In the Westerns, all of the gun belts are worn below the belt line and another belt secures the pants. I guess that was convenient when they went into an establishment that did not allow guns. Their pants still stayed up. When did gun belts begin to double as a regular belt holding up your pants?

That happened when concealed carry became the norm.

If you look at pics of working cowboys (or any other profession that carried sidearms) from the 19th and early 20th centuries, it's pretty much the same. Big guns required big carry rigs.

Now, with CC, sidearms are smaller, such as the Glock 19 and 4" and smaller 1911's, a sturdy waist belt for holster, spare mags, and trousers, is sufficient.

The farther back you go, the bigger and heavier the guns get.

A Single Action Army isn't very different in size or weight from a modern revolver (granted, they had longer barrels than are usual now).

A Colt Walker is HUGE and HEAVY (15" long and 4.5 pounds).

It’s more than the size and weight of a SAA, or any other side arm of the old West; it’s also that a cowboy would be wearing chaps and the top of them would be at the waistline. Still, I think it’s probably correct to consider the weight of the gun and holster—and the fact that they carried extra cartridges, as the best reason to wear a gun belt.

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A Colt Walker is HUGE and HEAVY (15" long and 4.5 pounds)

Which is why they were known as a “horse pistol.” They were usually carried in a saddle rig over the front swells.

Older movies and teevee shows aren’t necessarily the best way to learn about how things were actually done in the old west. In fact, some high tier custom holster and gun belt makers clearly differentiate between “movie style” and authentic rigs. Based on what I’ve seen, the authentic gear enclosed and secured and protected the revolver better than what characters like Roy Rogers and the like were depicted as using to permit fastest draws. Learning that truth was one of the disappointments of my (very) late childhood.

But in any event, a long barreled heavy revolver worn on a waistline pants belt would be more awkward to draw even slowly than if it were dropped down a bit with a lower-ride belt and holster.

I think in one of Louis L'Amour's books, the Walker Colts were referred to as "mini cannons" or something like that

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Originally posted by TMats:

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A Colt Walker is HUGE and HEAVY (15" long and 4.5 pounds)

Which is why they were known as a “horse pistol.” They were usually carried in a saddle rig over the front swells.

Gunslingers who wanted a fast draw were drawn to holsters worn lower on the body, which necessitated a special "gun belt".

flashguy

When pants were designed to be worn about an inch under your tits, you had to wear a separate gun belt. It's a fairly recent thing that pants are worn on the hips.

Mostly... people didn't use belts to actually hold their pants up till well into the 20th century.

Most of the cowboy "rigs" you see in old movies and tv shows were an invention of Hollywood.

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Originally posted by lkdr1989:
I think in one of Louis L'Amour's books, the Walker Colts were referred to as "mini cannons" or something like that

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Originally posted by TMats:

quote:

A Colt Walker is HUGE and HEAVY (15" long and 4.5 pounds)

Which is why they were known as a “horse pistol.” They were usually carried in a saddle rig over the front swells.

My Daddy called his his Hogleg.

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When pants were designed to be worn about an inch under your tits, you had to wear a separate gun belt. It's a fairly recent thing that pants are worn on the hips.

Wearing your pants an inch below your tits is a signal to me that you are old. It is similar to wearing socks with sandals and black socks with shorts. LOL

and spur's

half of the western tv shows and old western movie's had spur's onthe rider's and the other half never wore spur's.

when did horse riders need spurs and when did the go w/o?

whats up with that?

I think the spur business is part Hollywood too. But there is this to consider as well. If you weren't just in off the range you had no need whatsoever to be wearing spurs. Townies probably wouldn't even own a saddle horse, where in the hell were you going to store it or ride it for that matter? If you were out in the sticks you'd bring a wagon to town to either pick up or deliver something.

I think the crowd you see riding sport bikes in leathers and helmets would be the same crowd wearing spurs then.

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Originally posted by bendable:
and spur's

half of the western tv shows and old western movie's had spur's onthe rider's and the other half never wore spur's.

when did horse riders need spurs and when did the go w/o?

whats up with that?

With a few notable exceptions, e.g. Ben Johnson and Richard Farnsworth, we’re talking actors, not cowboys. Cowboys wear spurs. Actors do their level best to just not appear foolish. Look at a typical scene with a lot of riders—many are just holding on

The spurs question I think I can address in one way: I was a gas station cashier recently at a gas station that some real cowboys stop at on the way home from the range. Some of them I have seen wearing spurs and were just about caked with mud and shit everywhere that the chaps they obviously had been wearing were then not covering. These gentlemen were definitely very Mexican. They were definitely very cowboy. I’ve seen people play cowboy, I’ve seen people wear spurs that don’t ride. Mexicans with worn-out pickup trucks and uneven bootheels don’t play cowboy. My conclusion is that real cowboys still wear spurs for activities spurs need be worn for.