Two Gun Wes Hardin Shoulder Holster Vest Rig

Wyatt Burp · May 13, 2017

A couple of sources, including "Sixguns By Keith" mentions gunfighter John Wesley Hardin as having worn a vest with holsters sewed onto it for a two gun cross draw. There are no pictures of such an outfit but in the late 1980s I made one as I visualized it. Below is the one I made and shown here before. It's very comfortable and the guns stay close to the body and don't wobble around at all. I wore this at cowboy shoots, sometimes with a pair of breaktop S&W .44s, and no one knew I was packin' when I had a suit coat on.

Bobbysixkiller · May 13, 2017

That's pretty cool. I've often thought about a vest for ccw but nice ones are kinda pricey for something I may or may not use.

Wyatt Burp · Oct 18, 2020

I just restored the pictures on this old thread since I was asked about the rig. This is too tight for me now since I was probably 160 lbs here but 180 now. I still go through thrift shops looking for a similar vest but a little larger to make another rig like this but no luck so far.

WR Moore · Oct 18, 2020

Neat. Descriptions I've read sort of suggested the holsters were higher and somewhat more to the front.

I really vaguely recall an old photo, but the recollection is really......vague.

Wyatt Burp · Oct 19, 2020

WR Moore said:
Neat. Descriptions I've read sort of suggested the holsters were higher and somewhat more to the front.

I really vaguely recall an old photo, but the recollection is really......vague.

I wouldn’t want the guns higher than this because they are much easier to get to and a twist draw can still be used. They’re in between a belt holster and a shoulder holster. In this famous Hardin photo (I hope it shows up here)
I think there might be an imprint of a gun under his coat on his left side at the level about where my guns are.

John Wesley Hardin - Wikipedia

WR Moore · Oct 19, 2020

The photo I'm sort of remembering was of the vest only......I think. Again, IIRC, it seemed set up for cross draw. I do see the break in the line of the coat you're talking about. Your holsters appear too far back on the body for convenience/speed in cross draw. Kind of reminds me of a number of detectives I knew who carried their revolvers in a similar position. I'd have bet a months pay they couldn't reach them with their gun hand.

However, I'm not sure just how widely used the twist draw was. I expect it was originally a way to adapt readily available surplus holsters where a saber wasn't part of one's daily wear. Hardin did come of age at a time where he might have learned that technique. But, did he use it?

Walter Rego · Oct 19, 2020

Nice work Sheriff Burp. I remember reading about Hardin's vest rig, and in my mind's eye I envisioned that the "holsters" were just gun shaped pockets sewn in, maybe made of sailcloth or muslin, or maybe made of soft glove leather like calfskin. And probably a rather amorphous shape for the type of revolvers carried

I hadn't really imagined that they were saddle leather belt-type holsters of that period, but maybe so.

snubbyfan · Oct 19, 2020

That's some nice work there.
I may just havta start looking for thrift shop vests myself. I do have a vest but it's really nice and pure silk. Not something I'd want to mess with.
Hmm... Maybe use it a a pattern for a home made leather vest.....

Wyatt Burp · Oct 19, 2020

Walter Rego, your thoughts on softer vest holster material is kind of how I visualized how Wyatt Earp’s overcoat pocket holster was described at the OK Corral. But being a long coat it was for a long barreled pistol, whether a S&W American or a Colt Buntlines is up to our imaginations.
I never read the book “The Shootist” which I heard was supposed to be loosely based on Wes Hardin somehow, but the cover of the book shows an illustration of a vest with two holsters sewed onto it with sixguns in cross draw fashion. Holsters in that position would be bulky with the gun butts partially visible when you walk around. Our cowboy shoots were pretty informal in the ‘80s and I was allowed to use this rig and they worked great in cross drawing one gun at a time.

Walter Rego · Oct 20, 2020

I always wondered just exactly how J. Henry Fitzgerald pants were made that reportedly had some kind of sewn in leather lining to carry a "Fitz'ed" Colt New Service. Now that is one big handgun, cut down Fitz style or not !

lwood92 · Oct 26, 2020

The vest holster idea here is very interesting.

I thought it would be fun to post pics of the Old Old Model Russian Hardin used to kill Deputy Webb in Comanche, TX, along with the holster and belt. I don't believe the belt has ever been photographed. Presumably, the holster was sewn onto the "loop" on the belt. It's possible it got broken in the aftermath of the shooting when Sheriff Carnes was trying to hand the gun back to Hardin when he let him go to escape a growing mob just after the shooting.

I've been trying to imagine if this gun could have been in a vest holster as the OP has shown here, but I don't think this particular gun would have been.

Also pictured is a pic from the graphic novel, Lost Cause by Jack Jackson. This drawing seems to be an accurate depiction of how it might have been that day.

As to how Hardin drew his guns. With this particular holster, the gun would've been drawn like a calvalry draw, with the grip of the gun facing forward. So, I suspect that is how Hardin would have drawn using the OP's vest idea, versus a cross draw. But, I'm no expert! Just a thought.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. I did the pic with that particular bourbon bottle because I thought I remembered there being a tie between Hardin and Knob Creek, but of course I can't find that now. I thought it was a fun pic to take anyway.

Lynn

Wyatt Burp · Oct 26, 2020

lwood92 said:
The vest holster idea here is very interesting.

I thought it would be fun to post pics of the Old Old Model Russian Hardin used to kill Deputy Webb in Comanche, TX, along with the holster and belt. I don't believe the belt has ever been photographed. Presumably, the holster was sewn onto the "loop" on the belt. It's possible it got broken in the aftermath of the shooting when Sheriff Carnes was trying to hand the gun back to Hardin when he let him go to escape a growing mob just after the shooting.

I've been trying to imagine if this gun could have been in a vest holster as the OP has shown here, but I don't think this particular gun would have been.

Also pictured is a pic from the graphic novel, Lost Cause by Jack Jackson. This drawing seems to be an accurate depiction of how it might have been that day.

As to how Hardin drew his guns. With this particular holster, the gun would've been drawn like a calvalry draw, with the grip of the gun facing forward. So, I suspect that is how Hardin would have drawn using the OP's vest idea, versus a cross draw. But, I'm no expert! Just a thought.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. I did the pic with that particular bourbon bottle because I thought I remembered there being a tie between Hardin and Knob Creek, but of course I can't find that now. I thought it was a fun pic to take anyway.

Lynn

That is just amazing. And all these years or decades I’ve seen pictures of the gun I never knew there was a belt with the holster. And what a cool buckle! this just might be my favorite historical old west gun.

lwood92 · Oct 26, 2020

Wyatt Burp said:
That is just amazing. And all these years or decades I’ve seen pictures of the gun I never knew there was a belt with the holster. And what a cool buckle! this just might be my favorite historical old west gun.

Honestly I hadn't really known about the belt either till my dad and I were talking about the holster and I was gathering everything for pictures. It has apparently been offered to a few authors who have written about Hardin and included pics of the gun and holster, but they've never been interested in the belt. It is in very fragile shape. I was quite nervous moving it around to photograph it. But I think it is a neat historical addition to the story.

The gun and holster were part of my display at the 2018 NRA Annual Meeting in Dallas. The gun was awarded one of the silver medals that year and the holster received one of the special recognition awards given to non-gun items.

I am partial--but I also think it is my favorite old west gun. Its a great piece of history!

NMPinNYC · Oct 26, 2020

This vest does not yell out, "hey look at me, I'm carrying under this vest full of pockets and pouches" like some "photographers" vests appear to do.

Two Gun Wes Hardin Shoulder Holster Vest Rig

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