Big Daddy gets a Leather Jacket. (Rogers & Spencer)

[Ugly Sauce]

Nope, it's not pretty, like them Slim Jims and Big Jims, but they sure work well when you are thrashing through and busting the brush. Or taking a bad fall. Anyhow, I got another Dell's holster which is not as nice/good as the one I got for the Little Brat, which is on the left. As they only make exact replicas of Civil War flap holsters, I couldn't get one for a R&S, but the Remington holster was close enough.

The holster for the '62PP is made of a much thinner leather than this Remington holster. It was easy to wet form. This new one is made out of some bull hide or something, it was stiff as a board and took a lot of water to wet-form, and even then did not come out as good. Not much detail showing. However, that may be because the R&S is a bigger gun than the Remington, so there was less leather to stretch/form to shape.

Another thing is that having to wet it down that much, I couldn't leave the gun in the holster as long as I would have liked. So I'd put it in for a while as it dried, take it out and dry it off, re-oil, repeat. I did get that perfect fit though, like one of them plastic holsters they make for them plastic guns.

Anyhow, I was thrilled with the quality and functionality of the first one I got for the '62, but the leather they used for this is way overkill. I've been slathering Mink oil, Hubbard's shoe oil, bear grease and coconut oil on it and it's still way more stiff than I would like. It's functional at this point, but that must have been one big UGLY old bull they got the hide off of.

On the upside, when Big Daddy is in it, no harm can come to him. I could drag this behind the dirt bike on a mountain road and not worry about hurting the gun. Which is good, when I'm riding the mountain roads there is always a chance of taking a spill, which can be hard on a holstered pistol. No problem with this rig. It is quite "bullet proof" no doubt.

And BIG is the word of the day. The holster and pistol, with the pistol loaded with five rounds, weighs in at 62 ounces. Dang. Damn! Got some big iron on me hip.

If any of you leather working guys has any ideas as to how to soften the leather further, let me know. Maybe it will soften up more as the oil has more time to soak in, and I put some miles on it.?

 

[dickydalton]

I have a few Dell's holsters and like them all.

Remmy's And A Knife

• dickydalton
• Sep 22, 2019

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I have a few Dell's holsters and like them all.

Remmy's And A Knife

• dickydalton
• Sep 22, 2019

View attachment 1095324

I was/am very happy with my first one. This new one was just so stiff. But, I'm getting it pretty saturated now, and it's coming around. And again, it's a tough hunk, the pistol will come to no harm in it. !!! If I were to name my holsters, it would be: "EL TORO"!!!! Might have come from a rodeo bull in Mexico that no one could ride.

 

[Captain*kirk]

Nice looking jacket, US. And black leather to boot! Almost James Dean-ish. Almost.
The one thing that's always worked for me on leather is neatsfoot oil. Not sure what it is, 'zactly...but it seems to work.

 

[Bibbyman]

Made this Slim Jim last winter for my Rogers and Spencer. It's a copy (more or less) of the holster Jesse James had.

 

[hawg]

View attachment 1095283


The holster for the '62PP is made of a much thinner leather than this Remington holster. It was easy to wet form. This new one is made out of some bull hide or something, it was stiff as a board and took a lot of water to wet-form, and even then did not come out as good. Not much detail showing. However, that may be because the R&S is a bigger gun than the Remington, so there was less leather to stretch/form to shape.

Another thing is that having to wet it down that much, I couldn't leave the gun in the holster as long as I would have liked.


Anyhow, I was thrilled with the quality and functionality of the first one I got for the '62, but the leather they used for this is way overkill. I've been slathering Mink oil, Hubbard's shoe oil, bear grease and coconut oil on it and it's still way more stiff than I would like. It's functional at this point, but that must have been one big UGLY old bull they got the hide off of.

Put the gun in a baggie while it's in the holster. Don't oil it too much or it will get soft and limp. You really want a holster to be stiff.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Made this Slim Jim last winter for my Rogers and Spencer. It's a copy (more or less) of the holster Jesse James had.

Beautiful. I'd call it a "Big Jim". The Rogers & Spencer is a big gun.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Put the gun in a baggie while it's in the holster. Don't oil it too much or it will get soft and limp. You really want a holster to be stiff.

Dang! I forgot about the baggie trick! D'oh! Oh well, it was loaded when I wet-formed, it will be interesting to see if all the caps go off.

It's true, one doesn't want the holster to be too limp. But, I'm telling ya Hawg, I don't see this hunk of leather ever getting limp. I don't think submerging it in a tub of oil for a week would limp it up. Not kidding! Too much oil on this thing will be just right. But, I think it's finally coming along, I'm/it's almost there, and will work fine. And be tougher than tungsten carbide. Well...almost.

Having said all that, the best holster I've ever had is one a saddle maker in Spokane made me when I first got my Ruger SBH, a million years ago when I was 19 or 20 years old. (after I discovered how much dirt, dust, seeds, sticks and leaves a pistol in an open top can accumulate when hunting) He had an original cavalry holster in his shop and pretty much duplicated it. He used a thick latigo leather which is quite soft, but thick enough that it's not too soft, or limp. That holster is still going strong. Talk about aged! It is very aged. When I was young and strong I took that pistol everywhere, even back-packing with a 70 pound pack. !!

 

[Bibbyman]

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Yeah yeah...!!!! I know, I knew the trick, but totally forgot. I'm like that sometimes. So, I'll say it again: "Do'H"!!!!!!

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Well folks she's done. Turned out better than I expected. Took a lot of oil to get there. Started off with coconut, then some bear grease but didn't want to use much of that valuable stuff, a little bit of bacon grease, and then a lot of Hubbard's Shoe Oil. Compare it to the first photo, it has a nice sheen to it now, feels way better. Still a very stiff feeling holster, but nothing like raw bull hide anymore. Got a little more detail on the form too. And the fit is superb, the pistol kind of "locks in" to the holster.

I'm happy with it. The upside of course is that it's one tough puppy. The pistol is about as protected as it can get.

Big Daddy says: "thanks for listening". !!!