Spent the day yesterday at the Wannemacher Show in Tulsa. Among the treasures found were two Heiser holsters I picked up for $20 each. Problem is I am not for sure what they fit. One is stamped 420 with a 11 at about 1:00 above the trade mark. It fits a 4 1/2" Woodsmaster pretty well. The other is marked 242D and someone wrote "45 auto" in ink below the model number. I slid a 5" 1911 in it but it went in too deep. The sights were a good 1/2" below the surface. Both are in excellent shape and have the brown snaps. Can anyone give me an idea what they were made for? Many thanks.

Here's a Heiser model 420 holster with a Colt .45 auto in it. They do sit low in the holster. The inked ".45 auto" may or may not have been put there by the maker- usually they etched or inked ".45 CA" for Colt Auto. The 242D may be a model 2420 holster which is a fully lined version of the 420.
At $20 each, you can't go wrong- nice snag.
Regards,
turnerriver

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turnerriver

Upon closer inspection, the marking is 2420 just as you noted and it is fully lined and used very little. The ink marking is simply 45 with something else below but marked through with the same pen. The 420 holster has HD 4 1/2 marked in ink above the Heiser logo. Many thanks for your expertise. Going through card board boxes of used holsters is one of my favorite things to do at gun shows. Lots of junk but sometimes a diamond will appear.

Finding old Heisers is a worthy pursuit. I look all the time. Don't find any at $20 these days. But I've found some great other treasures like my carved gun rug and shoulder holster. Also a cartridge box.

At an antique show I even found a leg of mutton shotgun case. But the guy wanted $1300 for it. Way out of my price range for an item with cracking and wear.

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Dick Burg