The Fontiersman's Mexican Loop Holster
From the mid-1870's to today, this gunleather form is still the classic Western holster.
Categories: Collecting the West , Photo Gallery
By: Phil Spangenberger 08/01/2008
While most loop holsters featured skirt loops that were cut into the backing, some—predominantly those manufactured in Texas and Montana—featured loops that were separately sewn or riveted. However they were crafted, the loops could be fashioned as straight or curved cuts, while some were shaped with scalloped edges. Regardless of style or embellishment, the loops remained an integral part of the holster’s functional design.
Initially, loop holsters were longer affairs, largely reflecting the 1870s-era cartridge Colts, Remingtons and Smith &?Wesson revolvers that were so often produced with 7 1/2 - to 8-inch barrels. Early scabbards were turned out with a tear drop-shaped toe plug, which helped maintain the holster’s shape in the lower portion of the sheath, while later specimens either left the toe open or continued the main seam closure throughout the toe area. Generally, the skirt backings of the first loop holsters tended to extend only halfway down the pouch, while those later-produced sheaths usually featured three-quarter- to full-length skirts.
Cheyenne to Texas Variations
Following the metamorphosis of the California holster, the Mexican Loop holster of the early 1880s went from a scabbard specifically fitted to a particular model gun to a gently tapered pouch with a semi-contoured main seam. The newer version was produced so a single holster could conform to a number of large-framed revolvers, rather than each sheath being cut for a given model. This gave most gun rigs of this breed a similar appearance. Nevertheless, a couple of Mexican Loop-style holsters still became identified with specific areas of the frontier.
By far, the best known was the so-called “Cheyenne” loop holster, created in the early years of the breed by regional saddlers such as F.A. Menea, E.L. Gallatin and possibly J.S. Collins. The Cheyenne holster is readily identified by its contoured main seam, fashioned with a slight bulge between the skirt loops—so created to hold the scabbard portion securely in place while the six-gun is being withdrawn. Interestingly, regardless of vintage, the Cheyenne-style holsters nearly always feature a sewn-in toe plug, occasionally called a “Cheyenne” plug. Cowhands of the Great Plains felt that besides helping keep the holster’s shape, the toe plug helped prevent snow from clogging the gun barrel—a problem not to be overlooked on the northern ranges. The Cheyenne holster remained popular from the time of its inception in the 1870s and well into the 20th century.
Down Texas way, a unique variation of the Mexican Loop holster appeared in the late 1890s, yet this style held a much more limited appeal to Westerners. Even so, well-known holster makers throughout the West produced a small number of the “Texas Jockstrap” holster. Saddlers H.A. Holtzer of Llano and S.D. Myers of Sweetwater rank among the craftsmen of the area credited with originating this holster style. Its most prominent features were a gently-tapered, pouch-type scabbard, coupled with a large T-shaped loop or “collar,” that held its pouch securely at each side as well as at the bottom. This so-called “Jockstrap” appendage was actually a separate piece of leather, affixed to the skirt via rivets. In a few instances, a full pocket, in which the lower half of the holster pouch was firmly seated, was stitched to the skirt. The Texas Jockstrap loop holster enjoyed a modicum of popularity until sometime in the 1940s.
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