I am going to add my dad and his first duty revolver, a 3" python carried crossdraw.
When they stopped allowing crossdraw he moved to the 4" M19 I have in my possession now. He always regretted selling that Python.
This got me scouring the web, because I didn't realize cross-draw was so popular back then for uniformed police. I know it was practically a necessity for 4"-6" revolvers worn on belt holsters, given the high rides of the belts back then and if not wearing a drop holster (like you see in my dad's pic).Originally Posted by eb07
Seems like it fell out of favor around the same time people started wearing pants around the same height we do today.
That's awesome about your dad's service revolver, by the way. Deserves a shadow box!
"Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer
Our Class A uniform included a coat just like that. The belt road very high, up on the base of the rib cage. High enough that you couldn't wear it with body armor. Being a product of the 30s, it worked fine with the drop loop holsters used then. However, with a modern holster the gun rode so high that you couldn't get your own gun in and out. It looked damn sharp but was pretty useless in the field. I only had to wear mine twice for special events before they were discontinued, for everyone except the honor guard and admin. No one missed it.
We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.......
In southern Kansas heat!? No sir, not happening, no way.
NJSP still wears the Class A/Sam Browne for patrol...I think mostly the guys assigned to the highway and parkway stations. The belt is worn a little lower these days, probably for the reasons you mention. They're pretty attached to it, so I'm not sure it will go away in my lifetime.
ETA: How many spare rounds did you guys carry when you still had revolvers, by the way?
"Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer
It was huge in South Florida up until the late 70s/early 80s. Iowa State Patrol's set up was a FLAPPED, cross draw set up for right handed draw. Didn't matter if you were left handed, either!
Regional Government Sales Manager for Aimpoint, Inc. USA
Co-owner Hardwired Tactical Shooting (HiTS)
12...the horror! But, to speak truth we didn't worry about that much. The realization was that you got it done with the six in the gun. Gunfight records of both the TXDPS and LSP post-WWII can only document a very few (like single digit numbers) reloads of revolvers in fights.
Regional Government Sales Manager for Aimpoint, Inc. USA
Co-owner Hardwired Tactical Shooting (HiTS)
We carried an extra twelve on the belt. We never used a set up like that shown in the photo. There was some consternation among the upper brass when speedloaders became a thing. You know, concerns over looking too "tactical". Now, they weren't concerned at all over back up guns, which the policy was wide open on, or the non-issue guns carried in the cruiser. Some of which looked like rolling gunshops. The brass has always had a fixation over looking pretty.
We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.......
Not to hijack.... but
No way I am locking that baby up in some box. It got stag done by Grashorn from an animal my dad killed, and it not only gets carried a lot, but used in carbine classes and other classes. My dad would have wanted me to use it. In class I run his old duty rig setup. For CCW I run it in a sideguard appendix carry.
And thanks for the info on cross draw. My dad loved to carry that way and did so until he passed. He came up the son of a US Cavalry man who fought against Pancho Villa and rode horses in the AZ desert until his passing as well so that may be where he got his affinity for it. Not to be ungrateful but I sure wish he had not sold that 3" python and passed that on as well.
My dad carried 6 in the gun and 12 on body in the later years.. He said back in the day he would only carry one dump pouch or belt loop looks like that in his photo as well when he was a rookie. I have the belt loop, double speed loader holder shown in my photos and double dump pouch I have stashed away.
To the poster that asked when the Crossdraw disappeared from police duty belts, they fell out of vogue in Idaho in the mid 70s when attacks on police became more commonplace. Up until then we wore Hoyt and Safety Speed crossdraws, and they were an open invitation to a "gun grab". We wore a 12 round cartridge loop loaded with W-W Lubaloys. After we had a couple of officers killed in the line of duty we switched to Super Vel. Admin resisted the speedloaders until some were forced to qualify, and they saw the advantage, before then we reloaded out of our loops, but as an earlier poster stated we were expected to "get ur done" with six.
Last edited by Zeke38; 07-08-2020 at 12:08 PM.
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