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Shoulder rig
16 February 2014 12:14 amWhen I was first working on my Union Aeroship Cavalry costume, I had a pair of Colt Navy 1851s (actually Griswold & Gunnison 1862s, but I won't go into that) in cross draw holsters. I liked the guns visible that way for costuming reasons but in a practical sense, having those guns worn that way on an airship, what with climbing about in rigging and such, was not going to work. This called for having a shoulder rig and the US M7 shoulder rig fit the bill.
The M7 was a tanker rig developed during the second half of the Second World War to carry the Colt 1911. Its predecessor, the M3 was built to sit under the arm like most shoulder holsters today but, sitting vertically like it did made it difficult to reach. The M7 solved that by being much more adjustable so that the gun could be carried in front of the left hip or even on front of the chest, depending on the preference of the wearer. It suited my purpose because it could also carry the Colt Peacemaker I had.
Yes, I know, the Peacemaker is from 1871, well after the Civil War time frame for my Aero Cav persona but sometimes you use the props you have. Anachronisms abound in steampunk so if using a WWII holster for a Civil War era costume wasn't going to be a problem, neither would a slightly later period firearm. (Although Denix makes a replica Colt 1849 pocket pistol which is basically cut down Colt Dragoon that would probably fit in the holster as well.)
A few years later when I started in Cowboy Action Shooting, the shoulder holster came with me because the competition requires that you carry two pistols. The one went on my right hip while the second was in the M7 on my chest. At first there was some concern because of the near prohibition against cross-draw holsters. The rules define a 170 degree plane (I know, that's not how a plane is defined) that the barrel cannot break because you aren't allowed to point your gun at fellow shooters standing behind you. Most people resolve this by having two traditional hip holsters but I had decided that I would be shooting one handed and using such a holster would require that I draw the gun with my left hand and then transfer it to my right. The few people with cross draw holsters first have them well in front of their hips and secondly do a little dance in which they throw their left hip forward before they draw so that, as the gun clears leather, it doesn't point backwards. For most people this isn't a problem because they shoot two handed allowing them, like modern shooters, to leave their left hip forward.
But again, I have chosen to shoot one handed so that, after throwing my left hip forward to draw I then need to turn my body so that I can fire right handed with my right hip forward.
The dance consumes a lot of time. I have been able to mitigate it somewhat by wearing the holster more on the front of my body instead of in front of my hip. This means that when the gun is resting in the holster it is pointing straight down at the ground. When I draw it, I don't need to bring my left hip quite so far forward than if I had a more traditional cross draw.
In spite of no one saying anything about using a WWII holster in a cowboy action event, I was still a little concerned with historicity. Not only do I want to avoid having to justify it to some self-appointed authenticity police, I have a tendency towards historical accuracy that I want to maintain. A holster that sat on the chest certainly could have been used during the period, there is nothing to exclude such a possibility, but there was no evidence that it ever had been worn that way. The closest I was able to find was the "Doc Holiday Holster" worn by Val Kilmer in the movie "Tombstone" and some holsters with a chest strap attributed to the Pinkertons.
Well, now I've finally tracked down something that looks like what I need to put those historicity concerns to rest. This is apparently a photo of Montana cowboys from the 1890s. Notice the gentleman sitting on the right and the holster low on his chest. Looking closely it is very similar to the M7 in the shape of the holster and the strap that goes across the chest and over the right shoulder. OK, so it's not held vertically like mine but that would simply be a matter of preference.
I also appreciate that the picture was part of a cowboy action forum so that it's clear that others have had the same thought that I had.
Well, except for the Aeroship Cavalry part.
The M7 was a tanker rig developed during the second half of the Second World War to carry the Colt 1911. Its predecessor, the M3 was built to sit under the arm like most shoulder holsters today but, sitting vertically like it did made it difficult to reach. The M7 solved that by being much more adjustable so that the gun could be carried in front of the left hip or even on front of the chest, depending on the preference of the wearer. It suited my purpose because it could also carry the Colt Peacemaker I had.Yes, I know, the Peacemaker is from 1871, well after the Civil War time frame for my Aero Cav persona but sometimes you use the props you have. Anachronisms abound in steampunk so if using a WWII holster for a Civil War era costume wasn't going to be a problem, neither would a slightly later period firearm. (Although Denix makes a replica Colt 1849 pocket pistol which is basically cut down Colt Dragoon that would probably fit in the holster as well.)
A few years later when I started in Cowboy Action Shooting, the shoulder holster came with me because the competition requires that you carry two pistols. The one went on my right hip while the second was in the M7 on my chest. At first there was some concern because of the near prohibition against cross-draw holsters. The rules define a 170 degree plane (I know, that's not how a plane is defined) that the barrel cannot break because you aren't allowed to point your gun at fellow shooters standing behind you. Most people resolve this by having two traditional hip holsters but I had decided that I would be shooting one handed and using such a holster would require that I draw the gun with my left hand and then transfer it to my right. The few people with cross draw holsters first have them well in front of their hips and secondly do a little dance in which they throw their left hip forward before they draw so that, as the gun clears leather, it doesn't point backwards. For most people this isn't a problem because they shoot two handed allowing them, like modern shooters, to leave their left hip forward.
But again, I have chosen to shoot one handed so that, after throwing my left hip forward to draw I then need to turn my body so that I can fire right handed with my right hip forward.
The dance consumes a lot of time. I have been able to mitigate it somewhat by wearing the holster more on the front of my body instead of in front of my hip. This means that when the gun is resting in the holster it is pointing straight down at the ground. When I draw it, I don't need to bring my left hip quite so far forward than if I had a more traditional cross draw.
In spite of no one saying anything about using a WWII holster in a cowboy action event, I was still a little concerned with historicity. Not only do I want to avoid having to justify it to some self-appointed authenticity police, I have a tendency towards historical accuracy that I want to maintain. A holster that sat on the chest certainly could have been used during the period, there is nothing to exclude such a possibility, but there was no evidence that it ever had been worn that way. The closest I was able to find was the "Doc Holiday Holster" worn by Val Kilmer in the movie "Tombstone" and some holsters with a chest strap attributed to the Pinkertons.
Well, now I've finally tracked down something that looks like what I need to put those historicity concerns to rest. This is apparently a photo of Montana cowboys from the 1890s. Notice the gentleman sitting on the right and the holster low on his chest. Looking closely it is very similar to the M7 in the shape of the holster and the strap that goes across the chest and over the right shoulder. OK, so it's not held vertically like mine but that would simply be a matter of preference.
I also appreciate that the picture was part of a cowboy action forum so that it's clear that others have had the same thought that I had.
Well, except for the Aeroship Cavalry part.
