Is Gunleather Dead?

By Jeremy Stafford

Opened in 1969, the Jackass Leather Company started out as a small shop in Chicago. In 1970, the company introduced the Jackass Shoulder Rig and was doing pretty well. By 1980, the company was renamed Galco and, in 1983, moved to its present location in Phoenix. In 1984, an actor in a little experimental TV show on NBC was unhappy with his shoulder holster, as it was uncomfortable to wear all day with the large all-steel semiautomatic that he carried. Company founder Richard Gallagher flew out and fitted the company’s Jackass Rig to the actor, and television history was made. That actor was Don Johnson, the show was “Miami Vice,” and the holster became the Miami Classic.

As a 12-year-old in 1984, I can attest to the power that the imagery of that holster had on my adolescent brain. One of the first things I did when I started working narcotics in 2000 was go out and buy a Miami Classic for my very own Smith & Wesson Model 4506. The same gun and holster as Sonny Crockett! A shoulder holster didn’t fit with my mission at the time, so that setup only lasted about a week; however, the quality of …Read the Rest

Source:: Guns and Ammo