Why they wore gunbelts...

H

halfmoonclip

Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2011
Messages
2,789
...in the Old West.
It's easy to forget just how heavy the old-timey cartridges were, and are.
Dug into my primer/Trailboss stash, and ran 100 rounds of .45 Colt.
I can see that distributing all that weight on a gunbelt works better than trying to stick the box in your pocket.
A tip o' the hat to the old timers.
Moon
 
halfmoonclip said:
...in the Old West.
It's easy to forget just how heavy the old-timey cartridges were, and are.
Dug into my primer/Trailboss stash, and ran 100 rounds of .45 Colt.
I can see that distributing all that weight on a gunbelt works better than trying to stick the box in your pocket.
A tip o' the hat to the old timers.
Moon
Click to expand...

I have wondered what the cap and ball revolver shooters did. I have seen holsters for cap and ball revolvers, I assume the powder, balls, and caps were in pouches somewhere.

I only have copies of old west holsters and belts, and they are heavy. Must have caused a lot of skin rashes in hot weather.
 
"I pity the fool who has never heard of suspenders..." As said by Mizar.
Right you are...
 
Last edited:
Slamfire said:
I have wondered what the cap and ball revolver shooters did. I have seen holsters for cap and ball revolvers, I assume the powder, balls, and caps were in pouches somewhere.
Click to expand...

The cheap way was to have a powder flask, and a pouch with balls and a cap tin.
If you were well off, you could buy "skin" cartridges and carry a spring loaded capper.

I wonder how many period westerners, even lawmen, really carried 40 rounds in belt loops. We get too many ideas from movies.
 
Jim Watson said:
The cheap way was to have a powder flask, and a pouch with balls and a cap tin.
If you were well off, you could buy "skin" cartridges and carry a spring loaded capper.

I wonder how many period westerners, even lawmen, really carried 40 rounds in belt loops. We get too many ideas from movies.
Click to expand...
Yes we did and for years I thought neck tension was at the end of a rope.
 
Slamfire said:
I have wondered what the cap and ball revolver shooters did. I have seen holsters for cap and ball revolvers, I assume the powder, balls, and caps were in pouches somewhere.

I only have copies of old west holsters and belts, and they are heavy. Must have caused a lot of skin rashes in hot weather.
Click to expand...

Mostly if you had to reload your cap and ball in the middle of a gunfight you were the loser. Not uncommon for people in the cap and ball days to have more than one revolver handy as a result.
 
brewer12345 said:
Mostly if you had to reload your cap and ball in the middle of a gunfight you were the loser. Not uncommon for people in the cap and ball days to have more than one revolver handy as a result.
Click to expand...
From an “Old West Reload” to a “New York Reload”, not a bad idea if you are expecting a gunfight packing a revolver. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
brewer12345 said:
Mostly if you had to reload your cap and ball in the middle of a gunfight you were the loser. Not uncommon for people in the cap and ball days to have more than one revolver handy as a result.
Click to expand...

Extra cylinders for rem pistols were faster yhan reloading 6 rounds, but colt style was faster to reload the cylinder in the gun, because the colts had to be disassembled to change out a cylinder. Even so as a cw reenacted I got real fast at reloading pistols and from t stuffer rifles. .
 
Jim Watson said:
I wonder how many period westerners, even lawmen, really carried 40 rounds in belt loops.
Click to expand...
Probably none
A good many police officers didn't carry
extra ammunition on a belt regularly
until later at the start of the 20th century.
A friend's grandpa was a deputy just
after the territory days in OK, and they
would just have the regular cardboard
box of shells stuck in their coat pocket
if they were on a manhunt or something
like that. When I was young, there were
a good many police departments that
didn't allow speedloaders for their
officers for daily carry. Some only
allowed dump pouches with 6 rounds
if that. If you were allowed a shotgun,
you were issued a tube full and had
to return all those at end of shift
 
Not to mention that the majority of
real cowboys in the heyday of the
cattle drives didn't usually ride around
armed at all. Some had a pistol and/or
rifle and they rode in the chuck wagon
or hoodlum wagon with their bedrolls
and other possessions. You don't load
a horse down with a bunch of stuff
and work cattle too. A slicker and maybe
a canteen. Your big butt and boots and
clothing and chaps and lariat and pocket
contents are plenty of a load for any
horse for hours at a time

Should have also added that the
average work saddle is no featherweight
piece of leather
 
Ranger99 said:
Not to mention that the majority of
real cowboys in the heyday of the
cattle drives didn't usually ride around
armed at all. Some had a pistol and/or
rifle and they rode in the chuck wagon
or hoodlum wagon with their bedrolls
and other possessions. You don't load
a horse down with a bunch of stuff
and work cattle too. A slicker and maybe
a canteen. Your big butt and boots and
clothing and chaps and lariat and pocket
contents are plenty of a load for any
horse for hours at a time

Should have also added that the
average work saddle is no featherweight
piece of leather
Click to expand...
And my plastic card key for closest Hampton Inn
 
Ranger99 said:
Probably none
A good many police officers didn't carry
extra ammunition on a belt regularly
until later at the start of the 20th century.
A friend's grandpa was a deputy just
after the territory days in OK, and they
would just have the regular cardboard
box of shells stuck in their coat pocket
if they were on a manhunt or something
like that. When I was young, there were
a good many police departments that
didn't allow speedloaders for their
officers for daily carry. Some only
allowed dump pouches with 6 rounds
if that. If you were allowed a shotgun,
you were issued a tube full and had
to return all those at end of shift
Click to expand...
Yeah. Until the 86 shootout, FBI agent’s didn’t carry enough to protect themselves nor anyone else. Now everyone plays SWAT (I guess unless you work cyber or FCI stuff).
 
Ranger99 said:
Not to mention that the majority of
real cowboys in the heyday of the
cattle drives didn't usually ride around
armed at all. Some had a pistol and/or
rifle and they rode in the chuck wagon
or hoodlum wagon with their bedrolls
and other possessions. You don't load
a horse down with a bunch of stuff
and work cattle too. A slicker and maybe
a canteen. Your big butt and boots and
clothing and chaps and lariat and pocket
contents are plenty of a load for any
horse for hours at a time

Should have also added that the
average work saddle is no featherweight
piece of leather
Click to expand...

From the tens of thousands of hours of Western's I have watched, it is apparent the primary reason men became Cowboys was to wear guns so they could kill someone, anyone, over some trivial reason. Cowboys were not working for money, obviously all their expenses were covered, free food, free shelter, free clothing, free drinks, free everything. It must have been a wonderful world where men armed to the teeth could walk in any bar, pick a fight, and kill everyone inside, for a lark.

See what you learn from TV?
 
Last edited:
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