Old West Reproductions: If you want the very finest period - correct holsters and accouterments, Rick Bachman is the source

Guns Magazine, Feb, 2002 by Barrett Tillman

The monthly newspaper of the Single Action Shooting Society lists 36 Western leather makers, from Alfonso's of Hollywood to Wolf Ears Equipment. Of those 36 companies, at least 27 produce gunbelts or holsters. But standing tall among the providers of authentic cowboy leather of the frontier era is Old West Reproductions, ramrodded by Rick M. Bachman.

Fascinated From Youth

Born in Kalispell, Mont., in 1949, Bachman was exposed to vintage Winchesters as a youngster by the famous rifle-barrel maker Les Bauska. By age 13, he had a small but representative collection of vintage rifles, sights and other accessories.

A natural byproduct of Bachman's interest in antique guns include other accessories such as belts, holsters and catalogs. These catalogs were especially important because they offered a wide variety of original designs. Even more important were old saddle-shop catalogs that provided insight into those who made the old gear.

"There is a lot more to offering 'authentic' period leather gear than just saying you do," Bachman says. "You have to study the original pieces and the men who created them."

Bachman's collecting instinct assumed huge proportions, and he now holds some 3,000 items, including dozens of holsters, belts, scabbards and assorted western collectables, some of which can be seen in Richard Rattenbury's fine book, Packing Iron: Gun Leather of the Frontier West (Available from GUNS Books, $45.).

Bachman took the plunge in 1978 and entered the leather business full time. Deciding to concentrate on the era from 1849 to 1900, he established Old West Reproductions Inc.

"At that time, there were two other companies making old-time holsters," Bachman relates. "But I was the first to introduce authentic reproductions of the original leather gear made by such famous names as E.L. Gallatin, F.A. Meanea and the Moran Brothers. All of these patterns and others, including J.S. Collins, Main & Winchester, etc., come directly from the original pieces in my collection."

In 1990 he moved his family to the small town of Florence, Mont., which lies in the Bitterroot Valley, south of Missoula. In a world that seems to move faster every day, Rick Bachman still operates his one-man shop and produces handmade, quality products as if the clock has been turned back to 1875.

On The Silver Screen

Apart from SASS competitors and western re-enactors, Old West Reproductions' clients include several TV and movie actors and production companies. Although Bachman didn't make any gear for the Tombstone producers, he did have a few items in the film, including a double holster rig worn by Peter Shirako as Texas Jack Vermillion.

"I've done work for Andy Cannon when he outfitted Dances With Wolves with guns and leather," Bachman adds. "I've also done quite a bit of work for Hank Williams Jr. and Dwight Yoakam. Over the years there have been several movies and TV productions that have been supplied with my leather. I also made some of the rigs used in the TV series Young Riders a few years back."

Bachman gets his leather from Hermann Oak Leather Co., in St Louis. "They have been my leather supplier almost from the start," he says. "Several special things are done to my leather at my request, before it is processed and shipped out. It costs more than average but makes for a much nicer finished product. At the same time, I can offer an outstanding product at a price that is extremely competitive. The authentic look of Bachman's leather gear has resulted in OWR creations appearing on the Hermann Oak Website and Ruger Vaquero ads."

In assessing the state of his market, Bachman sees little specialization, which fortunately means wider variety:

"Cowboy Action Shooting certainly set trends toward angled crossdraw holsters, shotshell belt slides, bandoleers, etc. I do make items such as these because they may be necessary in the sport, but they're not necessarily authentic pieces of Old West equipment. I attribute much of this gear to the movies we've all watched from the 1940s through the 1960s."

A Passion For Authenticity

Conceding that many classic Western films are marvelous entertainment, Bachman explains that, until recently, few of these films made any effort at authenticity of leather:

"As a veteran collector of period guns and equipment, I can say that crossdraw holsters cut to hang at an angle were not offered by saddle shops and never appeared in the early catalogs," he points out. "Holsters of this style didn't start to appear until around the turn of the century, after the cowboy era was coming to an end."

Bachman reckons that he was the first to reproduce a holster he calls the Cheyenne, a design made famous by a Wyoming saddle maker named Frank Meanea:

"I named this holster the Cheyenne and listed it as such on my first catalog almost 24 years ago. Now, everyone seems to offer a version of this holster."

Assessing his current product line, Bachman says, "The No. 43 Lawman and the No. 48 Gallatin are very popular holsters, and my No. 32 Cheyenne is still as popular as ever. The No. 24 money cartridge belt sells 10 to 1 over any other belt I offer. I make this belt from the same type of leather as the originals. The money belt is not only handsome and authentic to the time period but extremely comfortable."