Lew Archer
Member
I've been a long time fan of Andy Arratoonian's Horseshoe Leather Products, a true one man holster shop. Andy has been producing top notch concealment gear in the United Kingdom for decades.
I've been using custom leather for serious business for over 20 years. I've used and owned holsters from Milt Sparks, Greg Kramer, Mitch Rosen, Ken Null and Lou Alessi, not to mention gear from the major producers, such as Bianchi, Galco and Safariland.
No one makes a better holster than Andy Arratoonian. Few come close to his work. First rate design, all time proven. First rate materials. Execution is flawless..he's an artisan. Life-saving gear for a lifetime. My first Horseshoe rig was purchased in 1996. It's still going strong!
Anyway, I checked out his very informative website recently, holsters.org.
He was offering for sale two shoulder rigs he made in the 1970s but never sold. Both were made for S&W Model 19s with six inch barrels. One in Cordovan, one in Saddle Tan. I was able to purchase the cordovan rig. He hasn't produced holsters for revolvers in many years. So, these two were both holsters impossible to find. Handmade, as all Horseshoe rigs are, by Andy's own hands. Brand new, never sold revolver holsters! In 2015!
I emailed him and asked if either were available. He promptly responded in the affirmative and I selected the Cordovan, a favorite colour (must use the British spelling here!).
Here's a quick photo of it with my Model 19-3, which, per the Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson, was manufactured in 1969.
I found this fine Smith at Martin B. Retting's shop in Culver City, CA some years ago. The gun was, and is, in excellent condition. Its grips, while from Smith, weren't original to the gun. I later stumbled across a fine used pair of Herrett's stocks (don't call them grips!) at Goleta Valley Gun in Santa Barbara. Both Retting's shop, and Goleta Valley Gun are worthwhile places to drop by, should you find yourself in Culver City (which is surrounded by Los Angeles) or Santa Barbara.
I'd never purchased a holster, though, for the Model 19. With a six inch barrel, I thought a good shoulder rig might be just the thing. Since I don't carry a revolver for work, getting a holster wasn't a priority. However, a good gun deserves a good holster...
So, at long last, my Model 19 has a world class rig. Very secure, very comfortable and very fast. Dirty Harry would have approved! Incidentally, I have a recently produced Lawman Leather rig for a Model 29 with 6.5 inch barrel. The Lawman rig is very well made, marketed as the "Original Dirty Harry Shoulder Holster". Yes, I know all the customer service stories...though I happened to get mine promptly several years ago. The Horseshoe Rig shares some design details with that rig. Like the Lawman rig, it's plenty rugged. It has an elegance, though, that is unmatched. I also prefer the design of the Horseshoe rig's shoulder harness, which offers simpler adjustment.
By good fortune, the holster happened to fit me perfectly as is. No adjustment required.
Anyway, thought some here might appreciate a classic and truly old school but brand new rig.
If anyone's interested, maybe that saddle tan rig may still be available. Expensive but worth it! There won't be another chance to buy one of these, brand new, from Andy Arratoonian.
His website, by the way, is well worth checking out, just for the discussion of the different holster designs and their pros and cons.
I've been using custom leather for serious business for over 20 years. I've used and owned holsters from Milt Sparks, Greg Kramer, Mitch Rosen, Ken Null and Lou Alessi, not to mention gear from the major producers, such as Bianchi, Galco and Safariland.
No one makes a better holster than Andy Arratoonian. Few come close to his work. First rate design, all time proven. First rate materials. Execution is flawless..he's an artisan. Life-saving gear for a lifetime. My first Horseshoe rig was purchased in 1996. It's still going strong!
Anyway, I checked out his very informative website recently, holsters.org.
He was offering for sale two shoulder rigs he made in the 1970s but never sold. Both were made for S&W Model 19s with six inch barrels. One in Cordovan, one in Saddle Tan. I was able to purchase the cordovan rig. He hasn't produced holsters for revolvers in many years. So, these two were both holsters impossible to find. Handmade, as all Horseshoe rigs are, by Andy's own hands. Brand new, never sold revolver holsters! In 2015!
I emailed him and asked if either were available. He promptly responded in the affirmative and I selected the Cordovan, a favorite colour (must use the British spelling here!).
Here's a quick photo of it with my Model 19-3, which, per the Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson, was manufactured in 1969.
I found this fine Smith at Martin B. Retting's shop in Culver City, CA some years ago. The gun was, and is, in excellent condition. Its grips, while from Smith, weren't original to the gun. I later stumbled across a fine used pair of Herrett's stocks (don't call them grips!) at Goleta Valley Gun in Santa Barbara. Both Retting's shop, and Goleta Valley Gun are worthwhile places to drop by, should you find yourself in Culver City (which is surrounded by Los Angeles) or Santa Barbara.
I'd never purchased a holster, though, for the Model 19. With a six inch barrel, I thought a good shoulder rig might be just the thing. Since I don't carry a revolver for work, getting a holster wasn't a priority. However, a good gun deserves a good holster...
So, at long last, my Model 19 has a world class rig. Very secure, very comfortable and very fast. Dirty Harry would have approved! Incidentally, I have a recently produced Lawman Leather rig for a Model 29 with 6.5 inch barrel. The Lawman rig is very well made, marketed as the "Original Dirty Harry Shoulder Holster". Yes, I know all the customer service stories...though I happened to get mine promptly several years ago. The Horseshoe Rig shares some design details with that rig. Like the Lawman rig, it's plenty rugged. It has an elegance, though, that is unmatched. I also prefer the design of the Horseshoe rig's shoulder harness, which offers simpler adjustment.
By good fortune, the holster happened to fit me perfectly as is. No adjustment required.
Anyway, thought some here might appreciate a classic and truly old school but brand new rig.
If anyone's interested, maybe that saddle tan rig may still be available. Expensive but worth it! There won't be another chance to buy one of these, brand new, from Andy Arratoonian.
His website, by the way, is well worth checking out, just for the discussion of the different holster designs and their pros and cons.
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. Dan Retting was good natured about it - since I had been buying Mad Dog knives from him like they were going out of style - and all those knives helped pay for my new truck when I sold them. 
