By John Markwell | Contributing Writer
Every serious handgunner I know has a box, drawer, or even a trunk full of holsters. How, why, and what they all were acquired for is often a mystery; especially as time goes by. Here’s a story of the rigs we are using to tote our recently acquired .32 H&R Magnum revolvers. If this all sounds vaguely familiar, you are part of the tribe for sure.
Our journey into the world of .32 H&R Magnum revolvers started with our S&W Model 631 Kit Gun about four years ago. We bought the little gun for its collectability and didn’t think we needed a holster for it, until we shot the revolver.
First stop in the holster quest was the “holster drawer” and, lo and behold, we came up with the perfect rig. The black S&W marked holster was purchased from a gun show junk box sometime in the past for a pittance, only because it was kind of neat, cheap, and would fit a four-inch S&W Kit Gun. The coolest feature of the holster is the hammer shroud, which is a hallmark on Hank Sloan holsters. The shroud idea is attributed to Elmer Keith by some holster historians but regardless of its’ origins, it’s a unique feature not found on many rigs today.
This holster is stamped on the back with the S&W Logo as well as the number 5 and B01 34. The maker did not leave a stamp, but if I were to fathom a guess, I’d say this was a contract holster from the Bucheimer company. Well-known in the law enforcement community of old, the Hank Sloan, with its’ hammer shroud, was one of Bucheimer’s best sellers. We don’t use this rig for daily carry due to the lack of any retention and the exposed trigger. However, this is a pretty cool range-rig for a pretty cool little revolver. Check out those gun show table junk boxes for old holsters; you never know what you’ll come up with.
Single Six #1 .32 H&R spent the better part of two years with a gunsmith in Idaho. Upon its return, we reached out to our bud Mike Barham at Galco and he fixed us up with one of their Single Action Outdoorsman holsters. This rig, for our 4 5/8-inch Single Six #1, offers the option of either strong side or cross draw carry. It’s essentially a field holster but it is very ATV friendly in the cross-draw mode. Made to fit up to 1 ¾-inch belts, the revolver is secured in the holster by both a safety strap and the adjustable tension screw.
Made from Galco’s premium steerhide, the SAO rides solidly on our 1 ½-inch Fancy Stitched Holster Belt. Along with one of Galco’s 2x2x2 Ammo Carriers, this rig serves well for most outdoor endeavors, be it working around our place here in the hills or out and about in the varmint fields. If one needs a good rig for their single action revolver the SAO is a good solid choice at a reasonable price. The SAO holster retails for around $150 and the 2x2x2 ammo pouch runs about $50. See; Galco Gunleather.com.
Single Six #2 turned out to be a sort of a group build revolver. The gun started life as a stock 4 5/8-inch .32 H&R Single Six. A ramped bead front sight blade by Fermin Garza and one of the 2 dogs/RW rear sight blades (a #3 u-notch) replaced the stock Ruger sights. A trip to TX added one of Ronnie Wells’ Potato Judge jr. aluminum grip frames as well as a Bisley hammer and trigger. We did a kitchen table trigger touch-up when the gun came back form TX and then started looking for a holster.
We could have used the Galco SAO holster for both SS#1 and #2 but that was not to be. An email from an old Gun Guy friend alerted me to some Thad Rybka holsters for sale on the Milt Sparks Holsters website.
Thad sends some holsters to the guys at Sparks to put up on the net a few times a year. They are usually for an assortment of handguns and styles vary according to Thad’s whim, apparently. They sell fast, as ordering direct from Thad often involves a long wait time. Should the Sparks guys list a rig you want, you’d best not dally. To say Rybka leather is in high demand is an understatement. Well, like many times in the past we dialed up the Spark’s website with little hope of finding anything even left over, much less something we could use. The Rybka rough out Bear Paw holster for a Ruger Single Six practically jumped off the page! For a 4 5/8-inch single action and at a price of $200 (WITH NO WAIT), we could not resist. We were on the phone to Idaho in a heart-beat; the rig was still available; the credit card came out and the wait began! Delivery only took about a week compared to several months from Thad.
The Rybka Bear Paw holster is the perfect companion to Single Six #2. Visually the match of the dark brown rough out leather to the dark color of the revolver’s stabilized walnut stocks couldn’t be better if it was planned.
As with all the Rybka rigs we own, the stitching is even and flawless, and the fit to the gun itself doesn’t get any better. The Bear Paw rides relatively high on the belt and the retention, by friction only, is very good; it will more than do for daily carry (there is also a hammer thong for more strenuous applications). The outfit rides high enough that it can sort of serve for concealment with the proper cover garment. However, the problem with this outfit is that for a CCW application the 4 5/8-inch gun is a tad too long in the barrel, hence the muzzle of the holster pokes into truck and other seats, pushing the gun upward and the hammer into one’s ribs. We’ve relegated this outfit to the “working rig” category and in that role it’s very satisfactory. Rybka holsters have almost a cult following but are worth the money and the wait. Thad only communicates by US Mail; Thad Rybka, 2050 Canoe Creek Rd., Springville, Alabama, 35146. Also see MiltSparks.com
The story of Single Six .32 H&R #3 was chronicled in this GunMag article.
This revolver led us to the work of a new to us holster maker; Mike “Doc” Barranti. Mike is a leather smith extraordinaire who is well thought of in the ranks of the single action crowd and is known for his artful stamping and floral carving. He also makes a version of the iconic Hank Sloan holster for single actions. He will even custom build rigs for odd-ball barrel length guns like SS #3 with its’ 3.5-inch barrel.
A bit of history is in order.
Hank Sloan was a Texas DPS motorcycle cop who joined the FBI in 1935 and eventually worked his way up to be the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the FBI Academy. Sloan was obviously a “gun guy” and developed his unique holster in the 1960s.
The holster design incorporated a hammer shroud to save wear and tear on clothing and to resist snagging upon drawing the revolver. However, his adjustable tension welt was the key to the holster’s success as it eliminated any extraneous devices like safety straps/thumb breaks for firearm retention. The “floating welt” can be adjusted to put pressure on the revolver’s barrel and locked in place, giving the user a choice in how firmly the gun is held in the holster and how much force is required to draw. The holster was granted a US Patent in 1966.
The holster was produced by the Bucheimer Company as well as a few others in its hay day. In researching this, it appears some holsters were also made with just a tension screw at the trigger guard to provide security but it is not known if this was Sloan’s idea or a way around the tension welt patent. The Hank Sloan holster is truly a significant American gunfighting artifact and Mike “Doc” Barranti produces a very elegant rendition of it.
Our Barranti Hank Sloan rig is cut from a single piece of premium cow hide and is made to precisely fit a 1.5-holster belt. In fact, the molded belt loop perfectly fits an old Milt Sparks belt given to me by a Gun Guy buddy who got it as part of a Sparks outfit at the Missoula gun show; the belt was too small for him, which proved to be my good luck.
There is a minimum of stitching in this holster; the belt loop on the back and literally four stitches thru the short welt at the bottom rear of the holster is all there is. Instead of the floating adjustable tension welt, Doc Barranti uses the more common tension screw with a rubber bushing for retention adjustment; simple and affective. The hammer shroud is nicely molded and the holster body is wet molded to the Single Six revolver. The length of the pouch is perfect with leather protruding just 1/8- inch or so beyond the revolver’s muzzle. Capping off this stunning rig is the hand stamped basket weave texture covering most of the holster pouch. Perfectly executed, the basket stamping is precisely bordered to within 3/8-inch of the edges. The saddle tan color, purely by chance, just matches the color of our Sparks belt which is also basket stamped, by the way.
Worn on the strong side at 3:00, the Sloan rides high enough on the belt for good concealment under a Filson wool or light weight vest and tucks the gun butt nicely under the ribs. As summer approaches, we’ll see how the rig does under one of our Good Will bargain Hawaiian sport shirts. Although not designed for speed, the cut of the rig allows for very good clearence of the middle finger upon acquiring a firing a grip. Most importantly, the muzzle of the 3.5-inch Single Six in this rig clears all the car/truck and other seats we encounter.
Our 3.5-inch .32 H&R Single Six is very special to us and the Barranti Hank Sloan holster compliments it nicely. The basket stamping is not nearly as ornate as Doc’s carving (check out the gallery on his website) but it certainly adds a bit of class to the rig. This revolver/holster combo has provided us with an end point in our quest for the perfect .32 H&R Magnum revolver. It doesn’t get much better than having a unique revolver and a classy rig to tote it around in. Good shooting
