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.
Tag: Leather
Kimber K6s Holster: The DeSantis L-Gat Slide
I’ve always treated my snub revolvers as pocket guns, but when the time came to review the Kimber K6s DC, there was something about it that screamed for a belt holster. It was probably the 6th round that got me thinking about it as a legitimate “belt gun,” but the excellent sights and trigger helped seal the deal. Even though it’s a small-frame gun, the K6s shoots like a medium-frame snub, and it deserved a good belt rig.
Continue reading “Kimber K6s Holster: The DeSantis L-Gat Slide”
A RevolverGuy’s Guide To Gun Belts
RevolverGuys are usually pretty savvy, and do a good job of selecting their equipment, but there’s one gear issue that tends to raise its head with frequency amongst handgunners, and it seems that RevolverGuys are not immune to it. That issue is selecting an appropriate belt for carrying a handgun.
Galco Phoenix Belt Holster and SB5 Gun Belt
There’s a whole lot of talented folks out there making gun leather these days, and a RevolverGuy could get dizzy trying to keep up with them. A lot of these are “mom and pop” shops manned by a single craftsman, or a small team of them. They make fine, beautiful, custom products to order, but this personal touch often comes at the cost of increased price and wait times. Continue reading “Galco Phoenix Belt Holster and SB5 Gun Belt”
Fighting Leather: The Clamshell Holster
Any RevolverGuy who grew up like I did, watching a steady diet of the 1970s police drama Adam-12, will certainly remember those Blue Knights, Malloy and Reed, each drawing a Combat Masterpiece revolver from a clamshell holster that sprung open like magic every time our heroes needed to draw down on some counterculture scumbag. The image of those great sixguns being drawn from the trick holsters was pure TV magic! Continue reading “Fighting Leather: The Clamshell Holster”
A Review of the Tex Shoemaker Jordan Rig
Is there anything sweeter to a RevolverGuy than packing a classic revolver in a classic holster made out of premium leather? I have to admit that I spend more time carrying guns (bottom feeders, no less!) in polymer holsters these days, but my revolvers all ride in cow or horse hide. I won’t deny that modern chemistry has given us some wonderful materials to make belts and holsters from, but my round guns will always get holstered in leather, thank you very much.
Luckily for me, Justin understands this quirk in my nature. He might pack his 640 Pro in a polymer holster worn on a nylon riggers belt, but he still gets the fact that custom leather rigs are special, and that some guns deserve them. Recently, in a wonderful, RevolverGuy type of gesture, he gave me a Jordan holster for my cherished Smith & Wesson Combat Magnum. It’s a beautiful rig, and I’d like to give you a tour of it. Continue reading “A Review of the Tex Shoemaker Jordan Rig”
Fighting Leather: The Jordan Holster
The sands of time fall slowly through the neck of the hourglass at the border, and sometimes they stop entirely. Despite the progress made in other parts of the nation by the early part of the 20th Century, the border Southwest of the 1920s to 1940s looked virtually unchanged from the days before the Mexican-American War, almost a hundred years earlier (1846-48). The endless revolutions, bandit wars, cross-border raids, smuggling, looting, livestock theft, lynchings, military invasions, murder, and “normal” border violence disproved any notion that the days of the “Wild West” were over. Continue reading “Fighting Leather: The Jordan Holster”
Safariland Split-Six & DeSantis Second Six Pouches
Recently I had occasion to visit Prescott, AZ. I was invited out to tour the Ruger factory Mike Wood was invited out to the Ruger factory and he was gracious enough to ask me to tag along. During the rest of our time there we did some shooting and did the “mall crawl” through many of the local gun stores. A lot of them had bins of used grips, pouches, nylon holsters, and miscellaneous magazines. There aren’t many guys that enjoy rooting around through stuff like that, but I do, and apparently Mike does, as well. I found some pretty interesting items, but nothing as cool as a beat-up pair of Safariland Split-Six pouches! Continue reading “Safariland Split-Six & DeSantis Second Six Pouches”
J-Frame Carry: Galco Tuck N Go IWB
I was recently at a the range with Chris Baker of the Lucky Gunner Lounge. He asked me how I carried my 640 Pro. Somewhat sheepishly I pulled a sweat-stained Galco Tuck N Go out of my bag. “It doesn’t look like much,” I began apologetically, and quickly trailed off. After thinking about for a second I said, “but, it actually works pretty well.” Continue reading “J-Frame Carry: Galco Tuck N Go IWB”