The Part Time Tie Down

Tying down your revolver is important.  Whether single-action or double-action, it's important to make sure that your handgun is secure in your holster.  Generally, the holster maker uses a simple strip of latigo, probably cut from the same leather as the holster was cut from, to form a simple loop to tie the holster to the revolver.  Sort of like this:

That leather loop is fine for 99% of tie-down duty.  Properly adjusted, it wll keep the gun in the holster.  But, 99% of the time doesn't cut it, when you're in the fast draw game.  That latigo loop should certainly secure the gun, but when you un-loop it, you want it to lie down out of the way.

I own holsters from several custom makers, to include Mernicle, Ken's Leathercraft, El Paso Saddlery, and Crease N Corral.  In addition to a couple that my son has made for me.  When I was at the invitational last week, I was running a holster from Ken's Leathercraft.  I like Ken's work, but for some reason I kept getting the front sight of my gun stuck in the loop as I drew the revolver.  The loop was just a bit stiff, and stood proudly from the holster when it wasn't holding the revolver.  Sticking the front sight of your revolver in your tie-down is a sure-fire way of slowing your draw.

Luckily, the proprietor of Crease N Corral is a friend of mine, as well as a first class Fast Draw competitor in his own right. We call him Part Time, and he's come up with a little fix for the tie-down problem, and it's easy enough that anyone can replicate it in just a few minutes with a piece of leather.  So, I went out to the bench and cut a strip of scrap leather to make a tie-down

It's pretty simple actually, a strip of leather long enough to thread though the tie-down holes in the holster ( a foot or so is sufficient),  Wider at one end than the other.  In the wide end, punch a hole and cut a small slit that will fit over the hammer spur.

Easy-peasy, and there is no way the muzzle of the revolver will get caught in that loop during a draw.  I've made several of these for various holsters and once installed, there is never a problem.