What kind of action is it to sheath a weapon?

[joeyfixit]

I'm thinking of a gunslinger who charges into battle with a pistol in one hand and a rapier in the other. Being that no gunslinger can have less that 1 BAB, all gunslingers can draw the rapier for free if they include it in a move action. Or the rapier and the pistol, if the gunslinger has TWF.

I'm wondering about putting the weapon back in it's sheath. You need a free hand to reload a pistol, but the reloading is only a standard action. Or if you have Rapid Reload, a move. Can the gunslinger sheath the weapon as part of a move action? Or does it require a move action of it's own.

How about holding the blade between your teeth while you reload your pistol?

[Some Random Dood]

CRB pg 183

Sheathing a weapon is a move action that provokes attacks of opportunity.

It doesn't say you can sheath a weapon as part of a move action, so I'd say it takes a separate move action to sheath.

[Gauss]

Check the table CRB p183. On that table it shows that Sheathe a weapon is a move action which provokes an attack of opportunity. It is discussed in more detail on page 186.

CRB p186 wrote:

Draw or Sheathe a Weapon

Drawing a weapon so that you can use it in combat, or putting it away so that you have a free hand, requires a move action. This action also applies to weapon-like objects carried in easy reach, such as wands. If your weapon or weapon-like object is stored in a pack or otherwise out of easy reach, treat this action as retrieving a stored item.
If you have a base attack bonus of +1 or higher, you may draw a weapon as a free action combined with a regular move. If you have the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, you can draw two light or one-handed weapons in the time it would normally take you to draw one.
Drawing ammunition for use with a ranged weapon (such as arrows, bolts, sling bullets, or shuriken) is a free action.

Summary: You can draw as part of a move action but it takes it's own move action to put it away and that provokes an attack of opportunity. Typically, I just drop the weapon.

There are no rules regarding holding a blade between your teeth. I would consider it the same as sheathing a weapon with some probable penalties for certain actions.

- Gauss

[Oladon]

You should pick up a weapon cord.

[Cody Neale]

There's a 3rd party book, It contains a quick sheathe, put away weapons as a free action.

[Nixitur]

So, you can't sheathe your rapier, reload your pistol and draw your rapier in the same turn, as sheathing and drawing require a move action.
However, you can drop the rapier and pick it up again instead of sheathing and drawing it. Unfortunately, the latter provokes an attack of opportunity, so it's not ideal. I'm not sure if a weapon cord would actually help here. As far as I can see, it doesn't explicitly state whether retrieving a weapon on a cord provokes an AoO or not. If it does, it's not very useful for this purpose.
Even if it doesn't, its description states that having a weapon dangling from your wrist "may interfere with finer actions". Your DM would probably argue that reloading a weapon is a "finer action" and either slow it down, require a Dexterity check or what-have-you.

[Undead Thread]

Apparently it takes 4 years to sheathe and re-draw this thread.

[Drahliana Moonrunner]

If you're a sword and pistol gunslinger, you're generally using your pistol to open up and your sword to finish your fights... pretty much Musketeer style.

[Zarius]

Everyone's forgetting about the ubiquitous 5 foot step. AoO's only occur if you're within melee (or your ranged opponent has special feats and the right weapons drawn). Step back, drop the rapier as a free action, reload as a standard, recover the rapier as a move action.

And Undead Thread, this may be, but four years later, things change, and it helps someone who's looking up the same thoughts NOW if new info is there.