Mojave Lever Crew - Roll Call!

[LindenBruce]

I just PM'd horsewright thanks 200apples. This is kind of what I'm looking for. If all else fails I have a 4" GP100 that I know I can find a holster for. Thanks, B.

[Killer Bee]

good luck finding either of those for a large frame revolver, you'll notice those examples are all autos

have you ever carried a large frame revolver in either of those positions?

I suspect they would be very awkward, uncomfortable, and stick out like a sore thumb

that's why 90% of what you'll find are low ride, like old west styles, for long, large frames, those are what they fit best

and the rest either like the lawman I posted that ride a little higher or shoulder rigs

all being carried mostly vertical because any other cants or angled carry positions won't follow a person's body lines very well

likely have to have one made and I would consider it thoroughly before investing too much into something you may not be comfortable carrying

if it was even remotely feasible, someone would have made something by now

I've carried duty and concealed full size and compact autos and a couple small narrow frame revolvers for over 30 years and they're difficult enough to find the perfect fit

I can't even imagine lasting 5 minutes in the configurations you're seeking but I wish you luck finding something you can use comfortably

good luck!

[golfish]

Mr Bruce, are you planing to use holster and gun for CCW or maybe cowboy action shooting?

[Horsewright]

I too work around a property while carrying a handgun. I have experimented with crossdraw holster personally and I'm with my friend Killer Bee they don't really pan out and particularly for the handgun mentioned. I have the same old model Vaquero btw only in .45LC. Croosdraw didn't work for me. However, I've made several for smaller guns that the customer was very happy with (Ruger Bearcat and Smith J Frames). I have made crossdraw holsters for Glock 17s and 19s and then have made the same customers strongside holsters for the same pistol. Here is one of my cross draw personal experiments:

.

Originally the holster didn't have the upper slot being used in this pic just the lower one thats not being used. I wore it part of one day. It was heavy, uncomfortable and awkward. All the things Killer Bee mentioned. Punched that upper slot in the holster and switched to stongside and wow! Now that big ol hunk of iron is svelte! AS well as way comfortable and just seemed to dissipate the weight better. Cross draw is where God intended ya to carry a small fixed blade and I am a huge proponent of that. It just works well.



Ranching can be pretty active and lots of hard work with various tools and we throw in ropes under pressure too.



I can't think of any of my handguns that have been marred up from strongside carry. Many of my holsters have scratches etc on em but not the handguns. Mostly from riding through brush at high speed chasing some bovine down a canyon or something. Anyhoo.

The SOB idea scares the living dog poo out of me. Ya always here stories of folks falling on something hard and breaking their pelvis. I use to phoo phoo those stories. I don't slip, I don't fall yada yada. Meet Lil Sis. Three years ago I'd of told ya the horse didn't exist that could turn faster than I could ride. But I found her. Just stupidly good looking and stooooopidly athletic:





Anyhoo she caused me to rethink my phoo phooing of those storeis. Three times she turned out from underneath me while spooking at something. The first two times just landed on my head so no harm done. The third time my duaghter and I were up in the way high up and came across one of our bulls. He was about 10 yards above us on a steep incline and hadn't got the memo that all the cattle were suppose to be heading to the corrals. We needed him to go about 15 yards tup hill and then it would be a downhill trek to the pens. As we started to move towards him he lifted his head in what I remember as a benign kinda of curious way. Lil Sis had an entirely different interpretation. She spooked and literally folded in half and spun around to the left 270 degrees. I made 180 before I was slung shotted right on out of there. My daughter said I did a complete somersault (which to this day I have no recollection of) and landed on that above Dan Wesson 10mm as well as various other parts. Smoke, my daughter and an experienced ER tech at a big city hospital, jumped down and came over and did all the nursey things. I told her I'd be fine soon as I could find some air. After a few rolled over and got on my hands and knees on this steep slope to get up and NOT fine. VERY MUCH NOT FINE. Smoke thought I'd broken my pelvis and heck the old guy though he'd maybe broken his pelvis too. That feckless beach, Lil Sis had only gone a few feet and decided it was just a bull after all, not some monster. Well no roads where we're at and I sure as heck ain't walking so I crawled over to Lil Sis, crawled up the stirrup and into the saddle. We tried to bring the bull back but for some reason he was taking all this personal and he was pissed. Ya can tell a bull is pissed when they start walking through trees and not around them. So we let him go as I wasn't feeling up to discussing it with him. Its about five miles back according to Smoke's watch and we did come across about thirty head that we were able to bring in. The ride back wasn't as bad as I anticipated but wasn't a lil pleasure ride neither. Anyhoo turned out it was deep bone thrombosis not a break. Doc said you are gonna feel it for about 6 months, he was right. Traded LIL Sis for Spud with my son and its all working out but he did tell me the other day that he almost came off her twice while branding bout three weeks ago. He said the calf came at her and she was cutting and I was roping, so she almost turned out from under him too. Anyhoo point of all this is DO NO CARRY something hard with some bulk in the SOB position. Take it from an old cowboy.

The holsters that you pictured. I don't know of any commercial models for your Vaquero. Closest I could think of would be El Paso Saddlery. In their menu they have both thumbreak crossdraws and a holster they call the dual position. Ya might check them out. Even their crossdraws with thumbreaks seem to be only for semis. That leaves ya custom makers (not something I do btw) and so the reason I asked about why you carried there was I was hoping to save ya some money on something that may not work out for ya. Thats coming from a holster maker that has decades of experience building gun leather and a guy thats been carrying daily for 42 years. But its just kinda what works for me in similar conditions as ya described.

[bigbossman]

I have a cross-draw holster for a SAA, and other than wearing it camping once in a while, I hardly ever use it. Just seems unnatural and cumbersome to me.

[NapalmCheese]

I have a cross-draw holster for a SAA, and other than wearing it camping once in a while, I hardly ever use it. Just seems unnatural and cumbersome to me.

Cross draw holsters excel when using large (long barreled) pistols, especially when seated.

[bigbossman]

Cross draw holsters excel when using large (long barreled) pistols, especially when seated.

I can see where that would be the case. Unfortunately, the holster I have is made for a "normal" barred SSA. I have a cavalry model with the longer barrel, but the holster is not deep enough to try it out.

[NapalmCheese]

The evolution of the holster (at least in the U.S.) is rather interesting IMO, but sometimes I'm a history nerd

[bigbossman]

The evolution of the holster (at least in the U.S.) is rather interesting IMO, but sometimes I'm a history nerd

Sometimes?

[200Apples]

The first two times just landed on my head so no harm done.

I was given a thumbreak strong side El Paso Saddlery pancake holster when I bought my SW696 from a feller out of state. He shipped it along as a surprise...

If you'd like a pic lemme know.

[Killer Bee]

I was given a thumbreak strong side El Paso Saddlery pancake holster when I bought my SW696 from a feller out of state. He shipped it along as a surprise...

If you'd like a pic lemme know.

now that's a silly question - of course we do

[Killer Bee]

Mr. Horsewright, you should write a book!

I could listen to to you all day - thank you for taking the time to share your experiences!

[Preston-CLB]

Mr. Horsewright, you should write a book!

I could listen to to you all day - thank you for taking the time to share your experiences!

I agree! Please keep posting them.

And yes--always pics of gun stuff!

Have a fine weekend, gents!
-P

[Horsewright]

Thank ya guys!! I've actually written a book on horsemanship: "Lessons From The Roundpen". Just a small lil paperback that sold for $18.35. Been out a print for some time. I came up with that price cause I was doing a lot of clinics at the time. I'd reversed engineered the sales tax so somebody bought one they handed my staff a $20 and no change needed. Crazy silly thing, I've seen used copies on Amazon going for up to $200. Just crazy.

Recently I was involved in a collaboration with Jason Fry called "Next Level Knifemaking." I contributed the chapter on sheath making.

Apples has a good start on the third. He is the custodian of the manuscripts. Just needs some editing! Well lots of editing! Titled something like "How Not to Dress Like a Drugstore Kaboy So Ya Get Invited Back to the Branding". Whadya think Chris? Anyhoo:

Well an old cowboy learned a new trick! Here's a lil story for Bob our grill master.

Went out to the ranch Tuesday morning:





Meeting the slaughter service to process into quarters our annual butcher steer:






Eric will get it into quarters and hang it in his truck. Re attaches the ear tag to one of the quarters and then makes some more rounds here in Tehachapi. He had five more to do that day. He then drops it off for ya at one of several butchers that he deals with. We have ours hung for 21 days and then cut and wrapped. What did I learn that day? Two things. One it was very cold out there that June morning. Thank goodness for global warming or it would of been down right frigid!



Second thing. Ever heard of a Hanger Steak? I hadn't. My buddy Brett was out with us that morning, here on the grey horse at our last branding:






He is a rawhide braider and so was there to collect the hide off of this steer. Some of his work:






After a sharp crack from that old .22mag lever, the steer drops like a rock. Eric, the slaughter guy jumps over the fence and bleeds the steer. His son backs the truck over to the fence and using an A frame lifts that 1100 lb steer over the fence and takes him around to the back of the corrals to process. While working Eric will always ask ya if ya wanna keep some of the parts like the tongue, heart, liver etc. We don't, so Brett was grabbing those too. Brett asks me if I want the Hanger Steak? "Whats that ?" says I. I've never heard of one. Eric had just raised the carcass up on the A frame after it had been skinned and gutted and he pointed to a fat encapsulated chunk hanging just below the diaphragm. He said its often called the Butcher Steak too. Each steer only has one and it weighs about two pounds. Its called a hanger steak cause it literally just hangs there, Or its called the butcher steak cause the butcher will trim it off. It won't age with the rest of the meat, it goes bad, so traditionally the butcher takes it home. It has to be eaten fresh or ya could freeze it I guess after trimming. Stick it in the refrig for a few hours then skin the fat off (skins better chilled) and you are left with about a two pound steak that has two sides. The two sides of this steak are connected with some very hard and strong connective tissue which also needs to be trimmed away. So I put it in an old shopping bag that was in the truck and took er home. Told Nichole about it and she'd never heard of one either. So we went on line and found lots of recipes with everyone saying its just the greatest hunk of steak but very difficult to find. Ya can't find it in a store cause they mostly aren't sold. The butchers dirty lil secret they go home with him. Most of the recipes we found online were apologizing to the butchers for letting the cat out of the bag. Well I found one recipe and followed it as it also had trimming instructions. Wow it was good! The balsamic sauce just rocked!



[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/258804/butchers-steak-hanger-steak/[/URL]



The video shows the trimming process. See this ol cowboy learned something new! Ever had a hanger/butcher steak?

Eric is a gun guy too and we'd agreed to bring along our 10mms as he had one to show me. Somehow he'd snagged a CHP Commemorative Smith 1009. I'd seen one before but had never had a chance to really handle one. Its a beast. I'd brought along my Dan Wesson 1911 in 10 and my Smith 610 for him to see. Unfortunately we didn't have time to shoot. He had five more steers to process here in Tehachapi and then had to drop the steers at two different butchers in Bakersfield (of course on completely opposite sides of town too) and then a three hour drive home. Eric's a busy guy. We book him a year in advance, I know what I'll be doing at 0700 on May 14th 2024.

[Calif Hunter]

I have heard of hanger steak but have never tried it. I have seen it in one or two restaurants. Now you have me curious..... :-)