Hi

I recently acquired this Smith & Wesson holster as part of a purchase, but know nothing about S&W holsters. Can anybody tell me when these were produced?

It is black leather and the holster is on a swivel. There is a thumb-snap and you have to rock the pistol forward to draw it.
On the back you'll find the S&W logo, the marking "M U 34" and patent # 3,942,692

Pictures listed below. Thanks in advance.

the 34 is the usual S&W designator for 4" K frame holster

In the S&W collectables forum..there is a topic with pics of a S&W holster catalog and charts...might peruse that to see what model the MU designates

Steveie

Thank you. I see now that I posted this in the wrong forum.

You are correct that it fits a 4" K-frame; I should have mentioned that.

I had a look at a scanned copy of the 1978 catalog in the Collector's forum and could find neither the holster nor the 'M U' designation so I suspect it predates the catalog.

ETA: I looked up the patent number, which was filed 22 March 1974 for a 'spring-release safety holster.'

Yeh..I looked at the little S&W holster catalog in my box papers that came with my 'new' 1981 vintage mod 64 and it didn't list an 'MU' model either.

My guess would be either older than 1978 or newer than 1981

This holster style was called the "State Patrolman" and came in various sizes for 4 to 6 in. S&Ws & Colt revolvers. It dates to 1969 through early 70s. Some styles have cartridge loops on the belt loop, and the retainer straps can vary, from over the hammer, to over the trigger guards , as is the holster shown above. Each style had a different model number, but were all called State Patrolmans. The "34" designates a 4 inch barrel. The "M" stands for metal reinforcing plate and the "U" is the type of retainer flap that snaps over the trigger guard. The swivel type holster made it easier to sit in a vehicle as the holster could be swiveled to be parallel to the seat. This is a fairly uncommon model of the State Patrolman series. Ed.

Interesting.

It accompanied a Victory model revolver.

The dealer from whom I purchased the holster & handgun stated he purchased it from a retired postal inspector who told him they were part of his duty gear.

I did send for a letter on the revolver.

Thanks for the input.

Tell us about the Victory Model. If it is an original civilian issued gun, non-military, as could have gone to the US Postal Service via the Defense Supply Commission in WW2, it would be an uncommon version of the Victory Model. It may have stayed in the USPS inventory and the postal inspector was issued the gun in the 70s, or later. ( Or, he kept his duty gear after retirement and added the Victory Model later. ) Ed.

The only marking on it is the ordnance flaming bomb on the butt so I presume it is a DSC gun. I will certainly add it to the Victory database when the letter arrives.