The irony of today’s gun culture is that it is mostly based on an image of the Old West that never existed.
The iconic western image cultivated by TV and film includes one ubiquitous element. The large (.44 or .45) handgun carried on a belt made for the purpose, in a low slung holster strapped to the leg for fast draw, with five pounds of extra ammo in loops along the back. This means of carrying a firearm is called the "Buscadero Rig." We have all seen it worn by Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autrey, John Wayne, James Stewart, Henry Fonda, James Arness, Clint Eastwood, the Magnificent Seven, Paladin, and every member of the Cartwright family. It didn't exist in the 19th Century.
Never mind that most towns didn't allow the carrying of firearms and almost no one carried one anywhere else either. The purpose of the Buscadero rig is to get that shootin' iron out quick! How often does the average citizen need to do that? But the Cartwrights wouldn't go out to the barn without the artillery close at hand. Even Maverick, portrayed as a gambler who preferred to avoid a fight, is strapped for a quick draw. And everyone has enough ammo in bullet loops to defend the Alamo.
In western reality of the 19th Century, almost no one but a violent thug or a peace officer needed a five pound open-carry heavy sidearm. Billy the Kid carried his holster on his regular belt, and it was practically in his armpit. James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok usually carried his two Navy revolvers backwards in a sash. A cowboy on the range would more likely have a rifle. For anyone else who was armed, a concealed smaller weapon was much more likely.
The Buscadero rig was invented in the 1920s for film and later TV. The "walk and draw" duel that ends virtually every western movie never existed. There was no "Code of the West." Only a fool would let the other guy draw first. In reality, if you were in danger of your life from anyone and you were armed, you got the weapon out of your pocket as soon as you spotted him and long before he was in range. You started shooting with a two handed grip as soon as you figured you could hit him before you ran out of ammo. You shot him in the back if you got a chance.
The history of Western holsters is interesting even if most of what we think we know is seriously bogus.
One other thing. In the 1880s the United States went crazy for bicycles. They were everywhere, but you never see one in a western set in that era. (Butch Cassidy is the exception.)