By Lee Mason
My Winchester Model 70 Featherweight Compact .243 with matching Cartridge Cuff & Sling in Coffee Dark Brown
When we think about gun leather naturally we envision scenes of lever action rifles, single action revolvers, Bowie Knives, 1911 pistols and maybe even the venerable Smith & Wesson K-frame, but most of us don’t think of bolt action hunting rifles. Until recently neither did I. Here’s why I do now:
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By Lee Mason
Cartridge Cuff leather blanks cut, punched and ready for stamping or dye
Leather: It is a wonderful material, naturally sourced, sustainable. People have used it for centuries for clothing, shelter, bags, lashings and more recently Cartridge Cuffs and Rifle Slings. Leather is not all created equal. Different tanneries specialize in different kinds of leather and leather wholesalers source their leather from all over the world.
You may be starting to see why finding the right leather, the best leather for the task, can be tough. Since 2011 when I first began leatherworking, finding good leather to begin a project was always the hardest part. Keep reading to learn all about my journey to provide Mason Leather customers with the best vegetable tanned leather available anywhere: By Lee Mason
Mason Leather Cartridge Cuffs, Fall 2019
Mason Leather wasn’t always called Mason Leather, and my Instagram account @cartridge_cuff_guy was my personal account not too long ago. Over several years both have grown and deserved to be revamped and made better for my incredible customers. Here’s how it all started and how it got to where it is today:
By Lee Mason
My Great Northern Field Bow and backyard target setup
Like many archers I actually started with a compound bow. It seems ironic that so many of us start with the latest technology only to choose to revert to technology of years (or even centuries) past. My journey into the incredible world of traditional archery started in 2008 while deployed to Afghanistan.
My buddy was an avid outdoorsman and his family would send him care packages every few weeks. Inside one of those packages was the latest Great Plains Bow Co. catalog. That booklet sat on our makeshift plywood coffee table between our two bunks for weeks until one day I finally picked it up. By Lee Mason
A Largemouth Bass I caught at a park on Lake Grapevine during my lunch break
Many of us live in the city. It is where the jobs are, where stuff is and for better or worse where we have to be most of the time. If you’re reading this you also love to fish, and like me don’t want to wait until the weekend to do it.
A few years ago I was working in Coppel, Texas, a part of the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolis. My job basically mandated we take an hour-long lunch break midday and I started to wonder if instead of sitting in my car after going through the Jimmy John’s drive-thru if I could wet a line in any of the nearby bodies of water and land a bass. I started packing a fishing pole and small tackle box in my trunk. By Lee Mason
3 Hogs I bagged at an east Texas Wildlife Management Area
If you haven’t read my previous post titled “Hog Hunting Texas Public Land: Access, where and when to hunt, restrictions,” definitely check that out first before reading this article. Then come back and check out 10 helpful tips for hunting hogs on Texas public land!
By Lee Mason
A big blue catfish I caught in the Trinity River using palm-sized live sunfish as bait
Have you ever heard that to catch big fish you need big bait? I’m pretty sure we all have, but for one reason or another we usually don’t heed that advice and continue using the same baits we always have and keep getting the same results: average size fish with the occasional lunker. Big catfish are one of the best examples of this. Before switching to catching my own large live bait, I caught the same old 2 to 5 pound channel catfish we all do.
"Levers and Lions" by The Lever Action Hunter
Clint a.k.a. The Lever Action Hunter in Arizona lion country
This past March I was able to fulfill a dream of mine and go on a mountain lion hunt with hounds! It had been postponed from the previous season due to a broken leg injury that I had suffered. I knew the hunt would be physically demanding so I made sure that I was fully rehabilitated before setting off to chase a pack of hounds.
By Lee Mason
The Texas Parks & Wildlife Public Hunting Lands Map Booklet
Hog hunting has exploded in popularity over the last decade, due in no small part to the explosion of the wild hog population. The state of Texas is ground-zero for feral hogs and hog hunting opportunities. Despite the overwhelming majority of the state being privately owned, public hunting opportunities do exist and hog hunting on Texas public land can be a great weekend jaunt or epic adventure!
Winchester Model of 1894 38-55 by Wayne Hayes
Winchester 1894 38-55
The store opened at 7:00 a.m. just like every morning. Chickasha Oklahoma was not a very busy place in 1952. The old man who ran the hardware store didn't really expect any customers to speak of this early, just the usual coffee drinking crowd of locals. When the young man walked in a few minutes after that it was a surprise.
By Lee Mason
My first gun: Mossberg 500 12 gauge in woodland camo
When I was 12, maybe 13 years old, it came time to get my own gun. My dad asked me what I wanted and suddenly I had some things to consider. A powerful bolt-action deer rifle would be cool. After all, I’d shot my dad’s Savage 110 .270 and to adolescent me it felt like wielding Thor’s hammer. I liked my dad’s old Winchester 94 30-30, but figured I didn’t need my own, I could just borrow his. I had dove hunted with grandma’s single-shot Stevens 12 gauge and it left something to be desired when trying to bring down a bird that could bank harder than an F-16. That’s when my thoughts started wandering to shotguns and my dad brought up the point that you could hunt almost anything with a shotgun. You can pop #8s at doves and quail, #4s at squirrels or turkey. You can blast #4 Buck at coyotes. You can even fling 00 Buck or those big rifled slugs at deer and wild hogs. Dad told me a 20 gauge could do but with a 12 gauge and the right shells you could bring down just about anything. My very first gun would a 12-gauge shotgun.
 Howdy folks!
After a four month hiatus Mason Leather is back open for business! The website has been updated with a lot of new stuff including a photo gallery, FAQ page and this blog. Check it all out and let me know what you think! To celebrate the reopening use code SPRING10 to get 10% off your entire order! Have a great Easter, and stay healthy folks!  Howdy folks! If you follow my Instagram at all (@cartridge_cuff_guy) you'll know that we've been on a bit of a hiatus here at Mason Leather. Back in December 2019 we found out my dad had a large tumor in his brain, as well as some small cancerous nodes in his chest and hip. Getting him on the path to treatment and recovery was going to be tough, so I shutdown leather orders to focus on that. Fast forward to today April 3, 2020. By heaven's great blessing my dad is starting to show some recovery and treatment is well underway, even in the midst of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. I am looking forward to re-opening the shop soon and going hunting, fishing and spending time with my ol' man again without the specter of cancer at the doorstep. I'll be releasing some new products as well including belt-worn pistol & rifle cartridge pouches, bi-fold wallets and morale patches. Those product designs are ready to go. I'm also hoping to release a few select holster designs in time for Christmas 2020 but still have a lot of R&D to get those rolling. I hope your spring is off to a great start and that you might get to pop a gobbler or tighten some lines on spawning fish soon! I plan to contribute regularly to this blog so check back often and follow my Instagram @cartridge_cuff_guy for the latest updates and announcements!
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All Mason Leather gear is handmade by me, just for you, in my workshop in Celina, Texas. I source the absolute best AMERICAN full grain leather, then cut, punch, stamp, dye, finish and assemble everything with the level of quality and care not seen since the days of the pre-64 Winchester rifle. Handmade quality does take a little time, but I work fast to get you your gear quick. Click HERE to check current lead times and status of pending orders. Email me personally anytime at [email protected] , no foreign call centers here! Now let's go hunting! - Lee Mason, Mason Leather