Galco Blog

We’ve all heard the talk about tariffs lately. Sometimes it’s hard to decipher what the effects of the proposed tariffs will be. One economist says one thing while another claims the opposite. Same with politicians. It can be confusing. What isn’t confusing, though, is that tariffs won’t change the cost of buying American when you live in America! Galco is the premier American holster maker, and has been for literally decades. We make holsters, ammo carrier, belts and shooting accessories right here in Phoenix, Arizona. Galco has always been an American company, starting in Chicago and with a move to Phoenix...

Cross draw carry may seem like an afterthought to many modern shooters, but it’s hard to imagine a more iconic carry method. For many years it was the most hardworking, practical holster system money could buy. Holstering a firearm butt-forward and reaching across the torso to draw made perfect sense to defend yourself while seated - not to mention it looked incredible. Gunslinger chic and modern usability are two different things, naturally, and the majority of handgun owners now choose to carry their firearm on the strong side hip. However, there are still plenty of times when the classic crossdraw is the best holster for the...

The Best Glock 19 Holsters Choosing the best Glock 19 holsters depends on a number of factors. Ultimately, each person has different needs and what works best for one person isn’t best for another. Factors to consider include whether you are looking for open carry or concealed carry. Additionally, ease of access, hand dominance, style of clothing, and level of comfort are important factors to keep in mind. We offer many holsters that are ambidextrous as well as others where you can choose between right or left handed draw. A good holster should also protect the trigger when re-holstering to prevent the risk of negligent discharge. ...

Holsters for your 1911 The 1911 pistol is an incredibly popular gun commonly used for concealed carry and is well-liked for its power and ease of shooting. A classic gun like the 1911 deserves a holster that matches its reputation. At Galco Holsters we use premium materials whether that is leather, Kydex, or nylon. We build products meant for comfort, ease of access, and durability. We offer a variety of options for 1911 holsters; below we will go over a number of popular choices. It is important to consider retention (ensuring your gun is secure), covered trigger, ease of access, and choosing a holster that works for your dominant...

Galco gets a lot of inquiries about small of back holsters (or SOB holsters). These are holsters worn in the center of the lower back, over the spine, or what we’d call the 6 o’clock position. While this was a fairly common carry method in decades past, and remains one in gun-ignorant Hollywood productions, Galco hasn’t made a small of back holster in many years. Galco discontinued the small of back holsters we made in the past because, frankly, it’s just not a good way to carry a gun. There are several reasons SOB holsters are a poor choice for defensive carry: Obviously the most important is safety, and...

It started humbly with a small family leathergoods shop in Chicago, Illinois. One can argue that Chicago doesn’t exactly top the list for a great gun culture anymore, but as we all know, things were a little different back in 1969. Richard Gallagher lived in Chicago and that’s where he founded The Famous Jackass Leather Company, the predecessor to what’s now Galco. We’ve told the story many times of how the rightly-famous Jackass/Miami Classic shoulder holster rig came into being. But what sometimes gets lost in that tale – with the Hollywood glitz of Don Johnson and Miami Vice – is that it was really...

As one would expect when you work in the firearms industry, a lot of our office banter is about guns. The other day the Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless pistol came up. Being the resident old guy in the office, I chimed in that I had one made in 1920. My boss asked, “How long did they make those?” They were made until about the end of the Second World War (1945 specifically). I also added that Colt had re-introduced the 1903 under license with USA ARMAMENT CORP just a few years ago, in 2015. These old guns were a mainstay of gangster and police movies of the 1940s and 1950s, including being a favorite of Humphry Bogart in the...

A couple of weeks ago, Galco received a SIG-Sauer M17 for holster fit testing. As I’m sure almost everyone reading this knows, the M17 was selected as the Army’s new service pistol. As an old – I just turned 47 – Army vet, this got me to reminiscing a little.   My first exposure to military pistols was on a National Guard firing range when I was maybe 10 years old. My father, and company commander of a Military Police unit at the time, brought my sister and me to the pistol range on a Guard camp in, if memory serves, Massachusetts. There I first fired a Guardsman’s S&W Model 41, a fine target...

Here in the middle of the NSSF’s Shooting Sports Month, let’s change course slightly and discuss sporting arms – rifles and shotguns. Did you know Galco offers a number of rifle accessories and a large Sporting Collection product line for clay target sports like skeet, trap and Sporting Clays? Galco has some very fine rifle accessories, including marksman slings like the Safari Ching (developed with the late Eric Ching) and RifleMann (developed with the very-much-alive Richard Mann) slings, as well as traditional comfort-carry slings like the Braided Cobra and Tapered Rifle slings. Some other favorites are the...

While August is something a lot of us in Arizona dread – it sometimes hits 120* here – this year we’re also looking forward to it. August is the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Shooting Sports Month, and this year’s theme is “Let’s Go Shooting.” Here at Galco, everyone agrees! The NSSF’s emphasis is on including as many people as possible in the shooting sports, and making people of all backgrounds feel welcome as they step into a gun shop, onto the firing line, or into the hunting fields. This is obviously a laudable goal, and for many reasons. If the gun culture we all love is...

Sweat beads on your forehead as you holster your loaded handgun in a Galco Combat Master.  Your mind races while you do your best to memorize every shooting position and target presentation.  Slowly, you raise your wrists above your shoulders into ‘surrender position,’ signaling the Range Officer that you’re ready. Are you ready? Standby! *BEEP* The adrenaline dump that follows the sound of a shot timer can be overwhelming.  I have personally seen the sound scramble a person’s brain until he or she could not function, much less navigate a course of fire while engaging multiple targets with...

While we’re on the subject of semi auto pistols, let’s talk about another classic that was just discontinued, or should we say retired by FN. The Browning Hi-Power (or P35) was once considered the “operator’s” combat pistol of choice, used widely throughout the world by various special operations forces well known for their expertise and professionalism. The British SAS and early FBI HRT were probably the most notable of these organizations. This semiauto Hi-Power, with its original 13-round capacity, and now 15-round aftermarket magazines, has enjoyed wide popularity in the civilian world as well. Recent...

For those who read my first blog post, thank you. In the interest of continuity, let’s ignore Leo in the peanut gallery and keep to the theme of classic, but not necessarily vintage, firearms. With the advent of new polymer technology and the explosive proliferation of different modern “plastic fantastic” handguns, many of us old timers retreat to our safe space (the gun room) and fondle our solid steel and metal-framed guns. The all-time champion and American favorite – the famed 1911 – comes readily to mind. But I’m not going to go into its storied past or wax affectionate about its inventor, John...

As a woman in Galco’s Customer Service Department, you can count on me to help you find a functional, safe, and effective carry holster for your gun. You can also count on the fact that I have a more melodic voice than Gerry, that I am taller than Leo, and that I don’t own a pink holster. In a world full of customizable options, every industry is looking to find you and what you need. Sometimes I think companies must look at the pink aisle in the toy store and decide that what appeals to a gal is dainty pink/purple, and that the boys like the manly blue/black. There is a tendency to “shrink it and pink it” as if...

The shooting community is filled with masculine men who “don’t give a damn” about how they dress. Of course they do care, or they wouldn’t wear the informal gun-guy uniform of billowy polo shirt, loose cargo pants and Merrell hiking boots, right? Hey, we all want to fit in with our tribes and signal that we’re part of the in-group, and there’s nothing wrong with that.   But what about the gun carrier who, either by choice or by circumstance, wears something other than the shooter’s uniform? How does he remain discreetly armed if he chooses to dress outside the gun-culture norm, and more...

While the rest of the country is just transitioning to warmer weather, here in Arizona we get a jump on summer. This always makes me think about hot-weather carry options. When I moved to Arizona from Connecticut, I really had no idea how hot it gets in Phoenix, and that first summer was a definite wake-up call. I’ve since adapted, and here are a few carry methods I’ve had good success using in the brutal Phoenix summers.   The Underwraps belly band is a seriously underrated carry method. Yes, the elasticized nylon band will hold a little extra heat and moisture against the body – no carry method is perfect,...

Ahh Mother’s Day! A day we’re pampered and waited on. Oh, wait! I don’t know about you, that’s just not my reality. Save the money you were going to spend on chocolates and flowers, and get mom what she really wants: something to help keep her safe!   Women are the fastest growing segment of the firearm industry. Why? Because we’re starting to realize that safety is an individual responsibility. Add kids into the mix, and your responsibility to keep not only yourself safe, but your family too, multiplies.    I recently had a conversation with an acquaintance. He made sure to tell me that...

Galco’s off to the 2018 NRA Annual Meetings, this time in Dallas, and I’m fortunate that I get to go again. I’ve lost count of the number of NRAAMs I’ve attended as a Galco representative – I missed a couple while I was on “sabbatical” in Afghanistan with the National Guard – but it’s always a great experience. Not only is it awesome to be able to talk to customers (and potential customers) face-to-face and get their input, but there’s just this great feeling of being surrounded by tens of thousands of gun people. It’s not a feeling you get in too many other places anymore,...

Don’t listen to Gerry’s blog post! I’m Leo and I’m a gunaholic (it should be a word). I consider myself to be closer to the average gun owner around here. What I mean by that is: I don’t shoot competitively, have hundreds of hours of training, or been carrying since gunpowder was invented. I carry a gun as a hobby, and as such, I like to buy and trade guns often to get a better feel for what works best for me.  What I have found is that I prefer to carry a modern handgun over a vintage one, i.e. old. I can appreciate that old guns can be fun to shoot and aesthetically pleasing. But something that was...

I’m known as the “old guy” here at Galco. When asked to contribute to the new Galco blog, my first thoughts were of vintage firearms, specifically revolvers. To be even more specific, revolvers in the almost obsolete caliber of .32-20 WCF, otherwise known as .32-20 Winchester. This great little cartridge was developed and used in the Winchester Model 73 and 92 rifles, as well as many revolvers of that bygone era before World War II. My two particular revolvers are a classic Colt Police Positive Special and the venerable S&W Military and Police (which later became the Model 10). The Colt Police Positive Special is a...