It's cute!

It was free!

But, what does it fit?


Nope.


Ahhh ... just right.

Albeit holster length would accommodate a 5-inch New Pocket more perfectly than this 3 1/2-inch variant.


Did security at the San Angelo gun show this past weekend. The show promoter had taken this holster in a box of stuff that an exhibitor who had set up Friday night had traded him. Monty was speculating what it fit. On Friday night, I had suggested that perhaps a Smith & Wesson J or I frame, allowing that it was mighty small and might fit an even smaller revolver.

Thought to bring an I-Frame Smith & Wesson .32 S&W Long and also a Colt New Pocket .32 Long Colt along when I arrived on Saturday afternoon. The tiny Colt fit. Monty chuckled and said: "You gotta a gun that fits it. It's yours."

The vintage holster exhibits really fine design and workmanship. The tooling is very artistic and pleasingly executed. Never saw this style tooling before. Except for the obvious length, the New Pocket fits perfectly. No maker's mark may be discerned though a rectangle may be faintly detected when examining the back of the holster. A rectangle such as might contain a Myres mark or even a Brill? An examination at the show had me convinced that I could discern an "L" where the last "L" of Brill would be and also a "U" where "AUSTIN" would fall on the second line. An examination in the sunlight with a magnifying glass today when I photographed the holster was inclusive though.

The holster saw use. Someone bored a hole at the bottom for a tie-down and also cut "DW" initials at the bottom of the backside of the holster.

I'm kinda enthused about the holster because it is so nicely made. Anyone seen anything like it? Any design similarities to familiar makers? What about the tooling? Can anyone suggest another revolver for which the holster could have been made?










The area with the "imagined" faint maker's mark.