When I acquired this pistol, it came with 2 holsters, a belt, and an ammo pouch. According to my Step Father, they belonged to a LASD Corrections Officer who started around late 50's, early 60's (related to him in some way). The Corrections Officer bought the pistol off of a Sheriff Biscailuz and used it as his duty revolver. I believe at this time the pistols were private purchase and not issued. To get to the point, which of these holsters would have most likely been the carry holster for that time period.

At first glance the holster on the left appears to be for a 5" gun, however I think I detect a print from the cylinder on the left. If so they both could be for that 4" M&P. I'm just not that familiar with duty holsters of that time to tell. Hopefully someone here knows.

You're not thinking of putting that gorgeous M&P in that Colt holster are you?

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Tom
NRA Pistol Inst

It looks like the Colt holster has size code 34 stamped on it,that's the code for a 4" Colt Official Police, Trooper or Python revolver. The M&P might fit but would probably rattle around a little in there. The Safety Speed holster has a 6 stamped on it- I would usually assume that would be the barrel length but I've been known to assume imperfectly before.
To answer your question, the Safety Speed holster would be the more likely duty holster IMHO.
Regards,
turnerriver

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turnerriver

The Safety Speed looks like a 6" holster to me. So, to answer your question, neither of those would likely be the duty holster for that gun. The Colt marked holster would be more appropriate if it fits though.

You did say he was a corrections deputy though. I could see a corrections deputy using a crowssdraw holster for prisoner transfers. Easy to get to in a car and, it's away from the prisoner when seated in a car.

When I started as a cop, we didn't have cages. Prisoners always sat in the passenger seat.
Upside: you could keep an eye on him and had your right hand free to, uh, push him back in the seat if he got stupid.
Downside: a few Motorola speakers got kicked loose, microphones kicked off the dash and gloves boxes took a beating.

I'm guessing in formal uniform, he would have carried it in some version of a border patrol holster. Either Safety Speed, Don Hume, Tex Shoemaker....maybe even with a swivel.

Neither holster appears to have the wear expected from routinely wearing as a corrections officer when doing transport duty. My "guess" both were for other revolvers either Smith or Colt.

I'm going with option 3, neither. The Safety Speed was for a 6" revolver and the Colt brand holster was for Colt products. Also both holsters appear to be in better condition that a duty holster from that era would be in.

Thanks for the advice folks. Guess I'll just put it in the collection without an associated holster.

My advice is to buy a gun that fits both holsters, if you don't have any to fit. Ain't that what you're supposed to do?

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RIP Shipmate

I've done that. I had been looking for a nice Safety Speed clamshell for a long time. I found one at the Dallas gun show being sold by a member of this forum. Price was good, it worked great, I came home.
Saw my wife in the kitchen.....

"Find anything at the gun show?"
"Yup! Look at this! I've been looking for one for awhile. You press this little button and (sproing!) it pops open! Is that cool or what?"
"That's nice dear.....do you have a gun to fit it?"
"Well, actually no...I don't"
".......... Isn't that a little weird? Even for you?"

The above, out of the box thinking, is the reason Rags got promoted to the big chair not to long ago

Not to mention the occasional windshield.......

I bought one of those "snap-open" clamshells at a flea market for $5 (fits a 6-inch M&P). It works, and is neat just fooling around with it (SNAP!). However, I did some Internet looking about it and two things were mentioned that made it more of a good idea in theory than in practice.
It said that they had a bad habit of popping open on their own when on a foot chase, and even when you opened it on purpose it was hard to re-holster without using two hands. Not easy when dealing with a with a belligerent perp.

This one?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QsQVsMvxNls

I made this video a long time ago, I don't recall the content and I am on a phone so I can't watch it right now. I could be saying something wrong in the video. My apologies if I have. Same goes for those other videos in there, I need to redo them I think. They were all just off the cuff videos for friends.

I will forever stand by my belief that this Ida the most dangerous holster I have ever owned, and I love it.

But would never actually use it for carrying a gun around.

Here's a deputy ca. 1940s with a four inch M&P and a spring clip crossdraw rig similar to your Safety Speed holster,only in a four inch length:

and here is Jerry Lewis doing some training in the mid 1950s with LASD;you can see details similar to your holster. Although he has a Colt OP here, a simple adjustment of the screw would all a Smith to fit snugly.That style is pretty common in vintage LA phot

LASDjerryjerry1950s.png Photo by WoodOwl | Photobucket@@AMEPARAM@@http://i1145.photobucket.com/albums/o504/WoodOwl/LASDjerryjerry1950s.p@@AMEPARAM@@1145.photobucket.com/albums/o504/WoodOwl/LASDjerryjerry1950s.p
Are your belt and ammo pouch similar to the ones shown in the photo.
Perhaps the officer also had a 6 inch gun?

Regards,
Tecolote

Man I apologize, I forgot that I left this post. The belt I have is smooth on the outside, except for the stitching.

Since the firearms were private purchase at that time, wouldn't they have had to purchase their own holsters? Perhaps a not so correct hand me down for use?

I imagine many of the youngsters here don't remember Jerry Lewis. He was a top comedian from the late 1940s through the 1970s, with his partner Dean Martin, and later by himself. He made many movies and was a Las Vegas headliner, and was also famous for his charitable fund-raising telethons. He was also a through-and-through gun nut and had a sizeable gun collection (and maybe still does). In the same era was another top comedian, Buddy Hackett, another gun nut. Jerry Lewis is still alive, approaching 90.

Its hard to believe because of the many comedies that Jerry Lewis made but he was a hell of a shot and was a very fast quick draw artist!

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Tom
NRA Pistol Inst

Barney Fife carried his 4" .38 OP in a 6" holster.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Neither of those holsters would have been authorized for LA Sheriff use, they wore basket weave equipment, same for Calif. Highway Patrol. Prior to about 1967 LAPD uniform officers were authorized the type of cross draw holster shown, it is for a 6". The Sam Brown belt shown looks about right for that time period. By the time I came on in 1975 Safety Speed was in Montebello CA so the holster predates that. Several companies made the Clam Shell holster including Safety Speed. My older brother (LAPD) was issued a Clam Shell made by the Jicarillo Apache Tribe, it was marked "JAT". Lots of reasons not to carry a Clam Shell.