Heiser ?

Eddie Southgate

Eddie Southgate

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Just won this a few minutes ago .:D Guessing it's a Heiser but not 100% on that . Opinions ? Looks like it was slotted to strap it on to something , maybe a steering column . Marked for a 6" Officers Model .

Eddie
 

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Eddie Southgate said:
Just won this a few minutes ago .:D Guessing it's a Heiser but not 100% on that . Opinions ? Looks like it was slotted to strap it on to something , maybe a steering column . Marked for a 6" Officers Model .

Eddie
Click to expand...

The etching of OM 6 looks very much like markings I have seen
before on very old Heisers, but I have never seen a Heiser that
didn't have their maker mark.

But, I have heard, there is a first time for everything.
 
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-db- said:
I had the same thought as Phil. The "handwriting" looks just like others we've seen. I'm a weirdo who notices tiny details like this.
Click to expand...

Like Phil said , not weird at all . That's what made me bid . Every Heiser marked for the OM6 looks like it was done by the same hand . I didn't think the seller knew where to look for the makers mark and I just happen to have an Officere Model Target so I took a small (very) chance and won .
 
Just for the record, every Heiser I've ever owned with an 'OM' marking was actually a better fit for an N frame than an Officer's Model or K frame. I've got a few marked OM5 and OM6, and they're all too big for anything smaller than an N frame.

I'll be curious to see what that one actually fits (best). I'd guess it's a number 513 - if indeed it is a Heiser. Time will tell.... ;)

Mark
 
Those slots that you referred to are, I believe, for the following:
Top slots for a piece of rawhide to go over the hammer to keep the gun
from falling out and to keep the hammer down.
Bottom slots for a piece of rawhide to go around leg for quick draw practice.
 
Phil , the top slots are in the back flap . That would be the worse possible place for a hammer thong . It should be in the body of the holster and is almost always a single hole right in front of the hammer . I give you a maybe on the lower holes being for some form of tie down . Should be here anytime now my mail is almost never later than 1:30 .

Eddie
 
It has the 1910-1925 makers mark like the one pictured below and is marked 511 and OM 6 1/2 . My 6 1/2" second model HE .44 fits just about right except having to carefully wiggle the Wonder Sight in due to the adjustment knob on the side . Don't understand the OM reference in regards to what is obviously an N frame holster . The other holster I bought awhile back was marked OM 6 and fits my Officers Model Target just like it should and wears the same makers mark . I can say that I am more than happy with this holster for the less than $50 price I gave for it . I'll clean it up and treat it this week and maybe post some more pictures .

Eddie:D
 

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Eddie Southgate said:
It has the 1910-1925 makers mark like the one pictured below and is marked 511 and OM 6 1/2 . My 6 1/2" second model HE .44 fits just about right except having to carefully wiggle the Wonder Sight in due to the adjustment knob on the side . Don't understand the OM reference in regards to what is obviously an N frame holster . The other holster I bought awhile back was marked OM 6 and fits my Officers Model Target just like it should and wears the same makers mark . I can say that I am more than happy with this holster for the less than $50 price I gave for it . I'll clean it up and treat it this week and maybe post some more pictures .

Eddie:D
Click to expand...

The 1910-1925 makers mark came from Vintage Gunleather I
believe. It is not entirely reliable. turnerriver has said he has
seen exceptions.
 
crazyphil said:
The 1910-1925 makers mark came from Vintage Gunleather I
believe. It is not entirely reliable. turnerriver has said he has
seen exceptions.
Click to expand...

You are correct on the Vintage Gunleather, I borrowed their picture because I knew exactly where it was and didn't want to have to hunt for it elsewhere. I'm not normally lazy but I can be when I want to .

Eddie
 
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Eddie Southgate said:
.... Don't understand the OM reference in regards to what is obviously an N frame holster....
Click to expand...

I've been curious about it ever since I got my first one with the OM marking. It's a #718 that fits my 5" HD perfectly. That one also has the 'bar-oval' maker's mark, but the holster just doesn't look - or feel like a piece of pre-1925 gunleather. As I said earlier, every Heiser I have or have seen marked 'OM' has been a perfect fit for an N frame.

I also question some of the info on the VGL site. They don't even know what most of their holsters fit. I tried to buy a holster from the original owner of VGL years ago, but raised the price - not once, but twice, so I pretty much told him what he could do with it. ;)

Mark
 
Mark, I expected it to fit the OM Target like the other one did but couldn't be more pleased that you were right . MY .44 now has a good looking vintage holster instead of the plain newer Hunter that was all I could find to fit it . ...... I love this holster ,... But I won't be Boning it ! ;)
 
wheelgun610 said:
I've been curious about it ever since I got my first one with the OM marking. It's a #718 that fits my 5" HD perfectly. That one also has the 'bar-oval' maker's mark, but the holster just doesn't look - or feel like a piece of pre-1925 gunleather. As I said earlier, every Heiser I have or have seen marked 'OM' has been a perfect fit for an N frame.

I also question some of the info on the VGL site. They don't even know what most of their holsters fit. I tried to buy a holster from the original owner of VGL years ago, but raised the price - not once, but twice, so I pretty much told him what he could do with it. ;)

Mark
Click to expand...

I had a similar experience with VGL several years ago. Paid
dearly for an old vintage holster. Didn't fit what they said it
would fit. Wrote a letter complaining a little bit and asking
what they might do. (Paper letter at that time) They didn't
even answer me. That was my last purchase from them.
 
Here's an example of the bar-oval marking that couldn't possibly be from the 1910-1925 era. It's marked for a K-22, and K-22's didn't arrive 'till 1931.

photo by forum member 'bulletslap'
attachment.php


Mark
 
Anybody want to hazard a guess as to a ballpark age ? It actually is, as stated in the auction,.. brown . Dark but not approaching the black that it is pictured as . If I can find the picture of the one for my Officers Model I will post it below , they are pretty much the same color .

Eddie
 

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Looks pretty much like regular ol' Heiser brown with 80 some years of dirt and grime to me. My wild guess would be it's from the 30's, and it's a # 507. Might even fit a 6-1/2" N frame.

I'd like to see before and after pics after you clean it up. ;)

Mark
 
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Mark

It's a 511 and does as stated above fit my 6 1/2" Second Model .44 . I just throwed the dawn and water to it and found some add on marks in ink that didn't show through the dirt . They are 9 17 23 and what looks like a capitol L with a long horizontal leg forming the center bar of a capitol H . Kinda like a 4 speed shift pattern but the vertical leg of the L is longer than it would be on the shift pattern . I will try to get it to show in a picture when it is dry but you have seen my pictures so you know not to expect much . I think the Heiser pictured in the single picture is a 507 that I bought last fall . Turnerriver said it is actually rather uncommon . More pictures to come .

Eddie
 
Eddie Southgate said:
.... I think the Heiser pictured in the single picture is a 507 that I bought last fall . Turnerriver said it is actually rather uncommon....
Click to expand...

Okay, I got confused. I thought maybe you'd just found that 507. I agree with turnerriver about that being an uncommon model. Basket weave Heisers in general tend to be much less common than you might think. Not sure I've ever seen a 507. The 407 is much more common. It's the one that usually has the bull's head stamped on the loop, and most seller's will swear and be damned that they're 'ultra rare' and ask outrageous amounts of money for. But - not all 407's have that stamping. There's also a bull's head stamped #907 that is essentially the same as the 407, except it's made from a lighter weight leather. I believe Heiser's catalogs referred to it as "medium weight".

I think the only basket weave Heisers I have are a couple of 518's, and I believe they both have the mysterious OM6 marking...

Mark
 
wheelgun610 said:
That's a fine lookin' pair ya got there Eddie. Now get some old lumber for that ol' shootin' iron. :D

Mark
Click to expand...

Got the originals numbered to the gun . They are about past beat and I prefer the magna style . I'm kinda thinking about having it stripped , markings touched up and have it blued . Bone , Stag or Ivory if I can ever run up on a set when I got the scratch to pay for them is what I'm after .

Eddie
 
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