Hawg - I forgot to mention what a nice set of leather you have! Nice to see someone wears 'em up where they belong . . . . I hate it when I see someone wearing their hogleg hung low like his pant's were falling off . . . it's hell on the end of a gunbarrel when it's a draggin' on the ground all the time.
I don't shoot them new fangled cartridges like you folks do but I'm working on my belt now . . . . similar to yours, it will be wider like some of the original ones shown in Packing Iron. The holster I just finished up for my '61 Colt Navy is looped so it can be worn right handed (it's a right hand holster) or it can be slid around into crossdraw position and tilted and the pressure of the belt will hold it in place. As far as drawing and shooting, a good read is in "The Cowboy At Work" written by Fay E. Ward. Chapter 32 is entitled "Guns and Equipment" in in that chapter, there is an excellent read by "Coteau" Gene Stebbings on drawing a revolver from a number of posiions. It shows sketches of his "All Ways" gun harness and he talks about the positioning of the pistol so that your hand goes to it naturally. I suppose there could be a whole big controversy on how holsters were actually worn but the truth is, none of us were around back then so we have to depend on first person accounts, actual photographs, existing specimens, etc. as to what the leatherwork looked like and how it was worn. For the average cowboy, I can't help but think that it was worn high on his belt so that it was available but out of the way while performing the tasks he needed to do while on the trail. Having ridden horses, I would rather have it up high, close to my body and oout of the way than slung low on my leg. Professional gun fighters . . . that might be a different story. At any rate, if some of you havent read the comments by Stebbings, check it out some time as it is interesting. I lvoe the trivia by the way . . . . I'd forgotten all about the LeMat! As they say . . . "Happy Trails To You" . . . . . .
