the belt. They use it on a rig that begins with the name "Colt", and maybe others as well. It appears that they use these to pinch the belt, thereby "locking" the holster in place. It would work for people who want their holsters to stay in the same place when they take off the rig, but still allow for movement when it's desired, but avoids punching holes in the belt.

I hope this is making sense, and I wonder if anyone here is doing something similiar?

Thanks for all the help guys, it's greatly appreciated. JD   

[Kid Terico]

Thanks TW on a nice display on how to make good fix it to the problem. Looks good and should work well. KT

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Thanks TW on a nice display on how to make good fix it to the problem. Looks good and should work well. KT

    Thanks KT, I haven't had any complaints on my lock as of date, it's an easy fix that accomplishes two things, if it's a Cheyenne or loop type holster, it will keep the holster from rising of the belt, and stay in position on the belt  and by putting a tie down at the bottom of the holster through the skirt, this keeps the holster from pulling out of the holster loops. I hope this can help others that are having trouble coming up with a cure, this works, and is rock solid.


                 tEN wOLVES 

[JD Alan]

10 Wolves, does your method (if done correctly) keep the holsters in place on the belt once a fella takes the rig off?

Thanks, JD 

[Slowhand Bob]

If this has been mentioned, please forgive my repeating it.  One could possibly put a tensioning devise type lock on the holster to add the amount of lock desired.  I am pretty sure one of the big makers is already offering something similar??  If the Chicago Screw passes through the skirt at about 1/4" below the bottom of the belt it can be tightened and loosened by wedge clamping.  At some point you do need to be careful of exposed metal invading the guns area of contact though.  I do prefer achieving the same goal with the above mentioned leather positioners located between the holster and skirt, if they will fit.  Also remember, the tighter the fit and the frequency of the repositioning combined, will cause scuffing wear to the belts surface finish in that area.

[JD Alan]

Last night I was able to borrow a rig used by one of our top shooters, made by a well know outfit. As I've been examining it closely, I see that it has metal on the front of the shank from just below the curve at the top of the belt running to just above where the cylinder contacts the leather. There is no metal on the back part of the skirt, over the belt, or around the pouch. The purpose of the metal on this rig is to allow the holster to be bent out from the body a little bit.

It's a double strong side with a pretty serious drop of 3 ½ inches from the bottom of the belt top of the main seam. She had it custom fitted and made to her likening. 

Besides the t-nut connecting the skirt to the body of the holster about half way down, it has 2 t-nuts positioned 4 inches below the curve over the belt. When tightened it allows the holster to be secured against the belt. That way the holsters are always positioned in the same place.

It's not something I would need personally, but the person who owns it really appreciates the bend away from the body and the fact that she can take off the holsters and put them back on positioned just where she wants them. This gal is extremely fast and wins most every time she shoots, and this stuff is important to her.       

Having taken a close look at this, I would rather use 10 Wolves & TN Mongo's approach for my own rigs, so many thanks to you guys who share your ides and skills.

JD

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

10 Wolves, does your method (if done correctly) keep the holsters in place on the belt once a fella takes the rig off?

Thanks, JD 

  JD, the answer is YES, your holster will stay put where you want it on your belt when taken off, that's one of the reasons I figured out how to make this work, and still be able to move my holster if need be, like moving them forward for an easier draw, it does everything I said it will do, but to make this lock work properly you need to install properly, with your belt inside the skirt of the holster and snug against the bend inside the holster skirt, put your lock at the bottom of the belt and center it on the skirt, mark your holes through the holes already made in the lock, punch your holes in the skirt and put in your rivets, this will give you a nice tight fit and make your rig work the way it was meant to.

           tEN wOLVES