Blue Bloods

[twhidd]

Tom Selleck's character in Blue Bloods appears to be carrying a Fitz Special of some kind, as can be seen from the cutaway trigger guard. I was curious if anyone could tell what kind of holster this is.

[denster]

That is a Bucheimer Clark holster. Had one myself in the 70's.

[PT-92]

I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Selleck himself is not quite involved in the 'firearms' aspects of his projects/works. Guy is a real gun aficionado as well as 2A Patriot.

[twhidd]

I recall a line in one of the Blue Blood episodes which indicated that the gun in the picture was handed down from his father who first received it as a gift from his father. The Fitz Special is an interesting choice. One that you might expect from some old school cops.

It wouldn't surprise me either to know that Selleck may have had some influence in that selection of weapon for his character. I wouldn't think that Hollywood producers would know the first thing about a Fitz Special.

[aarondhgraham]

I wouldn't wear that rig,,,
The twice-exposed trigger is just begging to get hung up on something.

It's not covered by the trigger guard or the holster's leather.

Aarond

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[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

Tom Selleck would be a great "spokesperson" for the NRA. I met him years ago at Sears in West Jefferson. His vehicle needed a battery and he was the nicest, most common man I had met who was famous.

Hell I would vote for him for president. He is a very well educated, well spoken man.

[RBid]

Selleck is on the NRA board. He's a great ambassador.

[Pahoo]

Selleck is on the NRA board. He's a great ambassador.

Equally important, he is a Patriot .....

Where's Rosy ????

Be Safe !!!

[Dfariswheel]

Bucheimer-Clark did make that type of holster, but so did a number of other holster makers of the day.
The design was very popular with police, to the extent that Jack Webb wore one in the "Dragnet" TV show.

They were usually worn cross-draw back then, but could also be worn strong-side.
They're still a pretty good CCW holster, although I don't know of anyone still making them.

[SpareMag]

What is the benefit to the cut-out trigger guard? This looks like a civil suit and shot-up leg waiting to happen.

[publius]

Sparemag. Theoretically, your finger has no chance of hitting the front of the triggerguard (b/c there's not one) and is easy to engage with gloved fingers.

[teeroux]

Personally I wouldn't wear it either. However a tight fit holster isn't likely to let the cylinder rotate to fire. The cylinder has mechanical advantage over the triger. You can grab a cylinder by the thumb and fore finger and the strongest grip of a person can't pull the trigger to fire the pistol.

[rodfac]

Gotta agree with Aarond....I used to make an exposed trigger of the old Tom Three persons open top....but wiser heads than mine pointed out that that trigger is just waiting there...I've switched over to a protected trigger cut to the leather...

And I agree wholeheartedly with Seleck's stand up guy for the 2nd Amendment image. Wish there were more like him in Hollyweird.

Rod

[Colt46]

NYPD chiefs are told by those who appoint them what their political views are. Any chief that is pro-gun knows better than to talk about it in front of a camera.

[Pahoo]

Any chief that is pro-gun knows better than to talk about it in front of a camera.

That is because being pro-gun or anti-gun is too political. Where as being pro-2A, is not !!! ....

Be Safe !!!

[Sharpsdressed Man]

I know it's just a TV role, but being as pro gun as Selleck is, had it been me, I would have passed on the NYC police commissioner's character. What they really do to the 2nd Amendment in NYC just turns my stomach. Or maybe had them rewrite it to be for Dallas or San Antonio; but then those other NY or Jersey boys in the cast would have sounded funny........

[twhidd]

We all know that Tom Selleck is pro 2nd Amendment. It's not really where I had intended for the thread to go, but I guess it was inevitable. I'd like to steer the discussion back to the gun and holster combination.

Holsters with exposed triggers were in vogue for many years. If the weapon is concealed and the wearer obeys rule number three, then why would such a holster be considered unsafe?

[Sharpsdressed Man]

An exposed trigger guard is not a big problem UNLESS the pistol has had the front of the trigger guard removed, as does the "Fitz" Special like Selleck's. Then, anything that might stick into the unshrouded trigger could easily snag it and sit it off. Even reholstering could catch some clothing and snag the trigger. No good.

[twhidd]

I don't know how "easily" it would set it off. As someone mentioned earlier, the cylinder would not likely turn with the gun in the holster. Surely J. H. Fitzgerald considered such things when he decided to modify his guns.

I do admire the concept

[aarondhgraham]

It's both factors taken together that make it iffy on safety,,,
Once it's securely in the holster,,,
It's probably okay.

But look at it closely,,,
When you are holstering the gun,,,
There is a chance, however slight it may be,,,
That the exposed trigger could snag on your clothing.

I carry a standard S&W Model 36 snubbie,,,
Every now and then I "gather" a bit of shirt-tail holstering it,,,
The trigger guard keeps the shirt-tail from snagging the point of the trigger

Like rodfac said earlier, I've made Tom Threepersons holsters for years,,,
That exposure of the trigger guard is now considered to be unsafe,,,
I however prefer the term less safe rather than unsafe.

Besides, no one ever said that the Fitz Special was a safe configuration,,,
The modification was designed to accommodate gloved fingers,,,
Back when it was introduced people didn't think safety,,,
Well, at least it wasn't as in the forefront as now.

It's entirely possible that the cutaway trigger guard never caused a discharge,,,
But when I look at that gun, especially with that holster,,,
I see an accidental discharge waiting to happen.

Aarond

.

[Sharpsdressed Man]

Remember those winged knobs on louvered storm door windows? A friend had his S&W Model 66 in a Bianchi X-15 shoulder holster; triggerguard partially covered. Well, he was moving into an apartment past the door, and the height of the knob was perfect for snagging his partially exposed gun, and set it off, in the holster; he was hit in the thigh.....in and out. Freak thing, but it wasn't all that difficult to do. Any kind of freak thing can happen, but trimming away a guard, well, guards less against an accident.

[Colt46]

In the early 80's he ordered an S&W .41 mag with a wide trigger. First day he had it he loaded it and pushed it into his clamshell holster. The wide trigger caught on the lip of the holster and he cranked one off into his thigh.

The bullet traveled into his femur and then pretty much followed it all the way down and stopped at the knee.
A whole bunch of pins, screws and rehab were in order for him to get back on the job. He ended up getting hooked on pain pills to add to his woes.

[saltydog452]

Trigger shoes used to be semi popular in the NRA Outdoor Pistol Bullseye Matches.

I liked them. That said, I needed all the help that I could get and still play the game according to the rules.

salty

[Japle]

When I was a kid in the late ‘50s – early ‘60s, we had shows like The Virginian where integrity was valued by the characters. Not many of those around now, but every episode of Blue Bloods always seems to have a message about the importance of integrity.

I remember an episode of The Virginian in which a young man got in with the wrong bunch and ended up being involved in a murder. In jail, just before he was about to be strung up, the Virginian told him, “You made a man’s mistake and now you have to pay a man’s price”. That’s not a line you’d hear from the current crop of Hollywood writers.

[Archie]

That is a Buckheimer holster - as mentioned by Denster. I just remembered the same design was made by Safety Speed, during the same time period. I cannot remember who made it first. I remember it because this one is mine - I casually collect old cop holsters as well as old cop guns.

The revolver is more than likely a brother to this one: a Colt Detective Special. Mr. Selleck's has a silver colored metal medallion in the upper grip, signifying the grips are probably wood, rather than the plastic I have. Wood was the original material, then Colt used plastic from 'after' World War II to about 1954 or so, when they resumed using wood. The shape of the butt frame and the grips was pretty constant, however.

I know this will cause some modern shooters both immediate horror and perhaps some sleepless nights, but the cutaway trigger guard was rather popular for a number of years. The serious objection to the practice was based on possibly bending the trigger guard against the trigger, making the revolver inoperable as a firearm.

Caution: Old Guy History Lesson follows: There was a time prior to collapsible batons and various chemical sprays, when plain clothes officers employed a sidearm as an 'impact weapon' for those instances when a suspect was resisting arrest not amounting to lethal force. Note the chip on the bottom of the left side grip on my revolver.

The cutaway trigger guard was not considered so dangerous as to preclude the use of such revolvers. In those days, 'safety' was more an issue of personal accountability and responsibility, and not so much an issue of 'doo-dads'.Here endeth the lesson.

The sample Detective Special (sometimes pronounced 'Dick Special') shown was originally sold in the Los Angeles County area. I bought it used in 2009 or 2010 or so for my 'cop gun collection'. It bears up to its heritage as a Colt Double Action revolver by being so out of time it won'd index and fire reliably. Due to the modifications, I have every reason to believe it belonged to a local peace officer in the Los Angeles area; but no 'actual proof'.


Salty Dog: You are correct about trigger shoes on NRA Bullseye competition guns. I used one or two myself in my day. However, most Bullseye pistols were never holstered, so the 'danger' of pulling the trigger in such was minimized. I do remember several holster makers issued warnings about using trigger shoes on sidearms (usually always revolvers) in their holsters.