I love old time stories like that. When I lived in San Antonio, I would shoot at the San Antonio Gun Club regularly. The place kind of freaks you out because its in the middle of the city..the city literally grew up around it and the freeway and city streets are literally RIGHT THERE at the edges of the field. They have alot of Topperwein memorabilia there plus a few 'art' targets he shot to make cool designs with bullet holes. Supposedly it is the oldest gun club in the country, going back to 1848 I think (memory may be rusty). I'll tag another but shorter story. One of my many hobbies is collecting old gun leather. I am severely limited by my criteria that they must fit (ie can be worn by me if I choose). This restricts about 90% of what would be nice to have but unless you think about it, you probably wouldn't realize that most gun totin' types back then were younger shorter and skinnier(MUCH skinnier) than the population today. A lot of those old leather belts are 28-32" waists. Yikes. Anyway, here is a cool gun belt from an old west movie prop house that I picked up in San Antonio. The story goes that this belt was used in the filming of the Alamo back in 1960, the one with John Wayne that was filmed on a movie set built about an hour west of San Antonio. The movie did well but was incredibly expensive, and being that John Wayne produced the movie, left him broke as a result. Its a Lefty rig, pretty rare for a movie prop. As a general rule, actors were taught to shoot righty and punch righty so they didn't have to change camera angles.
OOOooo... I love vintage gun leather. I'm going to a gun show this weekend to pay for a Brill holster that my holster pusher sent home with me "on approval" when I saw him at another show last weekend. He didn't know what it would fit. It fits a circa 1914 Colt Police Positive Special perfectly. Like little leather works of art, the Brill holsters. I'll post a couple of photos of it next week.
Oh, and here's an almost unused Brill holster for a 4-inch Smith & Wesson K-Frame revolver to serve as an example of the type. The revolver dates to 1926 and is chambered for .38 Special. Fit and resulting retention, along with ease of draw is marvelous in ways not encountered in modern holster models. Brill's leather quality was excellent and durable and the designs very sturdy. I have a couple of Brill holsters that saw heavy use in their time yet are still suitable to be put to work. Brills were favored by Texas Rangers and other lawmen of the southwest. https://www.vintagegunleather.com/company-marks/brill_history.html Look at the thickness of the welt on this design, a Brill feature that contributes to this holster's performance. It would be tough to sew leather of this thickness. I've not encountered another holster with such a thick welt.
That's some quality right there. Very nice. I'm not familiar with Brill but back in the day leather craftsman was a popular trade. There are many names and actually I have found about 50/50 with no name at all. Gotta look up some Brills.
More Brillness. Or maybe it's a chronic Brillness. My Brownwood/San Angelo Silver Spur show vintage leather "pusher"got to me again. He had a couple of Brill holsters, one pretty rat-chewed but with provenance tying it to the Hill County Texas Sheriff of the 1920s-1930s. Came with his badge too. Pricey! I don't even know what fit the holster. But, he also had a smallish Brill holster that he said he didn't know what gun fit. He was speculating it was an I-Frame Smith & Wesson. Brownwood and San Angelo shows were back-to-back weekends so he sent it home with me "on approval." Neither the I-Frame Smith & Wesson Model 1903 .32 or the Colt Police Positive .32 fit this holster but an ahhh... moment was had when a 1914 vintage Colt Police Positive Special .38 snuggled right into it. Due to the compact size of the Colt and the cant of the holster, this would have been a dandy way to tote a 6-shot .38 Special beneath a covering garment back in the day.
So I been on this thread for some time now and I figured its time to contribute. Excuse my pictures as I only have the camera on my phone
My best watch repair customer was a keen firearms collector with a friend who had a great collection of machine guns. A number of years ago, we met at a private range to shoot some of his collection. The 14K Hamilton Oval was mine, the Thompson Model 1928A1 was the friend's.
Why, to answer that question, yes! Of course! Several Beretta's, a Tikka, a few others.... Since the Lapua was mentioned.....Had a great day at the Remington Factory for a tour. Got to go to their 200 yard indoor subterranean shooting range to shoot their new 338 lapua sniper rifle. Very nice..... We have a shootin' GTG tomorrow. Perhaps I'll bring up a new topic of Speedmasters LMAO..... Mike
Oh...my.... GOD..., not a GLOCK! The ugliest gun made! Shoot nice though! (Just kidding, but could not resist. I have die hard glock family members.) Mike
I agree she doesn't look that great but I can always rely on her Let me see if I can post something a little more attractive for you later today
for those in the US, what's your preferred [and legal] way to advertise/sell firearms across state lines?