The JDL Fast-Draw Rig

Anyone who follows this blog knows I'm a hobbyist leatherworker. For about a year now, I have been making "cowboy" holsters. They all have basically been me looking at rigs made by others, and trying to make something that functioned as well and looked as good as the types of cowboy rigs I saw. I've had successes and failures.

My biggest initial obstacle was tightness. For a concealed holster, you want the holster to hold tightly to the weapon. Not so in a Fast-Draw Rig. They need to fit the gun well, but have NO RETENTION, so that the gun can be snatched quickly and get on target. After 4 or so attempts, I finally got a well-fitted design with no retention.

Next, I figured out the correct stiffener for the leather. That was basically just some trial and error.

Then came cant. In fast-draw, you want just a slight forward cant, so that took some serious thought.

After figuring all this out, I settled on a basic pattern that I liked, similar to one of the holsters made by Mernickle. I extended the bottom of the holster slightly, because in the Mernicles, the gun can ride low, and the barrel will slightly poke out the bottom.

I also make it out of one layer of leather, rough-side in, unlike the Mernickle which uses 2 layers, lined with metal between, for a stiffener. Because of the decision to make it one layer, I attached the Chicago screws holding the back flap on differently, too. I use a leather billet that grabs the bottom of the belt.

And lastly, I designed a wax-bullet deflector that is made entirely out of leather, rather than a leather-sheathed piece of steel.

Overall, I like the design, and do feel as if it is the final evolution of this Fast-Draw Rig. As such, I am naming it the JDL Fast-Draw Rig (short for J. D. Leather).

Now, when someone wants one, they can order, for example, by saying something like " I'd like a JDL Fast-Draw Rig, black, with border stamping. I'd like the right-hand cut, and my belt measurement is 42 inches."

At any rate, this is the second of this design, with 2 others that had *almost* all the same features.