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How to stretch SG loops


Rancho Roy

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Bought a beautiful rig for my new cowgirl wife off a pard on this here forum. She loves it, but the Shotgun loops are extremely tight. I wrapped a few loaded shotgun shells with a few layers of electrical tape and shoved them in hoping they would stretch he leather.

 

Other than having at it with a sanding drum is there anything else I can do to open up the loops?

 

BTW, these are closed bottom loops.

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I used some white 1/2" PVC pipe to stretch mine.You can't keep it in all the time like some people put balls in the holsters.I put in in over night then take them out and try the loops.Do it again and try and again if needed.If you keep them in all the time they will make them too lose.Cut them to the lengths you want and sand the end so it puts a crimp like edge,so it want cut the leather.

Edited by Pit Bull Tex
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Leather is pliable when wet. If you soak the loops with water and then insert the shells with the tape on them and let it dry naturally the leather will conform to the new dimensions.

Edited by Nickel City Dude
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Snap caps with microfiber cloth stretched over them & let sit for about 5 days. Did this twice for my wife's new rig, & it's now perfect!

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I sprayed my shotgun loops with alcohol, inserted a taped shotgun and let them sit until dry, you could use water also.

Best solution. Works on too tight boots as well.

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The leather will stretch to fit the shell.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/162513/kg-kg-9-ptfe-micro-leather-kote-2-oz

This product will make it much easier to to remove the shells from the loops.

You can also use it to park a Cadillac in a dog house. :)

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I used a short water soak, then stuck some 10 ga. shells in the loops until things dried out.

Pretty loose now, but I can't bend over with shells in them!!!☺

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Leather is pliable when wet. If you soak the loops with water and then insert the shells with the tape on them and let it dry naturally the leather will conform to the new dimensions.

 

That's what I did....plus the amount of tape you add to the shell will let you "groom" the fit. Too tight they don't come out....too loose and they fall out when you run.

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Shotgun shell wrapped with 3m blue masking tape. 3 or 4 wraps left in a week and good. can increase or decrease wraps as needed. Was stretched I leave in taped shells during storage. Works great for leather.

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A leather worker friend told me to use water to shrink the leather or alcohol to stretch it. I've done that with holsters, boots and a few other leather items.

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Although alcohol will work, it dries out the leather a great deal and removes important "oils." So most leather workers I know do not recommend it.

 

You do not need to soak the leather in water, just get it wet.

 

The sprays for setching seem to work well too. Just don't over stretch or the shells will fall out. You see that a lot.

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As a leather maker, I would advise against using alcohol (as stated earlier) it can dry out the leather and it can remove some of the leather dye, changing the color. Dampening the leather with cool water water is the best plan of attack. Once the loops are damp, insert shells with a layer of tape or two and let them dry (with the shells in the loops).

 

Once the loops dry, coat the loops with a little neatsfoot oil, because the leather will be a little stiff. If the loops still feel a little tight, put a shell/shells in the loop and work them left and right and front and back.

 

If you get the loops to loose, it's a simple matter to add leather "stops" under the loops to stop the shells from falling through or to position the shells exactly the height you want them. Most good shooters that I have made leather for want the loops to have little or no resistance when they are trying to grab them during a stage. They want them to be in a specific location on the belt and don't want them to fall out. Elastic loops are becoming very popular and I've made a lot of belts with canvas loops. I haven't had many requests for leather loops for a long time. Leather two shell pockets are also big sellers.

 

Another fix for loosing up leather loops is to cut semi-circles/U-shapes on the top front of the loops. A number of very good leather makers sold shotgun belts like this for many years.

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