Astra Police-FN Baracuda 357/9MM revolver

Pict:

Did some searching and found that the Astra Police aka FN Baracuda 357/9MM production died in 1980. There used to be a pistol called the Medusa 47 made by Phillips & Rodgers that could digest .357 and the entire family of 9MM without even changing cylinders, but that died due to lack of interest. It had some fantastic engineering features and was very accurate with the stock 4" barrel.

One of my early 2" snubbies was an Astra Cadix that couldn't even handle standard 158 gr loads without popping the cylinder open. Got rid of that gun real fast along with the shoulder holster I had for it.

I could kick myself now for selling the shoulder holster as it was an upside down elastic retention type and the fastest holster I have ever drawn from.

Upside down revolver holsters are not manufactured or sold in the United States that I know of, probably as a result of our product liability laws. Squeeze the trigger before you get the gun out of the holster and you will probably never need to use underarm deoderant under what's left of that arm. Hard to do as the trigger was well covered and the gun was held in place by the webbing pressing the guns trigger guard into a little formed hook of the leather. Of course you know the old saying about the impossibility fo making something foolproof as fools are so inventive. Damn, but I wish I had that holster in a 3 or 4 inch barrel configuration. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

You seen Ken Null holsters? They make some plastic upside down holsters for smaller revolvers. I had one for a Jframe years ago.

Ken Null Holsters

Brad:

Thanks for the heads up, but the Ken Null line doesn't give me enough details about retention method (Elastic, clamshell, trigger guard hook?) and it appears to be available only for 2" or smaller barrelled snubbies. I would prefer a 3" or 4" capability with a closed end. An open ended holster is just begging for something to fall into the barrel or the bullet chambers pointing up. Now that I see the open ended style, I worry about drawing resistance if the front sight hangs up as you draw it. I prefer adjustable sights, even on my small revolvers.

The back strap will prevent the holster from sliding off your shoulder, but will still allow the holster and contents to swivel forward when you bend over. For that reason, I prefer a second backstrap at the lower end of the holster or some sort of retaining strap hanging from the bottom of the holster that can be clipped to your belt or pants.

Lastly, the upside down I used to own had a hammer crossing retaining strap that you could unsnap and swivel out of the way, but gave you a little extra security that the revolver would not fall out by itself if you forgot to tuck in correctly.

Thank you again for the lead.

Bountyhunter

Well...Years ago Leroy Thompson wrote an article about a shortened .45 Colt wheelgun that he carried as an Air Marshall. He had Andy Artoonian (sp?) make him a clamshell, upside down shoulder holster for it. I threw away the magazine years ago but I know Andy has a website somewhere. He's in England last I heard but could try him for one.

laters

Brad:

I have a Smith & Wesson clamshell shoulder rig (Mdl. 23 I think.) that will hold my 1911A1 or a revolver up to a 4 inch barrel. It has an adjustablle belt loop at the bottom of the holster and is a straight pull with a safety strap for pistol retention.

Very fast access unit, but a real pain in the butt to reinsert the sidearm, especially a revolver. Of course since the important part is rapid access, reinsertion is something I am willing to live with.

You had the name right except you left out an "r" ("Arrtonian") , but I found and bookmarked his sight.

Thanks for the leads and if Wisconsin ever passes a CCW law, I will look into a custom rig for my 5-shot 3* Taurus and 3" Mdl 60 Smith & Wesson.

Bountyhunter

Look for a Bianchi 9R holster. It's the lineal descendant of the old Berns-Martin Lightnin' upside-down, spring-loaded clamshell shoulder holster. Mine holds a 3" HB S&W M-65 like it was made for it (well, OK, it WAS made for it), but will also work well with a 2-3/4" Ruger SP101. Bianchi added belt loops on both sides to make it an ambidextrous belt or shoulder holster, which did nothing to improve the design, IMHO. There's one up on e-bay right now, but it's for a S&W J-frame 2" .38 (the description is wrong in the listing, but you can clearly read the holster's markings in the photo).

Ken Null's holsters are some of the best designed, best executed items on the market. I'd suggest checking with him a bit before you dismiss his offerings out of hand, based on one photo on his web site (his site could use some improvement!)

Null's holsters, or the Bianchi are both inherently more safe than the elastic retention style you mention (which may have been made by Brauer, BTW.)

Regards,

David

David:

Thanks for the leads, but nostalgia is making me miss my original leather upside down, elastic retention, with safety strap holster design. I realize at my age, I will probably never run or jump enough to shake the revolver loose, but memories and fantisies are better than realities and harder to shake.

Thanks again.

Bountyhunter