Try this minimalist "carry"
I wear a MOLLE/PALS waist belt pack when in the woods so I rigged up a way to carry my Ranch Hand on my pack belt.
Basically it is a webbing weapon catch with a side release buckle to release the gun.
I made this with two holes that I can attach to a MOLLE LOK for use on my waist belts or to a Tek Lok for use with my belt.
I wear a 1.75" wilderness instructors belt and with the tek lok the gun carries well on a belt and isn't too heavy.
Here is a grainy photo of me carrying mine with my belt slide on just a standard 1.75" gun belt...
Just my improvised carrier...
I am adding a full length stock and then I will have to rig something else up...
Hi Mr. Mitchell,
Like you, I've had my Ranch Hand for a while and have been exploring various carry-options.
And then yesterday, down on the banks of the Oldman River ... an Aha moment.
A very cool couple from Calgary often spend the weekends there in their trailer on my neighbour's ranch. The guy is a retired cop, and makes beautiful knives and sheaths. When they saw my Ranch Hand about a month ago, it was love at first sight ... his wife often spends a lot of time on her own, scouring the area for native artifacts. This is pretty raw here, and bears (even grizzlies) are a factor. She (just like me) carries pepper spray, but her eyes just lit-up when she saw the little Rossi.
When they returned the next weekend, it was with a new RH and an almost completed holster (similar to many that are available online).
I was down there yesterday (on my quad), and the holster was complete ... gorgeous and heavy duty. The guy had also experimented with a Sam Browne type of shoulder belt (that I'd been discussing/suggesting) to help support the weight of the holster on the belt.
Here's where it gets interesting. The lady mentioned that it all works ... but that the holster feels constraining/limiting/stiff in some ways ... and she actually preferred simply clipping the shoulder strap to the firearm's saddle ring and slinging the RH over her left shoulder ... with the strap crossing across (front and back) from her left shoulder down to her right hip ... where the gun is suspended.
They'd already realized that the gun could be raised and fired (quite steadily) without unslinging it ... actually using the strap's tension to help.
The only downside ... other than the fact that the gun isn't protected (not a deal-breaker, really) was the fact that the firearm was unrestrained and a bit floppy. She showed me, but it wasn't too bad ... and then I had a great idea.
Last summer I'd realized that a very small loop of climbing webbing (two or three inches in diameter ... secured with a tri-glided nylon buckle) on my Uncle Mike's pepper-spray/knife belt was perfect to provide a way to temporarily hold/stash my RH.
(About once a year I order 30 m of that premium nylon 24 mm flat climbing webbing from MEC ($1.40 / metre) ... along with a couple dozen National Moulding 25 mm buckles ... 50 cents for each of the two M/F parts ... and Fastex tri glides ... 25 cents each to attach the webbing to the female half of the buckle) ... and there is nothing here on the ranch that is not secured ... on the deck, on my boat, on the quad, on my packs, even the ice-cleats on my Muck boots ... with perfectly-sized straps. The flat climbing webbing is easy to find on the MEC website and the pack repair hardware is at hxxp://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Packs/Accessories.jsp?showall=40&productCount=56¤tPage=1 )
It took about one second to unsnap/remove the small strap (about 6" long) from one of the rifle mounts on my quad's handlbars, and I suggested that the husband loop it onto the small belt that was holding-up his wife's jeans ... right where the firearm was hanging ... and then we just clipped it snugly around the gun.
The gun was secured to the belt so it didn't move, but the weight was not on the belt ... it was supported by the left shoulder ... far away. And the strap allowed the firearm to pivot as required ... for kneeling/riding/whatever. And the best part? It takes just a second to reach down with the right hand and (with thumb and trigger-finger) "pop" the buckle open ... even while the hand's three other fingers are starting the grasp the stock.
She thought it was awesome.
As I said, the firearm is exposed to the elements and assorted dings/bumps ... but a gun like that looks better with a little patina, right?
I think I'll recommend that a piece of suitable tape be used to close/cover the firearm's muzzle ... not a bad idea on any gun used in the field ... but especially so in this case. Also, the same MEC webpage that has the climbing webbing also has a robust plastic "snaphook retainer" (50 cents) for fastening the strap to the Ranch Hand's receiver without scratching it.