Random Maker

The Poppie Rig

 

Your Guns Will Not Fall Out!

 

Boy, does Poppie Martucci have a story to tell.  All you have to do is ask him how he got into working with leather.

 

First off is his nickname.  Poppie.  He’s actually Lou Martucci, and back in the late ‘80s he was looking for a good Single Action Shooting Society handle. All of the good Old West names were gone.  Enter his young grandson, who starts calling Lou “Poppie.”  And Lou figures that can work for SASS.

 

Then there’s the matter of location.  Lou/Poppie was a New Yorker born and raised (with the accent to boot), working in the trucking business for many years.  He retired to the horse country of Florida.  Then, almost on a whim, he moved to Tennessee (where he still lives).  

 

Okay, so how did he get into leatherwork? It’s around 1990, and he was finding it tough to get authentic looking clothes and gear for his SASS activities.  And being a do-it-yourselfer, Poppie takes matters into his own hands:  “I decided to make my own holsters.”

 

If only things were that simple.  Except in this case—according to Poppie—they were.  Remember, this is a guy who was in trucking.  He’s never worked with leather.  So what does he do?  “I bought the book Packing Iron [by Richard Rattenbury].  And it has lots of photos of gun leather.  I would look at a picture, figure out how to make it, and then make it.”

 

Yeah, I know how that sounds.  Look at a book, then make the holster…

 

But Poppie’s got a secret weapon.  He’s dyslexic, although he didn’t know that at the time.  And that learning disability actually has an upside—dyslexics can see images in three dimensions, not just two like most of us.  Not only that, but Poppie can envision just what the end result of a project will be.  

 

He looked at the book, then made the holster.  It would become known as the Poppie-rig.

 

So next, he has somebody check out the finished product.  “I went to the neighborhood gun shop and the guy there didn’t believe I’d made them.  He wanted to buy them.  I said, ‘No, I’m not going to sell you my first set of holsters.’  So he said, ‘Alright, make me a set.’  He told me exactly what he wanted.  Two weeks later I met him at the gun shop and showed him his holsters.  And he still didn’t believe I’d made them.”

 

Eventually the gun shop guy accepted the reality of it.  And Poppie started getting inquiries and orders, based mostly on word of mouth.  People (including the CMSA’s Jim and Lily Rodgers and many others) liked and used his rigs.  They were (and are) stylish, functional and unique.

 

See, Poppie made the holsters based on his experience in cowboy shooting (and later mounted shooting, where he’s a Level 4).  “The holsters sit up high on your waist, or around your belly-button.  The belt is tight; there’s no movement in it.”

 

And the gun fits snug in the holster.  Part of that is due to a flair at the top that helps keep the pistol in place—while still allowing a smooth and simple draw.  But the main reason for the fit is customization.  “I form the holsters to your gun.  There are so many different kinds of guns out there now, so I need your gun to make the holsters.”  That means the process of making the holsters takes a little longer—but the rig works in concert with the gun, which is a real advantage in mounted shooting.

 

Warning: Poppie does not recommend using other guns in his holsters; they just won’t fit, and that could mean trouble (he does include a set of instructions with every set he sells).

 

Oh, and there’s one other unique aspect to the Poppie-rig.  “The holsters are hard as a rock,” he says.  “They’re meant to keep their shape.”  And they have a shiny quality all their own.  How does he get them that way?  If he told you, he’d have to kill you…
Along the way, he started doing other quality leatherwork—scabbards, wrist cuffs, saddlebags and more.  But he’s still best known for the Poppie-rigs.

 

Now that’s some story.

 

For further information, you can contact Poppie Martucci at 352-636-9562.

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