Schofield Holsters

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Hi,

I have this love/hate thing with my 7 1/2" Schofields.

They are really accurate; once I get them out of the holsters, they are nail drivers!

BUT... getting them out of the holsters!

I am short trunked, and getting those 13 1/2" lengthed pistols out of my holsters has me really akwardly pulling them out.

I was thinking about these Will Ghormley holsters with a longer or 'drop loop' design that would lower the holster about 2 1/2 inches.

What do you think?

[Old Top]

Wadd,

That is what I had to do with mine, I found the cav holster with the flap off work very well.

Top

[St. George]

Period holsters weren't 'drop-loop' holsters - that's a much more modern design.

Have you given thought to cross-draw?

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[WaddWatsonEllis]

St George,

Therein lies the rub. The holsters that I use are a 'plain Jane (i.e. no spots or carving or stain) made by Will Ghormley. They are a copy of the 'Flames of Hell' holster that Charley Prince wore in "3:10 To Yuma", except the cant is reduced from 30degrees to 20.

The first time I shot, I wore them double cross draw and was told that as a Senior Gunfighter, I could not pull both pistols out of the holster at the same time with a double cross draw.

I now have reversed the holsters and wear them double strong side to appease the rules of SASS. Adequate, but definitely more of a challenge to get out of the holster quickly.

A Schofield is 13 1/2" from back bottom of grips to end of barrel. From top of holster to my armpit is about 8 1/2". So I have been thinking about getting a rig where the drop loop would lower the guns the width of the belt .... about 2 1/2". This should give me about the same length from top of holster to armpit as the diagonal length of the weapon ...

The minimum drop would keep the end of the grip at the top of the belt, which I believe is what is required for non-buscadero rigs.

I am enclosing a pic I took of my present holsters ... one is on the belt as normal, and the other is set about where my vision of a drop loop would place it ...

I am guessing that this is not an unusual problem with the 7 1/2" barrelled Schofields, so I am putting out this post to get other Schofield shooters thoughts, as well as any answers that they might have found to these problems ...

P.S. My profile pic shows the holsters in their double crossdraw rigging.

[Dalton Masterson]

Wadd, unless you shooting Classic Cowboy or BWestern there are no requirements on the grip being above or below the belt. That should open up your options some.

DM

[Marshal Deadwood]

I don't shoot Schofields,,but I do shoot one 7 1/2" SAA...and I have a heck of a time drawing from strong side,,,so,,,I don't. I wear the 7 1/2 cross draw/off side...and wear my 4 3/4" SAA on the strong side. Makes life much more managable. But if ya shoot TWO long barrel guns....I don't know a comfortable solution.

MD

[Irish Dave]

WWE:

Just a couple of thoughts. (I don't shoot Schofields, but do shoot Laramies and an occasional New Model Russian).

1) I agree with St. George that a) drop-loop styles aren't authentic and b) the twin cross draws would be a good solution, although I understand your difficulty under SASS rules.
2) I notice that your pistols ride very high in these holsters, that would make them sit higher than they need to. Perhaps (no offense) you might try holsters better fitted to the Schofield frames. That would drop them deeper in their pouches and thereby making the "pull" shorter.
3) What about simply loosening the belt a little, allowing the rig to hang farther down on your hips (or each holster on a separate belt that could hang at more of an angle that straight across the waist?

Just my $.02 worth.

[Dalton Masterson]

I think Irish Dave has hit the nail on the head.
Why not try out a Cheyenne style holster. That will drop you down quite a bit, and be historically accurate. I know Will G. makes those as well as many of the pards in the Leather Shop forum.
DM

(after reading your first post, WWE, I think that is the solution you were looking for, but in other words)

[Skeeter Lewis]

What beautiful workmanship in Will's holster!

[St. George]

The 'Cheyenne Style' holster - originally being made by Meanea - will help.

My S&W Schofield rides in one made by El Paso Saddlery and I'm having Wild Rose Trading Company make me a similar one - but a 'Collins' type.

Here's a radical solution - and a 'very' easy one.

Shorten the barrels to 5" like they were after the Army was done with them...

The front sight is pinned and a good machinist can do credible work for little money invested - with almost zero finish damage, so a refinish isn't necessary.

Those short-barrelled Schofields saw an awful lot of the 'real' Old West - back when things got exciting on a far more regular basis.

They rode in Cavalry holsters during the Indian Wars and later were supplied by Wells Fargo when they bought a goodly number of turn-ins from Army Ordnance.

Take a longer look at the holster styles mentioned.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Irish Dave]

This obviously isn't a Schofield, it's a S&W .44 DA. But the point is, look at how deeply the revolver sets in the holster pouch. If yours set more deeply (similar to this) I think you'd find them a bit easier to draw comfortably.

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Old Top, Marshall Deadwood, Skeeter Lewis, St George, Irish Dave,et al,

I am in a real quandary about what to do next ... one thing I do know is that the holsters fit my Ruger Old Army (5.5" barrels a whole lot better than the Schofields do ... I think it is partly due to the shorter barrels. So I got a pistol belt without cartrige loops and will probably use the present holsters for the ROAs with the black powder belt . (See pic below...)

I would like to see, or better yet try, a holster made for the Schofield. I know I don't want a Glenn Ford style quick draw buscadero rig the leaves much of the cylinder and frame exposed.

I seem to find either a Hollywood Buscacero Rig or a very high riding rig that would be very difficult for me to draw quickly ... the rig for the James Brother's Schofield comes to mind.

[Dr. Bob]

I have seen the double belts worn with the exact effect that was mentioned.  Makes a great visual too!!

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Dr Bob;

I tried that using my cartridge belt and shotgun shell belt ... but it moved with every step I took ... and it REALLY moved ... I felt like one of those gangsta kids ... only instead of walking around trying to keep my pants up, I was constantly pulling up the two belts ... and running  ... fuggetaboutit!

[Curley Cole]

I too have the short situation, so I had RedDog make me this set of double crossdraw. The work quite well

good shootin

curley

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Curly,

Originally my holsters were made to be double crossdraw (as in the pic on my profile)... but I have this bad habit of having both pistols out at the same time (i.e. Senior Gunfighter), and the Range officers said that doing double crossdraw while shooting gunfighter was 'a bit of a sticky wicket'; I seem to remember the words illegal used to describe the combination.

So now they have been turned around and are double strongside .... as in the SASS Shoot pic above ...

I know; in the shoot pic I only have one pistol out ... but it was a fluke ...

[Curley Cole]

Here is a rig Old Top had custom made for his Schofields. Not what you would usually expect to see carring a Schofield.
Leather all done by RedDog.

curley

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Curley,

Old Top sent me pics of this holster in an earlier post. I like the idea of the dropped loop holster to lower the level of the pistol several inches, but not like that of a buscadero.

But I would want a holster that sits the pistol deeply with no cylinder or frame exposed to scratching or dents, like the pics of Mr. Ghormley's models above ... so like the holsters I have pictured above, but with a longer loop that brings the top of the grip to the height of the top of the belt ....

Any thoughts, besides historically incorrect?

[Curley Cole]

WWE
Old Top wanted me to post the first pix to show you where his "military" Schofield holster rides...He will comment shortly.

The next pix is maybe somewhat what you are speaking of. It shows the coverage of the double cross rig closer. It was made to my specs. by my friend RedDog Leather. He could make it any way you want.

the last pix is of my Jessie Rig made by Will Ghormley.

just some ideas for your considerations..

curley

[Old Top]

WWE,

As you can see I favor the type of holster that you are talking about, the one I like the best is the 1881 cav schofield/colt  it rides just where I like it with the butt just at belt heigth.  Only problem is most of them have a flap, which I just tuck in over the gun belt, and are a bit too soft for easy reholstering.  The holster covers most of the gun the way you requested.  Just a thought for you to check.

Old Top