pistol holster?

[cmac]

I'm building another 1690's Georgian pistol for a friend. He hasn't decided yet if he wants a belt hook or holster. I haven't seen anything more than a leather loop for a belt holster of the day. Any photos or ideas?

[James Rogers]

A holster pistol would generally go in a holster set made for a horse. Any type of personal carry holster for a large pistol seems to be a rarity. Personal pistols were usually smaller and carried in a pocket.
You can find a few period images of the loops on a belt or baldrick but they are generally of pirates. The belt hook in my opinion is rare also.
If I felt a need to carry in a holster I would probably choose to make one holster bucket like it had been cut from a pair and altered with a makeshift shoulder strap.
If a time frame not relative to the pistol is unimportant you may want to do a search for one of Dennis Glazener's posts concerning a much later period sling and holster for bear hunting.

[Hungry Horse]

 I agree with James on this one. Those hokey Tandy Leather tube holsters, seen so often at rendezvous, have very little historic support. A jacked leather gun bucket, with a flap, equipped with an added shoulder strap, would be more likely.
 Thats why big old pistols, were referred to as horse pistols. Because they were carried on the horse, not the belt. Belt hooks were primarily found on sea service pistols.


                  Hungry Horse

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Scottish pistols too, have a belt hook, and are carried on a leather loop/belt over the shoulder, and the pistol tucked up close to the arm pit.  I made a holster to carry my Hawken pistol for the pistol trail walk at the big BC Rendezvous, just for convenience's sake.

[Jim Kibler]

Maybe it doesn't matter, but a 1690's pistol would not be considered a "Georgian" style or design.  The Georgian period began with the onset of King George I reign which I think was in 1714.  A Georgian style pistol would generally be different than one built in the 1690's.

[cmac]

The parts are from muzzleloader builders supply and they label it as a 1690's Georgian....Looks a lot like a small English dragoon. Any way I did some research and found pretty much what I had figured and what had been mentioned here... The holsters where for horse carry and often the longer pistols. I've got the customer talked into a belt hook now. Thanks everybody for the comments

[James Rogers]

If it makes a difference to you or for the feller for whom you are putting it together, that pistol style is about 60 or 70 years or so later than advertised. It is Georgian but nowhere near 1690.

[cmac]

I figure it to be a bit later. It works for F&I events which is what he wants

[T.C.Albert]

I'm probably wrong, but it seems that most horse pistols seem to share basic dimensions, making the buckets used to holster them pretty much interchangeable. I don't know if this was intentional by implied regulation for military use or not, but it would make life easier on bucket makers especially since the basic run of the mill buckets were made around a carved wooden last. Carving a new last for each new pair of horse pistols would be pretty tedious.
This explanation by Stewart Lilie explains it better than I can. Scroll down to find images and a write up about his saddle holsters or buckets...
http://www.stuartliliesaddles.com/index_files/saddle_accessories/saddleaccessories.htm
tca  

[cmac]

There are photos of some horse pistol holsters here   http://www.tortugatrading.com/engine/search/?t=items&p=sale&top=all&sub=all&q=holster  for anyone interested. Its been a great resource for photos of original pistols and long guns as well