Picked up an unusual leather military holster today and was told it was made for the 5 inch Victory model. It looks like a standard 1911 Colt 45 holster on the outside, but when you open the flap you can see that is different than the standard Colt automatic holster. The 5 inch Victory model fits it like a glove. It has no markings on it and has the snap type flap closure rather than the post type closure device. The snap is marked "Stimpson" so it it apparently U.S. manufacture. It is totally different than any of those pictured in Pate's book. Sorry but I cannot do photos. Any ideas? Thanks, Ron

Shoulder or belt? With a flap, I assume belt. Tough to ID without a photo.

It is a belt holster which looks like a standard Colt 1911 holster externally. It has a full flap which, when opened, reveals a different interior than the 1911 holster. It fits the 5 inch Victory perfectly with a special cutout to accomodate the trigger guard of the Victory. I am sorry that I cannot provide photos. We have tried to post photos before, but with no success. I realize that a picture is worth a thousand words, but words are all I can provide. Maybe someone can provide photos of known Victory holsters in hopes that a match can be found. Thanks, Ron

There is no mention of a leather military 5 in. holster for a Victory Model ( K Frame ) in Meadows book on Military Holsters, nor a maker named Stimpson, so I think a good guess is that it is an English made commercial holster for the post WW2 flood of surplus British 30/200 5 inch guns. If you research British sporting goods companies you may find that Stimpson was a British holster maker of the period. Ed.

The "Stimpson" marking is on the flap snap and is a U.S. company specializing in fastening devices. Could this possibly be an experimental attempt to make a holster that would be compatible with both the 45 auto and the Victory? Other than the marking on the snap I can find no other marking anywhere on the holster. The wear marks on the holster shows that it has, indeed, "caressed" a 5 inch K frame. Thanks for the input thus far. Regards, Ron

My 5" Victory went to South Africa. It has a canvas flap holster with hooks on it for a utility belt.

There were some military flap-style belt holsters made for earlier Colt Army & Navy revolvers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But I think those had the post-type flap fasteners, and would have been marked. I think the WWII-era standard holsters of the British Commonwealth were all of a duck-type cloth material, and used for both S&W and Enfield service revolvers. Having no markings, it seems like yours may be a civilian or custom-made holster.

Hi Ed:

I think that perhaps you may have forgotten about the very scarce Boyt made holsters manufactured in 1943 exclusively for use with the few Victory Model 5 inch reovlvers in .38 S&W that were retained in US service. It would be easy to forget as they are are very rarely seen, although they are in fact described in Scott Meadows' US holster book.

Here is a pic of one such holster compared to the standard 4 inch Victory and belt holster. Based on the original poster's description his holster is not this 5 incher. His description does not fit any recognized USGI holster for the 5 inch Victory.

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Charlie Flick
SWCA 729 HF 215

Charlie, I did miss the mention in Meadow's book of the 5 in. Victory holster, but it's US stamped and the poster's holster is not. I was looking for the mention of a plain leather 5 in. Victory holster, so skipped any thing marked US in the book. I also knew Stimson was a maker of snaps, however they sell their products world wide to many manufacturers and you see them on many things, not all having been made in the US. That's a very nice pair of Victories with their holsters. Ed.

Upon very close examination it appears that the holster may actually be a 1911 holster which has been modified to fit the 5 inch Victory. If so, the modification was made long ago and the 5 inch Victory fits perfectly and the contours and bulges of the holster show that it has housed a 5 inch Victory for a long time. I will get my tech-savvy son to see if he can help me post some photos since I am very "old school". Thanks for all the input thus far. Ron