I agree with you both, I wouldnt have much use for a rifle in a scabbard where I couldnt get to it with ease, most photos Ive seen have the firearm butt facing forward.  Ive carried on horseback back in the day and it was always by hand or throw it in the lap between me and the saddle horn.  I like some of the saddle boots shown in the captions above but my main criticism of them is that it leaves the end of the barrel vulnerable to damage or to get tangled in something (when hung low at the side of the horse).  Like most things you attach to a horse you want them to be out of the business end (legs), not dragging the ground, cinched tight to the sides and not sticking out across its breadth to get hung on something, and definitely no flopping around, its as unpleasant for the horse to have a 7-10 pound firearm flopping around as it is for you having one slung to your side.  The photo of the NWMP with his 1876 slung openly to the side of the horse may have been why many of them had to be repaired, looks good in a parade but not in practical use.  I would hate to think the most important tool available for my survival (not to mention the expensive) wasnt secured in the most protected and readily available way possible. 

Chris

mike webb said

As far as cowboys went I would think that any who carried a rifle would use a saddle scabbard. These guys worked with their hands and you can’t do a whole lot on horseback with a rifle in your hand or hands. Unless you were expecting trouble, I guess.

You are right, Mike.  We have to distinguish between real working cowboys and someone packing a rifle for hunting or especially Hollywood’s romanticized version of cowboys.  In actual fact, at least here in the Western Great Basin, very few working cowboys even carried firearms to work, and if they did, it would be a rare situation in which they used them. 

Remember, cowboys didn’t (and still don’t) saddle up and ride around aimlessly looking for trouble like Hollywood cowboys.  They have very specific tasks to perform, usually involving checking on or moving cattle.  The last thing a cowboy wants to do is to fire a gun in the presence of cattle or off the back of the vast majority of ranch horses.  It’s a recipe for disaster.

My grandfather, who rode long, hard days until he was nearly 90 years old, did carry a Colt SAA in 41LC in a pocket on the inside of his chaps, but I never saw it come out and never heard a story about it used while he was working.

There are old scabbards in most of the tack rooms here, but I suspect they were most often used when ranchers went out hunting.  I also suspect that rifles stayed in the scabbard until the rider felt there may be a sudden need for it.  Certainly, cowboys with work to do wouldn’t have a rifle laying across the saddle horn.

Today, here in Paisley, Oregon, there is a crew of about a dozen buckaroos (as they are called here) riding full-time for the ZX Ranch and many, many ranchers who ride and work in much the same way they did a century or more ago.  Rarely, do any of them carry a rifle while working.  From a practical standpoint, it is extra weight and bulk and there is a very slim chance that they would need to use it.  Several do carry sidearms, just like grandpa did. 

I’ve also seen many pictures of our past buckaroos and have not seen scabbards as part of their gear.  I recognize there were differences in the tack, clothing, gear and work practices of cowboys from different areas, so cowboys in other areas may have carried rifles more often than they did here.  From a practical standpoint, I kind of doubt it.

Sorry if this post tarnishes anybody’s romantic image of Western cowboys packing a Winchester on the dusty trail, but I suspect it was the exception rather than the rule.       

I agree with you both, there likely a time and place when you carried.  When I carried mine it was because I was hunting.  I probably carried it the most when we used to hunt hogs with dogs on horseback years ago and across the front of the saddle is where it rode.  I didnt have a scabbard, never even thought of having one.  Had a buddy who carried a pistol in a holster cinched to the side of his saddle, that was how he did it.  We rarely used them, only in an emergency or when the dogs got in trouble with a hog, otherwise most hogs were killed with a knife.  When we were working cattle on horseback or just rambling around, the guns stayed at home.  As then as it is now, there would have been a time, place, or purpose that would have dictated how and when you carried your guns.  There isn’t one answer that would satisfy all the scenarios or types of uses beyond a generalization based on what we’ve seen from the past or experienced first hand.    

Back to that pistol my buddy carried, it was some sort of Ruger pistol.  He was doing some day work rounding up cattle off of a local ranch one day and lost his pistol.  He thought he lost it in a bunch of white brush or something but never found it.  I think it was 8-10 years later one of the old ranch hands found his pistol.  It was stuck in a piece of brush, a limb had weaved its way through the trigger guard–thats how he believes it got pulled our of his open top holster.  The limb had grown in diameter and swelled like an abscess on both sides of the trigger guard.  The old boy cut the limb and took the pistol, giving it back to my buddy.  He found out Ruger offered a warranty on the pistol so he sent it back to Ruger like it was, tree still attached.  They sent him a new one.  Ruger took that pistol and removed the tree growth from it, and since it was still loaded tested it to see if it would still fire–and it did.  I was told Ruger used that little story and the results from their tests in their advertising not long after the pistol was returned to them.   

FromTheWoods said

My grandfather rode for the ZX.  He and Great-grandpa are up on the hill south of town.  Dad was born in Paisley.

Never tire of hearing about life in that area.  Thank you, Mark D. 

If you ever find yourself in Paisley, look me up.  There’ll be a cold beer and lots of stories (some of them may even be true) waiting for you at the Saloon.

I was looking through the book Packing Iron, Gunleather of the Frontier West by Richard Rattenburry, a source for some of the holster designs I have made in the past, and found a good number of original photos and diagrams showing how rifles/carbines were carried and thought I would share.  This book is a treasure trove of information on gunleather and worth every penny if you can find it.  All descriptions given are by the author. 

1:  “Photographed druing the mid- to late 1880s, this unknown trooper wears an interesting mix of military gunleather.  Hanging over his shoulder is the narrow, 1885 Pattern Carbine Sling as described in Ordnance Memorandum No. 29…(Image courtesy Herb Peck, Jr. Collection)” Page 32.

2:  “Military Carbine Sling.  Watervliet Arsenal, New York, 1855-1885. The classic carbines sling of the Civil War and later Indian Wars, this pattern was specified in General Order No. 13 of 1885.  Constructed of black collar-weight leather, the sling proper is 1 1/2 inches wide and fixed with a rectangular, double-claw brass buckle and riveted brass tip.  The attached D-ring with roller bar and clip-spring hook are made of polished iron…(Courtesy Private Collection)”  Page 33.

3:  “This 1851 sketch by Frank Mayer portrays the typical U.S. Dragoon horse equipment of the period.  Not the use of the carbine bucket, or “boot” retaining the muzzle of the carbine, and the associated “carbine strap” securing the weapon at the wrist.  The items probably are those specified with the Grimsley pattern saddle.  (Image courtesy Scott Meadows”  Page 34.

4:  Photo of a Military Carbine Boot, Page 35:

5:  “Military Carbine Loop. Maker Unknown, 1875-1885…undoubtedly was the “home-made: product of an individual trooper…Constructed of medium-weight, dark russet skirting leather, the loop consists of a rounded and slotted panel secured with cross straps that micht be laced through the saddle’s staples or pommel slots…(Courtesy Don Spaulding Collection”  Page 36

6:  Military “carbine loop” with strap attachment for McClellan saddle (left) and Whitman saddle (right).  After conceptual drawing by Randy Steffen, Page 36.

7:  Another example of a carbine boot, Page 38.

8:  “Taken in 1886 at Encampment, Wyoming Territory, this rare outdoor image clearly illustrates the use of a saddle-mounted, “horn loop” device…(Courtesy Grand Encampment Museum)”  Page 163.

  9:  “Photographed in 1887, Texas Ranger Ira Aten carries his deluxe, lever action Winchester rifle in full saddle scabbard with arched through profile and riveted retaining straps for the sling leathers.  (Image courtesy Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma Library)”  Page 167.

10:  Early twentieth century Arizona Rangers (Image courtesy Arizona Historical Society Library, Tuscon).   Thats an 1895 Winchester carbine he is holding.

Love this topic as I collect both Winchester and U.S. military carbines.  Here is my 2 cents worth:

• The military used “carbine slings” and “carbine sockets” from the Civil War up until 1885.  The short link (attached to the sling in the picture below) was issued during the Civil War period and the longer link was issued during the Indian war period:

In 1885, the military switched over to the “carbine boot”.  There were several designs but the Model 1885 boot is pictured below: