Cowboy Action Leather Loading Strips

[noobleather]

Gday All

Has anyone here made their own leather loading strips for Cowboy single action shooting? I tried searching but maybe I was looking in the wrong area??

I am interested in making some up for myself and guys at my club,in .357 and .45LC and was wondering if anyone has patterns,advise, pictures etc.

[RockyAussie]

Have you got any pictures?

[Matt S]

8 hours ago, noobleather said:

Gday All

Has anyone here made their own leather loading strips for Cowboy single action shooting? I tried searching but maybe I was looking in the wrong area??

I am interested in making some up for myself and guys at my club,in .357 and .45LC and was wondering if anyone has patterns,advise, pictures etc.

Not specifically, but AIUI they're basically a short length of cartridge belt that hangs from a cord hung around the neck, no?

There's plenty of designs of cartridge belt readily available, for free on the net (especially YouTube) or in inexpensive publications (such as by Al Stolhman or Will Ghormley). All you need to do is decide which style you prefer, and made a short section of it with two small holes near the top for a cord. Think of it as an opportunity to exercise your artistic side! 

Edited April 8, 2018 by Matt S

[noobleather]

Yes they are basically like a cartridge belt,some are double sided with 10 round capacity. Haven't seen anyone hanging them around their necks,mostly they hang off the gun belt.

I am not concerned about the shape of it,just forming and hand sewing the bullet loops.

Cheers

[dikman]

The few I've made didn't need stitching of the loops. I measured out the spacing first and made a template with all the dimensions on (so I could easily duplicate it). I marked it out and punched slots for the loops, basically feeding it through and back so that a loop is formed at each slot. The leather is dampened slightly and a cartridge inserted at each loop and pulled tight at each loop. I glue the start and end bits of the leather loop strap, although some use rivets. I make two of these loop strips and glue them back-to-back to make a double-sided holder with a thin leather spacer in between then stitch them together ('cos it looks nicer). I've been using Kangaroo for the loop strips as it's thin but strong. Punch a hole in the end for a strap (more Kangaroo!).

The top one is a bought one, the bottom one I made.

 

[garypl]

3 hours ago, dikman said:

The few I've made didn't need stitching of the loops. I measured out the spacing first and made a template with all the dimensions on (so I could easily duplicate it). I marked it out and punched slots for the loops, basically feeding it through and back so that a loop is formed at each slot. The leather is dampened slightly and a cartridge inserted at each loop and pulled tight at each loop. I glue the start and end bits of the leather loop strap, although some use rivets. I make two of these loop strips and glue them back-to-back to make a double-sided holder with a thin leather spacer in between then stitch them together ('cos it looks nicer). I've been using Kangaroo for the loop strips as it's thin but strong. Punch a hole in the end for a strap (more Kangaroo!).

The top one is a bought one, the bottom one I made.

 

Yours looks much nicer!

Gary

[RockyAussie]

Well done dikman , I think that looks to be a nice and easy design to cater for a range of different size bullets.  I wonder why I don't see the loop idea put into rifle slings with some method to adjust and tie off to suit the bullet.

[dikman]

It's certainly easier than messing around stitching loops! I guess some might like the look of stitched loops better, but I figure it's only a loading strip so as long as it's functional I see no point in spending too much time on one.

[plinkercases]

I shoot CAs and came up with this which work well for me. I wear a tall boot and keep the full ones on one side and then put the emptied on the porter so I can carry enough fro 4 stages without having to get a new one from some were... shotgun shells are just on my belt all the time.

Each case holds 4x5 rounds for a one rifle and 2 pistol stage.

 

[noobleather]

Sorry 

I got lost in this big forum.

Thanks for those replies.Both of your loading strips look great.

Still haven't gotten round to making one yet

Edited May 22, 2018 by noobleather

[CaptQuirk]

These are the cartridge straps I make, using belt scraps. I don't care for stitching the loops, so I weave it in and out through slots. They clip to belt loops, or many other options... but I found out that you don't want to hang it from the front belt loops. When you get to walking, the strap starts swinging back and forth. It isn't pleasant when you have a full strap of ammo slapping you in the privates.

[dikman]

(or maybe ). Not a problem when you wear suspenders - no belt loops.

[noobleather]

On 5/22/2018 at 11:11 PM, CaptQuirk said:

These are the cartridge straps I make, using belt scraps. I don't care for stitching the loops, so I weave it in and out through slots. They clip to belt loops, or many other options... but I found out that you don't want to hang it from the front belt loops. When you get to walking, the strap starts swinging back and forth. It isn't pleasant when you have a full strap of ammo slapping you in the privates.

Great work there!!! What calibre are they

I don't run to the loading table and don't shoot that fast to run between the bails LOL

[CaptQuirk]

@noobleather- those are 45LC, but I also do them in .357/.38.

[chrisash]

Ok I will be the one!

Why not use the old style cartridge belt like cowboys?

 

[plinkercases]

When shooting in a CAS completion you need to get off the loading table quickly and also need to be absolutely certain about the number of rounds loaded so having a strip or case which holds the exact number of rounds for a "stage". Also some matches go at least 4 stages and each stage can use 20 rounds so you would still need to reload your cartridge belt unless you could put 80+ loops on it... or are a big fella with a long belt (which you can actually reach all rounds) .... which I am not.

 

 

[CaptQuirk]

I make them, so folks don't need to hold extra ammo in their pocket... Barney Fife could have used one.

[billybopp]

7 hours ago, CaptQuirk said:

I make them, so folks don't need to hold extra ammo in their pocket... Barney Fife could have used one.

Barney only ever had the one round, tho ... Wouldn't make much of a strip!

[noobleather]

On 5/30/2018 at 11:36 PM, CaptQuirk said:

@noobleather- those are 45LC, but I also do them in .357/.38.

Very Nice

On 6/1/2018 at 3:34 AM, plinkercases said:

When shooting in a CAS completion you need to get off the loading table quickly and also need to be absolutely certain about the number of rounds loaded so having a strip or case which holds the exact number of rounds for a "stage". Also some matches go at least 4 stages and each stage can use 20 rounds so you would still need to reload your cartridge belt unless you could put 80+ loops on it... or are a big fella with a long belt (which you can actually reach all rounds) .... which I am not.

 

 

Couldn't have said it better.