a coined variation of the cowboy
term slapping leather, meaning to draw a
gun (out of a leather
holster) and
shoot. In the Western United
States in the 1800s people (mostly men) often carried handguns in a leather
holster that
hung from a belt. The
term slapping leather possibly came from the
action of
reaching for the
gun with the accompanying
sound made by the
hand hitting the leather
holster.