Holster for hand guns

Abstract

The holster herein is formed of a channel member shaped to conform to the portion of the body of a hand gun adjacent the trigger guard so that the trigger guard and a portion of the body and of the barrel are nested in the holster. A latch is provided on one side of the holster which projects through an opening into the holster body and into the trigger guard to hold the hand gun in nested position. A safety is provided to hold this latch in latching position. The safety is in convenient location to be tripped simultaneously with the gripping of the hand gun.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In previous holsters attempts were made to hold a hand gun in a holster. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,550,822 the hand gun was held in a holster which more or less tightly engaged the barrel of the hand gun and a catch was provided on the top of the holster to block the top of the handle of the holster, requiring a spring release mechanism adjacent the top of the holster whereby it is supported on the belt but without capability of adjustment to selected angles. U.S. Pat. No. 3,583,611 shows another form of holster where wraparound support is provided and the snap for securing the strap extends through the trigger guard and the holster is unwrapped in order to draw the hand gun. U.S. Pat. No. 3,265,259 shows another form of a holster, as well as U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,184 in a belt form. U.S. Pat. No. 2,213,472 shows an underarm arrangement wherein the barrel is is pointing up toward the arm.

These patents illustrate the problem which is solved by the holster described in this application.

An object of the present invention is to provide a holster which positively supports the hand gun against any accidental escapement, which however can be quickly freed by releasing the latch which holds the trigger guard in the holster simultaneously with the gripping of the hand gun. Another object of this invention is to provide for adjustability of the position of the holster to any selected angle most convenient for drawing the hand gun with a forward rotating motion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of holster, the hand gun being shown in broken lines nested in the holster.

FIG. 2 is a developed view of the main parts of the preferred embodiment of the holster.

FIG. 3 is a developed view of the holster.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a modified form.

FIG. 5 is a developed view of the modified holster.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the holster, the section being taken substantially on lines 6--6 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the holster mounted on a belt.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a modified form of the holster.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The preferred form is a U-shaped channel 1 made of metal or similar rigid material which has a shorter leg 2 and a longer leg 3 connected by a curved portion 4.

The shorter leg 2 has a perpendicular slot 6. The dimensions of the holster body 1 are such as to accommodate the trigger guard and the adjacent portions of the hand gun, the butt of the hand gun resting on the top of the holster and the barrel projecting below the bottom of the holster so that the trigger guard of the hand gun is adjacent the vertical slot 6.

A pair of lugs 7 extend from the bottom edge of the short leg 2 of the holster body 1 and a latch 8 is pivoted in the lugs 7 so that the latch 8 may be turned upwardly from the position shown in FIG. 2 into the position shown in FIG. 1 whereby the head 9 of the latch 8 projects through the slot 6 and engages the trigger guard of the hand gun to prevent the withdrawal of the hand gun from the holster.

A liner 11 fits into the holster body 1 and it is made of tough plastic material which is resistant to wear and is somewhat flexible so as to prevent metal to metal contact between the hand gun and the holster body 1 thereby to prevent the scratching of the hand gun.

The liner 11 has legs 12 and 13 which are of equal length substantially about the same as the longer leg 3. A perpendicular slot 14 in the leg 12 is in registry with the slot 6 when the liner is inserted in the body 1. A fixed pivot is provided in the leg 12 on which is pivoted a safety lever 17, one arm of which overlaps the slot 6 so as to block and prevent the withdrawal of the latch 8 from the slot 6. The other arm of the lever 17 is formed into a thumb rest 18 whereby the pivoted lever 17 can be tripped out of the way of the latch 8 allowing the trigger guard to push the head 9 of the latch 8 outwardly through the slot 6. For this purpose the projection 9 is rounded and tapered toward the finger guard.

A threaded stud 19 extends from the leg 3. A leg of a U-shaped belt fitting 21 has a hole 22 fitting over the stud 19. The other leg of the belt fitting 21 has a hole 23 large enough to allow the insertion of a nut 24 over the stud 19 for clamping the adjacent leg of the belt fitting in adjusted position. The nut 24 has a pair of sockets 26 into which fits a wrench 27 insertable through the larger hole 23. A strap 28 has an end secured to the lower end of a leg 25 of the belt fitting 21 as shown in FIG. 3, so that as the belt fitting straddles the top edge of the belt 29, the strap 28 can be wrapped around the lower edge of the belt 29 and then suitably attached to the other leg of the belt fitting on the inside of the belt. In the herein embodiment so-called "Velcro" fastener 30, having interlocking fibers, is used.

The modified form shown in FIGS. 4 to 7 inclusive, is a single U-shaped body 31 of legs of substantially equal length. The safety is slidable. A hollow interiorly threaded sleeve 32 extends through the elongated slot 33. A flat arm 34 is clamped on the sleeve 32 by the head of a screw 36. The head 37 of the sleeve 32 is larger than the slot 33. On the flat arm 34 is a head 38 provided with a recess 39 fitting over the upper end 41 of the latch 42, which latter is pivoted on ears 43 on the body 31. The projection 44 of the latch 42 projects through the slot 33 into the trigger guard 46. The exterior of the safety head 38 is serrated to facilitate pushing the safety into and out of locking position.

As shown in both embodiments, the grip handle 47 of the hand gun rests on the top of the holster while the trigger guard 46 and the adjacent portion of the barrel nests in the holster. The barrel 48 projects beyond the bottom of the holster. The safety in both forms is on the outside face of the holster, namely, the face farthest from the user's body. The belt fitting 21 is on the other face of the holster adjacent the belt 29. The adjustable belt strap mounting in both forms allows the positioning of the holster at the optimum angle for quick and easy drawing of the hand gun.

The herein holster is simple to manufacture, is light weight, has positive security in all adjusted angular positions for fast draw at the adjusted draw angle; it is adjustable to cross draw, accommodates hand guns of any length of barrel, can be attached to a belt of any width, or used without belt. In all the forms, inclusive the form shown in FIG. 8 where the leg 2 is made long enough to accommodate the pivot and the safety lever 17, the open end of the U-shaped holster body is at the barrel of the firearm thereby to permit the drawing of the firearm with a forward rotating motion instead of pulling the firearm axially of the barrel.

Claims

I claim:

1. In a holster for a hand gun having a handle, trigger guard and a barrel,

a hollow holster body of generally U-shaped cross section straddling the trigger guard and adjacent portions of said barrel and completely enclosing the trigger guard therein, the open end of said body being positioned adjacent the barrel thereby to permit the drawing of the handgun by forward rotating motion outwardly from said open end,

a releasable latch element on one side of said holster body, said latch element having a pivot portion and a projecting end portion projecting into the trigger guard so as to prevent withdrawal of the hand gun from said holster body, said element being pivotably movable into and out of said projecting position,

a safety member on said one side for holding said latch element in said projecting position by engagement with a portion thereof adjacent said projecting end portion,

means to mount said safety member on said one side so as to be in position engageable by the user simultaneously with the gripping of said handle for moving said safety member for releasing said latch element,

a holster support on the other side of said holster body,

and means adjustably to secure said holster support to said holster body for a selected angle of drawing said hand gun.

2. The holster specified in claim 1, and said holster support including

a support element on said other side, said adjustable securing means including,

a support strip adapted to straddle the belt of a person,

and coacting members on said support element and on said support strip engageable at selected angles for mounting said holster body on said support strip.

3. The holster specified in claim 1, and

said securing means including,

a threaded stud extending from said other face,

a U-shaped retainer member,

there being a clamping hole through one side of said retainer member fitting over said stud,

there being an access hole through the opposite side of said retainer member,

a nut insertable through said access hole and over said stud for clamping said retainer member at a selected angle to said other face,

a support strip extended from said one side of said retainer member,

and releasable means to secure said strip to said other side of said retainer member.

4. The holster specified in claim 1, and

there being an opening through said one face of said holster adjacent the position of said trigger guard in the holster, and said latch element projecting through said opening.

5. The holster specified in claim 4, and

said latch element being pivoted on said holster body for swinging into and out of said opening.

6. The holster specified in claim 1, and

said holster body being proportioned to nest said trigger guard therein when said handle rests on the top of said holster body.

7. The holster specified in claim 1, and a non-metallic liner in said holster body for cushioning the parts of the hand gun nested therein.

8. The holster specified in claim 6, and

said safety member being a lever pivoted in said one face,

a holding portion of said lever overlapping said latch element in projecting position,

a manipulating portion of said lever being spaced from the top of said holster body within reach of the index finger of the hand gripping said handle.

9. The holster specified in claim 6, and

said opening being elongated,

said mounting means being slidable in said opening for moving said safety member into and out of engagement with said latch element.