My very first El Paso Saddlery catalog was constructed of simple 8 ½” x 11” typing paper, folded in half, and stapled in the middle. On the front cover of the pages of elegantly pencil drawn leather holster, belt, and cartridge carrier selections was a Xeroxed photograph with the following caption: “Pat Garrett’s grandson holding the Colt Single Action Army used to smoke Billy the Kid.” Now that was a featured celebrity catalog cover!
Originally, the S.D. Myer Saddle Company was established at Sweetwater, Texas in 1898 and relocated to El Paso around 1920. The current El Paso Saddlery Company carries on the tradition of Myer’s simple, clean holster designs. None other than Gen. George S. Patton and John Wayne carried handguns in leather rigs made in El Paso by S.D. Myer.*
I can highly recommend several El Paso Saddlery holsters, belts, and cartridge carriers. As to holsters, I am partial to their #44 Rig (as worn by John Wayne in his last film, “The Shootist”) and “Crosshair” open top belt scabbard. For a touch of Southwestern class, their #150 Riverbelt or my daily-wear favorite (1 ½” #20 Dress Belt) are sturdy enough to hold up a 1911A1 and double magazine pouch all day long. (Unlike when these words were first put to paper; I’ll need to add a good set of gallouses to that ensemble.)
Speaking of accessories, the 1F and 2F magazine pouches are low profile means to keep your semi-automatic fed (spare magazines aren’t carried for increasing one’s ability to spray additional inaccurate shots; but to replace the most likely cause of semi-automatic failures: a faulty magazine).
Probably my favorite piece of El Paso Saddlery gear is the 2-6 Pickbox. The Pickbox is a means of carrying six extra revolver rounds (divided 2x2x2) in a covered flat belt pouch. A couple of specific notes are in order, here:
1. A revolver is properly ran until all rounds are expended and you get a “click”; thereafter, you should (DRAW A SECOND GUN!) dump all empties with a swift “spanking” of the ejector rod; load the cylinder with two rounds and close the cylinder so the fresh rounds are on the side of the topstrap opposite the direction of cylinder rotation so that the revolver is immediately ready to fire when the trigger is again pressed; re-engage the threat until those two rounds are expended; unload; and repeat the whole process until the threat is ended. The Pickbox is custom made for how limited capacity arms should be fed (much like a properly run pump shotgun).
2. Remember, russet brown leather should be ordered with brass hardware. Black leather should have nickel hardware.
Everytime I use El Paso Saddlery gear to carry my family’s safety/rescue equipment, I’m reminded of the salad days with the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment along the Rio Grande. Have we ever talked of Ol’ Juarez, Mexico?
Next Week: Kramer Leather
* Though always photographed with his signature, silver plated, ivory stocked 4 ¾” .45 Colt SAA; Gen. Patton’s “Killin’ Gun” worn into combat was his blued, ivory stocked 3½” S&W
“'Registered”.357 Magnum (both of which you may still view at Ft. Knox’s Patton Museum). Barranti Leather of Dunn, Texas acquired the original S.D. Myer copper holster patterns a few years ago, and is another source of these timeless western holster designs.
Shane Morris is a retired soldier and teacher. Contact at sigm11@yahoo.com (Subject: NtC)
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