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How do you store your rigs?


Nostrum Damus SASS #110702

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I now own two buscadero rigs and one cowboy rig, and am starting to wonder if there's a better way to store them when not in use than coiling them up and putting them in a box.  All three have their cartridge loops filled because I like that look much better than empty loops, and those rounds live in the belts semi-permanently.  Your ideas, suggestions, photos, are invited and welcomed.  Thanks.

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After mine hang overnight to dry out sweat they are rolled into a large canvas bag for storage in a cabinet. I dont store ammo in the loops because the tanning acids tend to turn the brass green, verdigris, and aren't as usable in the event of a jacked round or a mandatory reload. At my age I don't want to carry the extra weight all day either. 

 

Imis

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takes less than a week for the brass to show the verdigris and the thickness increases over time.  as Imis said above can increase to point that cartridges won't chamber

 

Also if you have perspired during the match (women ''glow') and you hand  your leather up the holsters might slide on the belt (not usually a problem with a buscadero rig).  This movement can trap a damp section of belt under the holster.

 

Hang mine from bedpost (tall bedpost) overnight with fan running then adjust next morning so holsters are in different locations on belt.  

 

If I have any steam left I'll remove the holsters, cartridge holder and belt and let them dry separately.

 

after that hang from gun cart

 

YMMV

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I just hang 'em over a Shaker Peg onna wall.  Depending on the guns I'm shooting, I change out the Holster frequently so I have a Bureau Drawer full of Holsters and Drop Loops.  I don't shoot inna Rain so they don't get wet.

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Nickled brass won't turn green.  It won't look period correct (haha, like you care with buscadero rigs).

 

I'm sort of living back and forth between two places, so some of my leather mostly stays coiled up in the trunk of the Lincoln.  Others hang from hooks or pegs on wall.   Lately I have been using web belts more often which dry out more quickly.  And BTW, some folks have said that brass won't turn green in a web belt.  My experience is that they turn brown in a pattern from the cloth weave and those are also a little harder to chamber.  But it takes a while.

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So, this raises the obvious historical questions:

(1) if brass starts to tarnish and form verdigris within days of being placed in the loops of a gun belt, why are the loops there at all?  

(2) in Ye Olde Tyme Wild West, did the gunfighters and lawmen carry around bags or boxes of ammo and load up the gun belt loops only just before getting into a fight, and then unload afterwards?  The answers above seem to suggest that if they did not do so, those rounds carried in the gun belt's loops would not chamber after a few weeks.

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On gun belts the holsters have either  tennis balls  or cue balls depending on the gun size. Any shells in loops are removed and then placed in cabinet.

 

JRJ & SP

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I've had mostly the same loaded ammo in my belt, and while there is some discoloring, I do use the ammo when I jack a round with the rifle. Not that this a common occurrence mind you, but rounds do get used from time to time.

 

Other than that, I too hang my rig in the closet by my cowboy clothes.

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I like the looks of full cartridge loops also, So I made up enough dummy rounds to fill the belt loops that way you have the look without the weight of live ammo. I drill a hole in the dummy round cases that will be hidden by the belt loops. I also take them out when the belts not being worn.

Good Luck,  Pard!

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I just bought nickel cases...problem solved. I do a couple things for modest style points that suit me, and one of them is cartridges in my belt. They stay there and are very smoothly accessible. Storage is just coiled up and staying in my range bag, which is left unzipped. It is rare that I don't shoot at least once a month. Competively the best I can hope for is to shoot clean, so the weight is not an argument.

As far as "authentic",  don't even start.

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Check out the Hat Rack Guy:   https://www.instagram.com/thehatrackguy/?hl=en

I have a big rack, and it hold my hats and I use a couple of the posts to hang my belts.

No need for fuzzy tennis balls.

#sorry for the sexual overtones.

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Mine get stashed right beside the freezer, where I immediately go for ice cream after each match.   Sometimes they sit there a day or two while I get caught up on things after being away.  

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On 9/11/2021 at 6:27 AM, T-Square said:

Check out the Hat Rack Guy:   https://www.instagram.com/thehatrackguy/?hl=en

I have a big rack, and it hold my hats and I use a couple of the posts to hang my belts.

No need for fuzzy tennis balls.

#sorry for the sexual overtones.

I once had a female employee call out loudly across the hallway  (enroute to do field work) that she had an ice chest.   Her words kind of ran together.  Somebody down the hall responded -- "No shortage of modesty either".  

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gunbelt.thumb.JPG.9a6704c029ccefd6b25cb611781cc829.JPG

I figure the buckle's the narrowest/weakest part of the belt, so I rigged a piece of plastic (looks a lot like part of a Folger's can to me) over storage hooks to keep from getting a crease and just drape the gunbelt over that to spread the weight.

 

I did used to jsut roll it up -- it's the way they always did it in the sheriff's office in the movies.

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Holsters, belt, and shot shell belt along with earplugs and shooting glasses all kept in a range bag used for that purpose only. Shells removed and I keep five rounds loaded in nickel cases for rifle reloads in a plastic bag for the loops on the shot shell belt. Ready for grab n go.

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26 minutes ago, Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 said:

Thanks for all of the suggestions, pards.

 

Now that you’ve figured out how you want to store them, don’t forget to keep the leather clean, protected and moisturized.  Leather breathes it’ll soak up moisture and also dry out, so regular maintenance will keep it looking good and working the way it should. 

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Rig, shotgun belt, glasses, earplugs and misc. items stay in the range bags. Blued pistols are put in the safe to avoid moisture, stainless are kept in the bags which are placed in a closet.

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