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Berns-Martin is the name given to a brand of split-front holster made only for a revolver. [1] This type of holster was later referred to as a "Break Front" during the 1970s with the introduction of such a model by the Bianchi Holster Co. [2]
The Berns-Martin holster was first developed in the 1930s by J.E. Berns of the Navy Rifle Team, who, assigned to shore duty in Alaska, decided he wanted to carry a long-barrelled gun for hunting and invented a holster that allowed him to carry such a revolver high on his hip and out of the Alaskan snow. The leather work was left to Berns' Navy teammate Jack Martin, who had previously designed the sheath for the Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife, [3] hence the name "Berns-Martin" for the company. [4] The holster was patented by John Emmett Berns in 1935 as 2,001,321 for a Revolver Holster. [5] When used in a hip holster, the revolver is drawn by pushing down (slightly) on the revolver grip while rocking the top of the revolver forward through the open front of the holster. While in the holster, a leather covered steel spring holds the revolver cylinder (and the rest of the revolver) securely in the holster, regardless of what physical gyrations the wearer might go through. No less an authority than Jeff Cooper stated that the Berns-Martin holster "keeps the pistol secure enough for anything up to parachute jumping, and yet permit drawing without releasing any latch or strap beforehand." [6]
From the 1950s through the 1970s the holster type was popular with American law enforcement due to the high level of security provided to the revolver used ubiquitously during the period. Because the Berns-Martin split-front holsters can only be used with revolvers (the rear loop of the trigger guard being engaged to grasp the revolver), [7] and the near universal adoption of semi-automatic pistols by American law enforcement in the 1980s, the split-front revolver holster has fallen out of favor with American police forces since the 1980s. A second, and equally well-known version, of the Berns-Martin holster was the company's Lightnin' holster, a shoulder holster also for revolvers that carried them with the muzzles pointed upwards; that is, "upside down". It was this holster that was made famous by its inclusion in Ian Fleming's later Bond books, although it was not suited to Bond's Walther semi-auto pistol, causing the company to mark its brochures of the period, "no shoulder holster made for automatics". [8] Various adaptations of the Berns-Martin upside-down holster continue to this day, beginning with those various models made by the Bianchi Holster and Safariland companies of the 1960s/70s/80s/90s [9] and into today.
As of 2012, C. Rusty Sherrick was producing a Berns-Martin type holster in a belted version called the Gumshoe Special. [10]
As of 2018, A.E. Nelson of Scio, Oregon, makes traditional break front hosters in a variety of duty configurations for medium and large frame revolvers.
A revolver is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six cartridges, before needing to be reloaded, revolvers are commonly called six shooters or sixguns. Due to their rotating cylinder mechanism, they may also be called wheel guns.
The Nambu pistols are a series of semi-automatic pistols produced by the Japanese company Koishikawa Arsenal, later known as the Tokyo Artillery Arsenal. The series has three variants, the Type A, the Type B, and the Type 14. The Nambu pistols were designed to replace Japan's earlier service pistol, the Type 26 revolver.
Point shooting is a practical shooting method where the shooter points a ranged weapon at a target without relying on the use of sights to aim. Emphasis is placed on fast draw and trying to score preemptive hits first. In close quarters combat, where life-threatening situations emerge very quickly, sighted marksmanship techniques become risky, so advocates of point shooting emphasize a less sighting-oriented style that prioritizes the tactical advantages of quick fire superiority and suppression.
Combat pistol shooting is a modern martial art that focuses on the use of the handgun as a defensive weapon for self defense, or for military and police use. Like most martial arts, combat pistol shooting is practiced both for defense and for sport.
A handgun holster is a device used to hold or restrict the undesired movement of a handgun, most commonly in a location where it can be easily withdrawn for immediate use. Holsters are often attached to a belt or waistband, but they may be attached to other locations of the body. Holsters vary in the degree to which they secure or protect the firearm. Some holsters for law enforcement officers have a strap over the top of the holster to make the handgun less likely to fall out of the holster or harder for another person to grab the gun. Some holsters have a flap over the top to protect the gun from the elements.
The Type 26 or Model 26 "hammerless" revolver was the first modern revolver adopted by the Imperial Japanese Army. It was developed at the Koishikawa Arsenal and is named for its year of adoption in the Japanese dating system. The revolver saw action in conflicts including the Russo-Japanese War, World War I and World War II.
The Type 94 Nambu 8 mm pistol is a semiautomatic pistol developed by Kijirō Nambu and his associates for the Imperial Japanese Army. Development of the Type 94 pistol began in 1929, and after several redesigns the final prototype was tested and officially adopted by the Japanese army in late 1934. The Type 94 pistol entered production in 1935. Approximately 71,000 pistols were manufactured before production ended in 1945.
In American English, a pocket pistol is any small, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol, and is suitable for concealed carry in a pocket or a similar small space.
Cavalry draw is a method used to extract a pistol from a holster, which is designed to carry the pistol butt forward.
Paris Theodore was an American inventor of gun holsters, firearms and shooting techniques, which were used by government agencies and police departments in the U.S. and abroad, as well as by the fictional James Bond.
A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun which needs to be held by both hands and braced against the shoulder. Handguns have shorter effective ranges compared to long guns, and are much harder to shoot accurately. While most early handguns are single-shot pistols, the two most common types of handguns used in modern times are revolvers and semi-automatic pistols, although other handguns such as derringers and machine pistols also see infrequent usage.
The Colt Paterson revolver was the first commercial repeating firearm employing a revolving cylinder with multiple chambers aligned with a single, stationary barrel. Its design was patented by Samuel Colt on February 25, 1836, in the United States, England and France, and it derived its name from being produced in Paterson, New Jersey. Initially this 5 shot revolver was produced in .28 caliber, with a .36 caliber model following a year later. As originally designed and produced, no loading lever was included with the revolver; a user had to partially disassemble the revolver to re-load it. Starting in 1839, however, a reloading lever and a capping window were incorporated into the design, allowing reloading without disassembly. This loading lever and capping window design change was also incorporated after the fact into most Colt Paterson revolvers that had been produced from 1836 until 1839. Unlike later revolvers, a folding trigger was incorporated into the Colt Paterson. The trigger became visible only upon cocking the hammer.
The modern technique is a method for using a handgun for self-defense, originated by firearms expert Jeff Cooper. The modern technique uses a two-handed grip on the pistol and brings the weapon to eye level so that the sights may be used to aim at the target. This method was developed by Cooper into a teachable system beginning in the 1950s, based on the techniques of shooters like Jack Weaver, Mike Rousseau and others, after experiments with older techniques such as point shooting. The method was codified in book form in 1991 in The Modern Technique of the Pistol by Gregory B. Morrison and Cooper.
In the television series, Miami Vice, firearms took a key role. Episodes such as "Evan" revolved around them, while the characters themselves also used several firearms during the series. Sonny Crockett was to have used a SIG Sauer P220, but this was replaced by the then more modern Bren Ten. The importance of the firearms in Miami Vice is demonstrated by Galco International, which provided the holster used by Don Johnson on the show, naming its holster the Miami Classic. Another example of a iconic firearm is Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs' sawed-off double-barred shotgun which is prominent in Rockstar Games's landmark video-game GTA Vice City as the inspiration for the Stubby Gun.
The United States Marine Raider stiletto was issued to the Marine Raiders and 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion during World War II.
The Bridgeport rig is a quick draw or fast draw handgun holster that was developed in 1882. Today, the device enjoys cult status among cowboy action shooters and other antique gun enthusiasts.
The family of Colt Pocket Percussion Revolvers evolved from the earlier commercial revolvers marketed by the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company of Paterson, N.J. The smaller versions of Colt's first revolvers are also called "Baby Patersons" by collectors and were produced first in .28 to .31 caliber, and later in .36 caliber, by means of rebating the frame and adding a "step" to the cylinder to increase diameter. The .31 caliber carried over into Samuel Colt's second venture in the arms trade in the form of the "Baby Dragoon"-a small revolver developed in 1847–48. The "Baby Dragoon" was in parallel development with Colt's other revolvers and, by 1850, it had evolved into the "Colt's Revolving Pocket Pistol" that collectors now name "The Pocket Model of 1849". It is a smaller brother of the more famous "Colt's Revolving Belt Pistol of Naval Caliber" introduced the same year and commonly designated by collectors as the "1851 Navy Model". In 1855 Colt introduced another pocket percussion revolver, the Colt 1855 "Sidehammer", designed alongside engineer Elisha K. Root.
1937 Pattern Web Equipment was an item of military load-carrying equipment. It replaced the 1908 Pattern and 1925 Pattern—on which it was based—and was standard issue for British and Commonwealth troops from its introduction in 1937, throughout World War II, and in the post-war period until it was superseded by 1958 Pattern Web Equipment. It remained in limited use with Territorial Army and other second-line troops until the mid to late 1970s. Official use of the webbing in Community Cadet Forces and the Combined Cadet Force persisted into the 1980s.
The Hamada Type 1 or Hamada Type Automatic handgun was a semi-automatic pistol developed starting in 1941 for use by the Empire of Japan during World War II. Developed by Bunji Hamada, the pistol took its basic design from the Model 1910 Browning. Production occurred at the Japanese Firearms Manufacturing Company, with only minor changes made as the war progressed.
Alien Gear Holsters is an American holster manufacturer that makes concealed carry holsters used for personal defense. The company started in Arkansas and has since relocated to Post Falls, Idaho in 2016.
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