I've seen lanyard loops on some guns, mountain guns I think. How do you use it? Pics, descriptions, real life experiences would be great. I would think having a gun tied to your belt would really restrict your movement. I could see it being useful while hiking some gnarly terrain while scouting for Elk in case of a fall and the gun came out of a holster.

Just ask anybody who served in the military and carried a pistol and chances are they had a lanyard .I was in an infantry unit and out in the field you'd catch hell if caught without one attached to your pistol .
There is several companies that make them with a quick release on the belt end .
For non military use they're great to have if you are very active in the outdoors .
And I never felt my movements were restricted while using one .

Lanyards originally were for the cavalry. Lots of Single Action Army revolvers were lost and couldn't be recovered in a fight. When the first Colt DA revolvers were adopted, they had lanyard loops. The Colt 1909s and Colt/S&W 1917s came with loops, as did the M1911 autoloaders. As the cavalry was replaced, the use of the lanyard and loop also dropped off except for ceremonial purposes (MPs, Honor Guards, etc.) The loops made a comeback with airborne operations; as early as the 90's airborne troops were tying their M9s to the LBE with 550 cord (parachute cord) to prevent loss during the jump. At the end of the exercise, operation, etc., it was easy to cut the cord and turn in the M9 to the armorer. By the time of Iraqi Freedom, it was a requirement to have a lanyard of some type attached to your M9. I used one that looked like a coiled telephone handset cord and attached to the belt with a velcro loop. It never was in my way, and I didn't have to worry about losing my M9.

I think that I would use a flap holster in rough country rather than having the time and expense of having a lanyard loop installed.

Charlie

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SWCA # 2294

A flap holster is no guarentee against loss. During a night operation in Turkey one of my MPs didn't have his lanyard on and managed to lose his 1911A1 out of his flap holster in the dark. Fortunately we were able to find it.
I have hear of using a wrist lanyard. A short cord with a loop and slip knot in one end that attaches to the wrist and the other end attaches to the revolver. It's for having in your sleeping bag in bear country -- your pistol is always right at hand and it won't become lost during a tussle with a bear.

a guy carrying on a mower, another on a tractor mower (brush hog), another who was burning a field... are several I have seen who lost something... run it over with the mower (1st two), the 3rd knew when he heard "gun fire"... all three lost their side arm to "field" exercises. yeah, the lanyard can be a pain BUT it's really a pain to loose something. I do burns, mow on a tractor, a lawn mower (small tractor, "0" turn), wonder on a 4 wheeler, on horseback (less now days). I want all the help I can get!! and I agree on the earlier post, the full flap only helps so much. Think of the RCMP loosing in a snow fall. In my part of the country, I would more likely loose in a stream, in the lake, a river crossing. I've had tall brush pull a fairly large knife out of the sheath, pull shot shells from a vest. The "leash" has it's place. If it get's in the way, get rid of it... otoh, it might work... Good Luck

Last Spring I altered my Kayak Carry (S& 637) to enable a split ring and lanyard chain to attach to my gun and kayak PFD.
The last thing I want hear if I need to access my firearm on the water, is: "bloop".

If you're interested in lanyards and rings, Numrich Gun Parts Corp sells several different types of lanyards. They probably sell the rings also.

Some of the S&W semi-autos came with lanyard rings. It was part of the back strap, which is a replaceable part.

Also, the S&W Victory model is probably best known for their lanyard rings. Victory models have a hole in the butt plus a provision for a locking pin.

have one of these on every revolver I own

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It's sort of indicative of how much serious pistol usage is going on when you see more lanyards back in use. OK, for CCW and plainclothes use, and most uniformed police use, they're not useful. But when rough duty around aircraft, watercraft, ATVs, snowmobiles, horses, and flying carpets is involved, tying the gun to you has its advantages.

I still remember diving for a sheath knife that I dropped overboard out of a canoe up in Canada in my younger days. I managed to get it back but it made an impression. I'd hate do go fishing for a gun nowadays because I'd probably just float like a cork now. Or go under and stay under.

Hamilton Bowen makes a lanyard loop that works with Hogue mono Grips. The screw of the mono Grip is removed and replaced with the lanyard loop attachment takes all of 5 mins.

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Noblesse Oblige

Yes he does and it is $50. You can get a less fancy one from S&W parts for Less that $3. Part # 21603.

Thanks for the info, I'll order one from S&W. It sounds like a good thing to have the option of using. I don't have to use it all the time. I run a drift boat on the South Fork of the Snake and I would hate to lose my gun overboard. Now I need one for my rifle.

I could see it getting pulled from my Hunter open carry holster while hiking through some thick stuff. This fall I lost an eyepiece from my binoculars looking for elk in thick trees. Nikon made 'em like new.

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Cool, I just ordered 2 lanyard screws from Hogue. $6.50. That was easy.

Got a link ? I looked at their website but didn't see them .

Another request for a link please . I couldn't find this anywhere .

Call S&W at 1-800-331-0852. Ask for parts. Give them the part number a quantity desired. They will ask you how you want to pay for them.

I looked at it on his website . He must be awfully proud of that screw to charge 50 bucks !

Does anyone have a picture of what the S&W one looks like?

And I hope it's not a stupid question, but where do you attach the other end of the lanyard? To your belt?

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I just called them.
They told me to measure the existing screw on my hogue grip. My M19 needed a 1/2" screw and my Sp101 needed a 1" screw. They are very inexpensive. If they are a touch too long they said to just grind some off.

yea, I don't know what's up with that Bowem lanyard loop. It's a screw for crying out loud.

I'll design my own lanyard from Camo paracord for about $1

This photo shows my tackle box gun, a S&W Mod 650 with both cylinders. It's wearing the Hogue Monogrip fitted with the lanyard loop screw. I just tie a parachute cord lanyard to the handrail on my bass boat and never have to worry about diving to the bottom of the lake to retrieve my kit gun. Go for it, it's a no brainer

Yea, my gun would make an expensive anchor.

So, is the cylinder easily removed by just removing that one screw?

What do you mean by both cylinders? 2 diff calibers?

Exactly! The Mod 650 is a 3" Round Butt chambered in 22WMR. A 22LR cylinder was available as an option which made it very affordable to shoot(plink) I used the magnum cylinder for CCI shotshells as they are much more effective as a snake medicine than the LR kind. The cylinder can be swapped in a minute with just a screwdriver to remove the one screw shown. If you're a fisherman with a snake phobia, this is the kit gun for you!

Cool, like the NAA mini with 2 cylinders, great tool. We have rattlesankes here. Not too many but more than enough so I like those shot shells in 38/357 whatever they are. Federal 158 hydro's work too. I think I'll take the cylinder out of my M38 and give a good cleaning in there. Never had it apart. Thanks, Jeff

Where to attach to yourself? Most find that pistols, magazines and knives are best attached to a loop that goes around the user's neck. for the gun and magazine, the length needs to be long enough that in an extreme one handed hold there is still slack in the loop. A knife can have a short loop that loops over something on the belt. When the knife is drawn the loop is released by the same hand. Then while using the knife the loop is over the wrist. My first father-in-law who was a true horse trained cavalryman showed me how to do all this. Their Colt Govt. Model 1911s and the magazines all had lanyard loop studs and they were expected to use them. ............ Big Cholla

23 years in the Army. Most of that time, my TO&E weapon was a 1911A1. I always used a lanyard, usually attached to a ring on my LCE suspenders. Weapons did get dropped/lost especially during night operations, which were the most frequent ones. Never lost mine, but was around a couple times when others did. That was not a pleasant experience for anyone involved, and one I chose to avoid.

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

That was not a pleasant experience for anyone involved, and one I chose to avoid.

[/QUOTE] Yea especially for the guy that lost the weapon .

I was on a deployment to the NTC in the late eighties (4th ID). Two Cobra pilots put their S&W M-10s in a bay underneath the where the Gunner/Pilot sits. I believe it is an ammo bay for the 20mm chain gun. They failed to secure the bay door and flew all over the training area for about 1.5 hours. When thay returned to their unit area they found the bay door open and the M-10s gone The unit was locked down and a futile search followed.

Flash forward to 1.5 years later. I was still in the 4th ID and back at the NTC doing duty as an OC. An Infantry unit from the 1st ID kicked up one of the M-10s out of the desert sand. I was tasked to return it to the Attack Battalion when I returned to Ft. Carson. Other than the wood stocks being rendered useless, the M-10 was in prettey good shape. It had a few very minor surface rust spots and sand in it. Berore I returned to Colorado, I blew it off with some compressed air and gave it a good wipedown with CLP. It would cycle in both single and double action fine. I guess if you have to leave a weapon outside for a year or so, the Mohave Desert is the place to do it.

On a side note, I once kicked up a pile of about 10 or 15 M1 Garand clips loaded with blanks that some soldier long before me buried. I should have picked them up and brought them home. They would have made a nice conversation piece to put in my man cave. They were also in very good condition with only very light surface rust.