Bajatacoma

Agreed, lacing isn't usually my thing either but it works well on that holster and the attention to detail in the stampings is excellent. Love the stag grips too, they've gotten crazy expensive for a nice bookend set. ETA- Love how I still get "New member" on an eleven year old account. Yeah I know it's because I'm usually trying to learn something and very rarely post.

Well done.

Thread drift warning: You'll notice I said "most", not all. The buscadero rigs as worn in Hollywood westerns aren't really seen in historical photos. In the article you referenced (https://truewestmagazine.com/low-slung-guns-invention/), he's showing low slung holsters more so than a buscadero style. Even the first picture of the Arizona marshal, while technically a buscadero style, is still worn at the same height, about hip level, as a regular holster on a gunbelt. Remember that photographs were still pretty expensive and more of a novelty back then and that folks tended to dress up and more or less show off, a dandy if you will- what we'd call glamor shots today. Sorry, I don't think the author really proved the point he was trying to make. If you've ever worn a low slung handgun you'll have noted that they tend to move around, bang into stuff, catch on things, etc.; it's why thigh holsters aren't particularly popular in the military or with law enforcement today. They were used in the early part of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars due to the use of body armor but you'll notice that most got shortened (ex. the Safariland 6004 series usually had the top leg strap removed and the drop strap shortened) or soldiers started putting their issued handguns in magazine pouches or holsters on their vests (your own Prince Harry carried his P35 in the MOLLE loops of his body armor which was pretty common as well). Unless the gun is well secured, a low slung holster will also allow the gun to fall out, especially with the rocking motion while riding. I don't see a leather hammer thong securing a gun well enough for a working man, especially given a Colt was about $17 and a working cowboy was making $20-50/month (ammo was also quite expensive). Bonanza was entertainment and the reasons for the set and prop choices, which the other poster questioned, would have been director/producer's choice (which I mentioned having read an article about), ease of audience recognition (if you watch Hollywood almost everyone used a Colt or a Winchester despite there having been plenty of other firearm manufacturers at the same time), use of the common 3 in 1 blanks, what the prop department happened to have on hand or any number of other reasons for their choices. I don't think anyone would consider it to be historically accurate.

Buscadero holster rigs were pretty much a Hollywood and fast draw creation. Looking at old pictures, most folks wore their pistols up high or even stuck in their belt or sash so as to be out of the way but still accessible while on horseback. Bonanza was supposed to be set in the 1860s so the cartridge revolvers were anachronistic to begin with. IIRC, they started with Remingtons and then switched to Colt 1873s but there were other cartridge guns used such as the Winchesters, some derringers, etc. I vaguely remember reading something about the director not wanting the characters to appear as "gunfighters" as was typical in the westerns of that period. The Magnificent Seven was set around the 1880s so most of the guns would have been correct. No idea why McQueen's character didn't wear a cartridge belt since most of the other actors did. He had a second revolver stuck in the back of his belt for a lot of the scenes; it might have had something to do with his and Bryner's trying to one up each other as far as stealing scenes. They had a feud that lasted years after the movie.

I've sprayed mine with oil then wrapped it with Saran wrap before. There are videos of guys using grocery bags, Ziplocs and others types on Youtube so i guess it really doesn't matter. The frames on the Airweight Smiths are Scandium but the screws, triggers, hammers, sight pins and some of the barrels and cylinders aren't alloys.

Very cool design and very clean.

Firstly, know that I can't make anything that nice so don't take this as criticism of your talent. Since you asked for ways to improve future models I'll toss these out. As already noted, ditch the shoelace or cord or whatever it is on the revolver holster and use leather lacing. From a practical standpoint, since you're apparently going for a gunfighter style rig judging by your username and interests, your holster is stitched to the back of the belt and while it looks cleaner, it provides a lip for the cylinder to catch on. No big deal as it's a replica and you aren't going to be engaging in actual gunfights or shooting fast draw competitions with it but with repeated drawings the cylinder may score the belt (just kind of unsightly since you did a nice job tooling it). Google some images of fast draw or buscadero holsters and you'll see that they are designed so that there is nothing to impede the drawing of the revolver- you want it smooth. On the mare's leg holster, I can see the utility of having the two securing straps to keep what is otherwise an unwieldy to carry weapon secured from flopping around. Most of the open designs you see on-line have one strap over the receiver or a hook for the saddle ring (i.e. Zoe's rig in Firefly)- which would actually allow it to move around more so that running with it would probably be almost comical. They also have either an open front spring clip or a cup at the muzzle. Your strap is above the front sight so again, you have something for the gun to hang up on when you draw. Most rifle sight hoods typically slide on from the rear of the sight but if it slides on from the front you may risk losing it. I'd consider either making the lower retaining loop wider to include covering the front sight or actually turning it into a pocket (with a drain hole) which would help reduce the chances of damaging the muzzle crown (which affects accuracy) or getting junk in the muzzle when kneeling (bad things happen when you get bore obstructions). One last suggestion- which direction do you walk? Think about the direction of your snap straps and what can happen when you walk forward- you can catch them on objects such as brush, chairs, whatever. No self-respecting gunslinger wants to have his firearm falling out of his holster.