Time was when it was popular to cut the spur off a revolver’s hammer to keep it from snagging in your pocket or coat linings when you made a fast draw. Combat shooting authority Paul Weston, who favored this type of modification, aptly described the standard hammer as fishhook shaped.
The gunslingers of the old west always had some trick or method they used to gain an advantage over an opponent in a gunfight. Sometimes they worked…other times they did not.
Back in 1962, George Virgines wrote an article on the Gun Tricks of the Old West. In it, he specifically addressed the insider tricks of the trade to improve your odds of survival in the outlaw days.
Here is an excerpt from the original piece that talks about cowboy holsters.
Way back in 1965, there was a company called JC &G Limited. Started by Jack Couper, a cop and entrepreneur, the company made a revolutionary new duty holster.
At that time, nearly every police duty rig was made of leather. Couper, on the other hand, developed a rig made of thermoplastic. While not as robust as today’s Kydex, thermoplastic was one of the tougher materials of the time.
Bra holsters may seem like a relatively new innovation, but these bosom buddies have been around for a long time.
Did you know that Safariland – the premier duty holster maker – got its start, in part, by selling bra holsters?
It’s true. The following is a story from the July 1965 issue of Gun World.
This article on Bianchi Holsters comes to us from 1968. Enjoy!
“My idea of a good gun scabbard is easy to sum up,” said John Bianchi. “It must be simple, comfortable, fast – and made of the best materials available.”
This notion of holster-making has propelled John Bianchi’s one-time hobby into an enterprise that will soon do a million dollars worth of business a year.