Holster advice

[PJ Hardtack]

Hey, you makers of leather!

I'll be shooting a pair of 7-1/2" 44-40s this season. That's a lot of gun for a short ass like me to draw. So, I'm thinking ..... maybe I'd be well served by a Buscadero rig as the guns would sit lower, making the draw easier. All of my other leather sits high on the belt.

I shoot ambidextrously, so am I right thinking here?

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I'll present an alternative for you. How about dougle crossed belts? I find that to my liking a lot. The only concession to historical accuracy is needing a tie-down to keep holsters from riding up when you draw. If the holster comes up with the pistol, you may wind up with that belt dropping down around your ankles.

[Capt Quirk]

I have a hard time keeping a belt from sliding off my narrow hips   Maybe a crossdraw would work for you? You won't have to dislocate your shoulder, pulling up far enough to clear leather.

[Baltimore Ed]

I have bum shoulders, had rotor cup surgery on my left and am afraid that I need it on the right. My solution has been to put my 7.5 in bbl in a crossdraw and a 4.5 in in a strong side holster. I like the idea of double belts as it would allow you to run one side lower than the other. Gun belt suspenders will keep your belts up. A fellow in my club is hipless and uses them.

[Capt Quirk]

I am not necessarily hipless, as much as the years have seemingly eroded my... Butte 

[Baltimore Ed]

No if?s ands or butts?

[PJ Hardtack]

I like the idea of a couple of crossed belts. Buscadero rigs always seemed to be too much leather for the job, especially with cartridges loops, which I don't use. At 5'6" and 130 lbs, there isn't a lot of me to support extra weight that isn't actually doing something beneficial. I already have to cinch up my gun belt to keep it from sliding off my butt, whatever I wear.

I'll see what I can use in the way of belts and it looks like tie downs are going to become necessary. Gonna be a cheaper solution than a Buscadero in the bargain.

I wonder if i could equip my Carrico 'Slim Jims' with tie downs .... 

[Mogorilla]

My first holster/belt was a buscadero.   It makes for a wide belt when you have enough to drop down for the slot.   I suffer from Dunlap disease, took a medicine for it called Noassatall.    I am a lot of front and no back, so I have a lot of problem keeping the belt up.   I found the lower pistol of the buscadero had the weight of the gun pulling on the belt even more.  Second one I made was a slim jim and a 2" belt.   I made the holes for the belt at .75" rather than the usual 1"   It made it possible to cinch it up more as the day went on.   Made a cartridge belt and gave it a way, could never keep it up if it was loaded with cartridges and a pistol.   

[Coffinmaker]

I wish I could get my photographs to post.  Anyway, a Thought (oh crap .... the Pain !!!).  I also shoot Able-Dexta-Lirious (Gunfighter don'tcha no).  My holsters are a sort of a slim jim cut short.  It looks kinda funny pulling a 3 1/2 inch barrel out of a 7 1/2 inch holster. 

ALL my holsters have a muzzle forward kant.  However, I achieve this thru a "drop loop" that fits over the gun belt and the slot for the holster skirt is cut to give a 24 degree angle to the holster.  This gets the guns down to about Buscadero height from the belt but also allows changing back to a higher set up without the drop loop.  Push the holsters around in front of your hips and you don't have to break your wrist and the gun comes out a lot cleaner.

Just my take.  YMMV

Mo go:  I also suffer from ailments.  I have Dunlops as well and also Lakassus.  really a nuisance.  If you also contract lakafundus .... SEEK HELP

[Marshal Will Wingam]

FWIW, i have narrow hips and the crossed belts lock onto what little hip I have so they don't slide down. Like I said, tie-downs keep them in place.

[Cliff Fendley]

Crossdraw position, historically accurate and works well for long barrels. Probably why they were being worn like that even back then.

[PJ Hardtack]

I've got a couple of western 1-3/4" dress belts with nice saddle stitching.  I'm wearing the guns this way as I type this and it works - BUT, it's going to require tie downs. There are holes in the sewn in toe plugs of my Slim Jims so I'll be able to jury rig tie downs.

The other option with these belts is one gun x-draw. Haven't tried that yet. I will and get back to you .....

[PJ Hardtack]

Well, I tried something else ... and it worked! See if you can picture this ..... 

Wearing both belts with gun butts facing forward, I draw the left hand gun first doing the 'x-draw dance', taking a half step back with the left foot as I draw the gun and then back again so that I'm shooting with the left foot forward.

That puts me in the ideal position for the right hand x-draw, only requiring a hip twist left to draw the gun and then a half step back to place the right foot forward.

In both cases, I'm returning the guns to holster with the other hand by dropping the muzzles so that I'm not sweeping.

Sounds more complicated than it is in motion. Haven't tried it with both holsters on the same belt.

This eliminates the need for tie downs. The less leather I have to cope with, the better ..... 

[PJ Hardtack]

Tried it with both holsters on one belt and it works even better! Simple is good.

Our first CAS is the on the 28th of this month and I'll put it to the test.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Cool. Sounds like you're getting it figured out. Your double crossdraw sounds like it could work really well. See if you can post a photo of the configuration you finally end up with. I used to shoot double strong side, drawing and shooting with the hand that did the draw. I kept both eyes open and sighted with the eye that was on the shooting side. Then I found myself missing because I'd have two sight pictures and could watch the wrong one. So... back to dominant eye shooting only.

[PJ Hardtack]

I shoot equally well with either hand, thanks to years of 'weak handed' shooting in IPSC.

But - I have to close my right eye in order to do it. Tried 'Gun Fighter' but the switching back and forth of my aiming eye was too confusing. However, with the trend towards ridiculously close targets, all I'd have to do is point, so I may try it again.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I never got good at gunfighter shooting. I did do well with double duelist, though. Now, I just switch the left pistol to my right hand then back again to holster it. There's no significant loss of time to speak of. Maybe a half a second at the worst. I'm not good enough to get into the upper 5% anyway. I always came in around the 80% point.

[PJ Hardtack]

I got into shooting ambidextrously by accident.

I ordered a pair of 'Slim Jims' from David Carrico for my .44 Remington cap & ball guns. I wanted a right strong side and a x-draw, but didn't say so. I wound up with a left and a right.

I thought - "Why transfer?" and I've been shooting double duelist ever since .... 

[Marshal Will Wingam]

That's a fine reason to start double duelist. I just did it because not many do and it sounded like fun. Which it is, of course.