About Will Ghormley

Pull up a chair! I'm glad you stopped by. I'm Will Ghormley and I make everything myself. No apprentice, no machines. It's all hand-crafted to my customers' specifications.

I started making leather goods in 1971 in my 12thyear. I bought my first muzzle-loading Hawken Rifle and needed accoutrements. Then I picked up a new Colt 1873 SAA from Sears & Roebuck for $92, and needed a gun rig. When I started working ranches in northern New Mexico and southwest Colorado, I repaired tack and made gun leather for my fellow cowboys. H.T. Hoover was a foreman on one of the ranches where I worked. He was a Paratrooper in Vietnam. My dad a Korean War Veteran, had always told me I needed to be a Ranger. It was only a matter of time before I followed their advice and enlisted.

When I left the Service in 1993 I wasn't fit for much in the civilian world. I fell back on my leather-working skills and by 1994 I was making authentic reproduction old west cowboy gear full time. I made everything from period correct 1800s saddles, to authentic cowboy gun leather. Working from home I became the stay-at-home dad as our family grew to eight kids. I didn't get out much or mingle in the leather or shooting industry. But my kids are the best investment of my life.

In 2003 I began designing and printing patterns of my gear for sale to fellow leather crafters. Providence handed me some Hollywood work beginning in 2004.  That helped with name recognition. I'm best known for the iconic "Hand of God Rig" I made for Russell Crowe in "3:10 to Yuma". I also made Ben Foster’s Charlie Prince Rig, “Flames of Hell”. The whole Wade Gang wore my rigs and I made 84 pieces for that movie. But my reputation and five bucks won't get you a foofy coffee at Starbucks! My bread & butter are the regular folks who buy my gun leather and pattern packs. 

I'm still in business but I'm winding down. One man can only make so many gun rigs in his lifetime and mine are numbered. I'm trying to concentrate on making patterns that will outlive me.  At this point a man starts to think about his legacy. Selflessness. How our lives enrich the lives of others is what lasts after we are gone. I'm leaving behind the best I've had to offer and I can live with that. But I'm done yet.

So, see ya' on the trail!

Will