quote:

Originally posted by houndawg
Huh? I don't think so.

Bruce Nelson had a regular job as an undercover narcotics officer. His design of the holster that became known as the Summer Special was to allow him to wear it in front of his right hip when undercover.

Dressed as a druggie of that time period (60s), he wore his long shirt untucked, roll his shoulders forward, and let his arms dangle...thus easily blocking accidental bumping of his holstered 1911 Commander

I admit, I was skeptical of the forward-of-hip commentary here - with the glaring caveats that a) I’ve been carrying IWB for only about 5 years and b) I’m a relatively new BNCL Summer Special fan, having really only learned anything about this holster a year or so ago. I asked around and have been educated thusly!

Here’s a vintage snippet showing Mr. Nelson wearing his creation in a forward posture.

I’m still wearing mine at 3:30-ish or so, but enjoy getting insights like this into holster history! Thanks to @9mmepiphany for bringing this angle up!

Just for fun, here are pics of my new BNCL Summer Special (on left) and the new-to-me vintage-y original (on right).