A chance photo recently took me back some decades to when I carried a 1911 in a Bianchi X15 vertical shoulder holster. Whilst these days it wouldn’t be my first choice for a duty rig, it got me thinking that it would be a good design for a hunting holster, particularly for cold weather under a jacket. I prefer a shoulder rig to a chest rig because of where I carry my binos.

Has anyone used the X15 design for carrying a large hunting handgun? If so what were the advantages and/or drawbacks?

I had a shoulder holster like that made for the S&W 629 with scope I used to have. I did not use it very much, but the pro's are that is is totally protected from the brush and weather. I never used it enough to determine if it was an issue of the scope fogging going from warm under the jacket to cold outside and vice versa. It was bulky for under a jacket, but tehn your not asking about a large bore scoped handgun

I have an old shoulder holster for a 14 in Contender . While it protected the gun well it was a pain to draw from. It got in the way when you sat in a deer stand or on the ground. It would dig into the ground or stand and push up into your armpit.I sling my long guns mostly and make crossdraw rigs for the shorter guns. My 10 in .45-410 is carried crossdraw so it can be accessed quickly and protected from brush with my off hand. On the long contenders use an Uncle mikes barrel band made for a shotgun . They come in different sizes so measure your barrel dia. first . Uncle Mikes also makes a long bolt with sling attachment for the grip or you can make your own as I do.

I use a chest holster from 7X Leather with my binos. With binos riding high on my chest, held there with elastic X straps, and the holster riding low just about or above belly button height. This works well with that combo. Without binos the holster rides high on my chest. Try it.

No one has yet answered your question about the leather X-15. I used one more than 30 years ago, for a Ruger Blackhawk in .357 Mag. It worked satisfactorily under a coat, keeping out dust, twigs and dirt. However, if hunting under extremely strenuous conditions like mountain lion hunting, your body temperature, sweating and condensation will have the gun soaking wet. A synthetic like Uncle Mike's will do the same thing in those conditions. Dry weather in a stand? No problem.

I've used bandoleer holsters worn outside the coat with no problem, and I like them, but with rain, you end up with a wet gun.

It doesn't sound cool, but if I can't practically use a hip holster, my favorite way to carry a gun is to use a ballistic nylon or leather soft gun case with a strap sewn to it, so it can be carried across the chest, under the arm, or behind the back, if you need to crawl. Gregg Richter put forth this idea more than 30-35 years ago, and I've carried single shots and revolvers of various sizes in several such rigs on many hunts over the years.

Carried s&w 29/629s, 6" and 8" for years in an x-15. Didn't carry under the jacket when hunting. Worked/works fine.

Doc

500we, do you have a photo to show us what that rig looks like?

I used a Bianchi X15 several years ago. Carried my 1911 in one under a sports coat. Used one for my M29 w/ 6" barrel in the brush. in both cases it worked fine. Reachability will depend on how "barrel chested" you are, the more you are the harder it will be to reach. I still use one, infrequently though, when working on the ranch and stretching barbed wire. It keeps the gun under my arm and therefore protected from the wire that I'm stretching in front of me. Again reachability is key here.
Good luck.

Opening morning, 1987: This was the first year it was legal to hunt elk in CO with a handgun, and my .375 JDJ made history, as this is one of the first bulls ever to fall to a Colorado handgun hunter. Note my pistol case slung over my neck and shoulder. I had used this method for years prior for antelope hunting, also.



Like my friend 500WE stated, "It doesn't sound cool."
And it isn't stylish, or doesn't make you look macho... But it gets the job done better than anything else I have tried.



Buy a good quality pistol case, preferably canvas or even leather. (Find one that fits your rig as closely as possible; I have found the green T/C case too big) Buy some 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" nylon strapping (army surplus or hardware store) to match the straps on the case and do some sewing. On this brown case note that I sewed a velcro strap and patch on the open end as a quick "safety latch," in addition to the zipper. And the shell holder makes the whole rig completely ready to go.