First Look: Galco Parabellum Shoulder Holster

Galco Gunleather, with decades of experience developing shoulder-holster systems, unveiled a new design that brings this classic setup further into the 21st century. The new Parabellum is a shoulder-holster system designed for the armed citizen who wants the latest in carry rigs and enhanced comfort combined with classic elements from the venerable shoulder holster.

Galco has a long and storied history with shoulder-holster systems, ranging from the original Jackass rigs of 1970s Chicago, through the Miami Classic made famous by Don Johnson in the 1980s and on into the 2000s with the Vertical Holster System (VHS) that is a must-have items for America's warfighters.

Now, Galco is modernizing shoulder-holster carry with a holster that uses both next-generation passive- and active-retention systems. The Parabellum is a giant leap forward in shoulder system design that uses a hybrid construction, which combines Kydex with top-grain leather and Premium Center Cut Steerhide, along with a refined and updated harness.

Because the Parabellum's Kydex holster and mag carrier bodies carry both the pistol and spare magazines in a horizontal orientation, it’s easy to quickly draw and reload your firearm. Retention of the pistol is done with both a passive retention device at the trigger guard and a pivoting hood that is swiftly released by the thumb when drawing the pistol. The pistol automatically opens the hood when holstering, eliminating the worry about retention-strap interference. The open-front magazine carriers use rubberized retention ramps for security and allow for a very fast reload without any encumbering retention straps.

The Parabellum's holster and magazine carrier components are mated to Galco's newest wide-comfort harness that is a full 2.75 inches at the shoulder to maximize wearer comfort. Concealability is enhanced at the same time with the use of a recontouring of the harness's strap shape, a feature that works especially well with open jackets. The new harness also features an improved key-hole harness fastener system which replaces the earlier screw-and-post design. This results in greater security, ease of assembly and greatly reduced chance of fastener loss.

The Galco Parabellum is made for modern semi-automatic pistols and is available in black. The MSRP of the holster is $220, and more information is available at galcogunleather.com.