Couple Chest Rigs Done.

[pmieras2000]

Finished 2 chest rigs:

Springfield XD in 45ACP. Mag pouch is removable. Medium brown finish with natural  color stitching.

S&W 686. Bullet pouch is removable. Black finish with red stitching. Came up with a pretty cool way to carry extra rounds for the S&W. It basically a miniature bullet belt with a flap to keep things fully retained and clean (lined in pig skin). 

Both are very comfortable (even with a full pack) and don't seem to get in the way of the shoulder straps for the backpacks.

Rigging is essentially the same between the two. Goes on extremely quickly once you have the top shoulder strap and left side strap adjusted to how you want it. Right side is a 1" nylon webbing with a snap clip. Pull it tight to cinch it in.

[Bant]

Nice, very nice!  I've toyed with the thought of making such, but there are two problems; 1) I'm a lefty and have had difficulty making a pattern and 2) my skill level isn't all that good.  Again, your work is easy on the eyes and the construction is bullet(pun intended) proof.

[pmieras2000]

23 minutes ago, Bant said:

Nice, very nice!  I've toyed with the thought of making such, but there are two problems; 1) I'm a lefty and have had difficulty making a pattern and 2) my skill level isn't all that good.  Again, your work is easy on the eyes and the construction is bullet(pun intended) proof.

I usually spend a considerable amount of time with patterning. Checking, double checking and triple checking with paper before I commit leather. I will also use strips of leather of the same weight to help with where to place the stitch lines. There are some good tutorials on youtube (I believe "Adams Leather Works" has some good videos for making patterns and layout).

As with skill level, practice, practice. I'll generally over think something before committing but will generally commit. If I mess up, it was a good learning experience and try again...

These are stronger than my prototype. The prototype in a single strap of leather vs 2 layers and stitched. My prototype has held up very well so these should last a life time. They are over-engineered for sure. 

[akguy59]

That is a great looking rig there. Very professionallooking

[Viking]

A very well thought out design. I like your riveting system in a he back of the holster for support, and your hammer retention strap in the 686 holster.  Getting all the “moving pieces“ of a rig like this together for me is too much of a challenge ...