A customer shot me an 'oh, by the way' query and gave me permission to share:

"Some of the old timers made a big deal about John Bianchi coming up with this shoulder rig, and agreeing to sell a copy to me.  As I mentioned, they said he had custom designed it for CIA pilots.  I always suspected they were blowing smoke at the new kid, but the thing really worked out well when I needed it, so I had no complaints.  But I have always been curious about the provenance of the rig, and whether any of the story is true."

Pics:

bianchi cia (6).JPG

bianchi cia (10).jpg

bianchi cia (4).jpg

Chap says retention is excellent.

And I advised him, don't reckon I've ever seen it before unless my memory has finally gotten the better of me, and absolutely is from the Bianchi shop. Inside would be a wire form spring, inserted from 'above' the cylinder recesses and then stitched upside down to close the openings.

He reports it is unmarked, which works for anything supplied to CIA to prevent being 'i.d.'d as USA-backed. And that's a Bianchi harness made from a special, limited production white 'split' (sueded both sides) leather so it wouldn't show. Elegant but it soiled easily.

Chap was a young FBI agent and this is circa 1970, undercover assignment.

Taking nothing away from what was accomplished with this holster, it is essentially a greatly skeletonised Hoyt crossdraw; with everything cut away except the cylinder recesses. Hoyt also inserted their wireform springs from 'above' the cylinder recesses and stitched the openings closed upside-down.

Perhaps the rarest Bianchi holster ever.

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Red Nichols The Holstorian

Pretty cool, always interested in real deal LE/military/alphabet agency gear history.

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Don't kiss smiling dogs!

That little concealment shoulder holster is not only cool, it is
way cool. Another quest for me.

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In Omnia Paratus

Notice the Barami Hip Grip on OP's revolver. Another blast from the past product.

I like that holster---everything you need, and nothing you don't!!
Too bad it wasn't a regular catalog item.

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John

I have seen a holster marked as Bianchi on ebay (long ago) that was a minimalist crossdraw, same color dye and a cylinder "window". Wish I had bought it.

Soooooooo whose gonna start making them again? Hmmmmm

Galco. Who else?

Red:

Thanks as usual for sharing stuff like this with us....I could see that little item selling well even in today's market. There is much to admire there, I wonder, though how it would carry, and whether there might be a tendency to swivel around the single attachment point. But I would probably buy one just to find out!! After all, I just bought an old Bianchi 9R just to have a non-slotted version. The ones that I have from back in the day (one for the J frames, and one for the K frame snub) had slots, and I just wanted the non slotted version...So I would be a sucker for something like this. I sometimes use a shoulder rig under a sweatshirt or sport coat in cooler weather.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Have a cross draw similar to that from a long out of buisness holster maker.

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