When gunleather designer and maker–and ace “Holstorian”–Red Nichols shared these images with RevolverGuy for our review of his magnificent book, we couldn’t use all of them in our story. They were too neat to scrap though, so we thought you’d enjoy seeing them in a standalone feature. Continue reading “Photo Essay: Lawmen, Actors, and Gunleather”
Category: Revolver History
Book Review: Red Nichols and John Witty’s Holstory
This is a book review that is long overdue at RevolverGuy. Continue reading “Book Review: Red Nichols and John Witty’s Holstory”
The 1986 FBI Miami Gunfight
On April 11, 1986, agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s C-1 Miami Bank Robbery Squad were moving into position after finishing their stakeout briefing, when a pair of agents spotted a vehicle that matched the description of the one they were looking for. Continue reading “The 1986 FBI Miami Gunfight”
Newhall Gunfight 50th Anniversary
In the early morning hours of 6 April 1970, a fierce gunfight raged in a small parking lot off The Old Road and Henry Mayo Drive in Newhall, California. Continue reading “Newhall Gunfight 50th Anniversary”
Inside The Ruger LCR
Sometimes I’m a little slow in catching on . . . Continue reading “Inside The Ruger LCR”
The Janz Revolver: The Best Gun You’ve Never Heard Of
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines serendipity as “the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.” Serendipity occurs when you unexpectedly bump into a long-lost friend, or find a $20 bill under the sofa cushion when you’re fishing for the nickel that just fell between the cracks.
Serendipity also occurs at the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trades (SHOT) Show, when you blindly stumble into a quiet, non-descript display booth, and discover the world’s most highly-engineered and precisely-manufactured wheelgun—The Janz Revolver. Continue reading “The Janz Revolver: The Best Gun You’ve Never Heard Of”
Fighting Leather: The Breakfront, Part II
In Part I of this series, we discussed the birth of the breakfront holster with the Berns-Martin design, as well as the development of competing designs from popular police holster makers Hoyt and Safety Speed.
We now pick up the breakfront saga where we left off . . .
Continue reading “Fighting Leather: The Breakfront, Part II”
Fighting Leather: The Breakfront, Part I
While some of the nation’s oldest uniformed police departments trace their roots back to the mid-1800s, it wasn’t until the early 20th Century that the majority of American police sidearms moved from tunic pockets to openly-carried duty holsters. The earliest rigs were generally substandard in materials and design, and it wasn’t long before the search for the perfect police duty holster occupied the minds of uniformed lawmen from coast to coast.
Coming To Grips With Grip Adapters
When the double action, swing-out cylinder revolver began to take shape in the late 1800s, it seemed like the designers had already used up all their energy by the time they got to the back end. The grip frames on these guns were universally small, and the grips (or “stocks,” in S&W parlance) almost looked like they were afterthoughts.
RG Reference: Hammers and Triggers
Back when the revolver was King, wheelgun shooters and manufacturers paid attention to details that are sometimes overlooked today. A great example of this, is the host of trigger and hammer options that were available back when sixguns still filled most of the duty holsters and won most of the matches.