SD Myres and Early Ammo

[Dan M]

I found these 2 S.D. Myres Holsters today at the Gunshow here in Pheonix. The Shoulder Clamshell Holster has definately seen some use and is missing some of the Belts/Straps but I figured I could have someone fix it up so I could carry one of my N-frames possibly the Reg. Mag in it. The other one is almost like Brand New and has had very little use. It Fits my 5" Heavy duty and A 6" 38 M&P seems a little small in girth. Does anyone have any idea as to Age they might be? I have a SD Myres catalog at home but wont be back there until Sunday. Also I have no Idea what these are worth but I figured $150 for both that I spent I couldnt go wrong.

I have been looking for some 30's - 40's Vintage 357 Mag ammo for a couple years and have finally found a box. Anyone have any Idea as to Vintage. I searched the Forum and came up with the Western 357 is Prewar and the Western 38 special is post war because of Box markings but am I wrong? The Peters I have no idea what the vintage is. What is a going price for Vintage ammo. I am new to ammo collecting and I paid $40 a box for all 3.

Thanks

Dan

 

[Dan M]

I found these 2 S.D. Myres Holsters today at the Gunshow here in Pheonix. The Shoulder Clamshell Holster has definately seen some use and is missing some of the Belts/Straps but I figured I could have someone fix it up so I could carry one of my N-frames possibly the Reg. Mag in it. The other one is almost like Brand New and has had very little use. It Fits my 5" Heavy duty and A 6" 38 M&P seems a little small in girth. Does anyone have any idea as to Age they might be? I have a SD Myres catalog at home but wont be back there until Sunday. Also I have no Idea what these are worth but I figured $150 for both that I spent I couldnt go wrong.

I have been looking for some 30's - 40's Vintage 357 Mag ammo for a couple years and have finally found a box. Anyone have any Idea as to Vintage. I searched the Forum and came up with the Western 357 is Prewar and the Western 38 special is post war because of Box markings but am I wrong? The Peters I have no idea what the vintage is. What is a going price for Vintage ammo. I am new to ammo collecting and I paid $40 a box for all 3.

Thanks

Dan

 

[Wyatt Burp]

The holster on the right is very interesting. On first glance it's an El Paso Saddlery john Wayne holster. But because it's a Myres it must be much, much earlier. But how early? It looks pretty new. Stick a Colt SAA in it. See how that fits. Maybe someone like John Witty can date it. Maybe Myres made John Wayne's rig and marketed them until the eary '70's. Then it would be more valuable than the more, but equally great, El Paso holsters.

 

[1Aspenhill]

Dan,
Great holsters! YOu stole the ammo! Good job!
Bill

 

[Stophel]

Heck, a box of modern ammo is gonna be 20-25 bucks at least.

 

[Bell Charter Oak Holsters]

Dan;

I believe you did well on the ammo, excellent condition full period boxes. My guess is the Peters .38 is late 20's - mid 30's, but that's just a guess.

The shoulder rig is pretty old. I would date it as c.1930's vintage or possibly a bit after that just based on the overall form and style. The scabbard looks much, much later and judging from the finish and stitching, appears to have been made sometime much later during the last quarter century. It does appear to have been made for a Colt or similar SAA and obviously saw very little (if any) use. Comparing the leather tannage of the two tells me the scabbard is much more recent. They appear to have been stitched on the same type of machine, same number of stitches per inch and the makers marks in the photos look identical. Vintage catalogs could be helpful in narrowing the date on the shoulder rig but, many of these holster models were made sucessively through the company's long esteemed history. Hopefully, John Witty will catch this thread and spout up with more precise info.

Myres and Heiser vintage rigs particularly are commanding much higher prices and are much in demand by period collectors. I think you did very well based upon the prices you say you paid for them.

 

[Dan M]

Lefty,
I tried an old Fastdraw Ruger 44 mag that has been Colterized in the scabbard and it slid right in and fit perfect. When I 1st saw it my thoughts were it cant be an original as its just too nice. but after comparing the similarities you noted in your post, to the older shoulder rig I decided that it had to be right.
After reading about the Newer SD Myres rigs being built out of Sweetwater I was a little concerned though I must say.

I think the Ammo collecting can be just as addicting as the guns themselves.

thanks everyone

Dan

 

[Bell Charter Oak Holsters]

Dan;

John Witty (turnerriver) could probably offer you more accurate and detailed info on the two rigs. You might wish to email him in case he doesn't see this post. He really knows his stuff on these old Myres, Heiser, Eubanks, etc. period rigs.

p.s. Still waiting to see that knife and scabbard for the fancy 1926 .44 rig. Don't forget to post it!

 

[bettis1]

Dan,

Good finds!

You're correct when you say that the ammo collecting is as addicting as the gun collecting. Unfortunately, there is much less information available on the ammo than on the guns.

In many cases the boxes of ammunition have very subtle differences which help to date them because the changes indicate ownership changes in the companies.

As an example, look at the bottom of the two Western Super X boxes. Both of them will have "WESTERN CARTRIDGE CO., East Alton,Ill., USA" on them. If that is the bottom line, then I believe that the box dates somewhere in the 1939-1944 range. If there is another very small line which states: "Division of OLIN INDUSTRIES, INC." below the Western Cartridge Co. line, then I believe that the box is from 1944 up. There may be other small differences, too. Just as S&W was known to be very frugal with their materials and never threw away boxes, etc. when they made changes, the ammo companies sometimes just eliminated a line or blacked out a line on a box when they made a change in their product. That makes it difficult to even use old ammo catalogs to date the boxes. Sometimes you have to study the evolution of the manufacturer also.

I believe that the Peters box is a prewar box and dates from the mid 1930's to the early 1940's. You got a very good deal on the ammo, and just to show what you might find if you keep looking, I stumbled on a Peters box at a show last year that is like yours except that it is for the .357 Magnum. The last Peters .357 Magnum box that I know of that sold at auction in May, 2008 went for $660!

Bob

 

[opoefc]

Dan, The Western boxes are post war and the Peters is 20s & 30s issue. John Witty has a web page that shows a lot of old holsters. I'll look up his address and send it to you. Ed.

 

[El Biblioitecario]

Originally posted by Wyatt Burp:
...Maybe Myres made John Wayne's rig and marketed them until the eary '70's. Then it would be more valuable than the more, but equally great, El Paso holsters.

SD Myres wes a going concern as late as '76, as I ordered a holster from them. When they became El Paso Saddlery they didn't change location. I wonder if EPS still uses SD Myres patterns for some holsters.

 

[roger rabbit]

At auction yesterday I watched an S.D. Myres brochure from the 1960's go for $250. Myres holsters, vintage but totally unremarkable, all went for $1200 EACH and up.

 

[fat tom]

Originally posted by roger rabbit:
Myres holsters, vintage but totally unremarkable, all went for $1200 EACH and up.

Could you tell me how to contact the auction house? I have a box full that I want to consign to them. Seriously!
f.t.

 

[turnerriver]

Roger,you need to direct me to that auction house-I'm worth a whole lot of money,according to those prices.But then I'd have to sell 'em,& I don't want to do that.Just like the old joke about the difference between theory & reality...
Dan,the shoulder holster is a Myres model 11.It is described but not pictured in catalogs in the 1930's through the 1960's;the carved model 12 is illustrated & the plain model 11 just described.I've run across 2 Myres marked holsters like your belt holster ,photos are below. I,like you,thought they may be recent Myres holsters made by Dave Duclose-a friend has a belt made by him & apparently he has Sweetwater & El Paso stamps.My latest Myres catalog is number 80,put out by a Frank LaCroix;it dates to 1977 or later.I have a price list somewhere that has the El Paso address stamped out & a Massachusetts address stamped on it-I can't put my hands on it at the moment but will dig it up & see if it offers any more information.None of my catalogs dating from 1931 to the late 1970's have anything like these holsters in them. I agree with Wyatt-these holsters look almost exactly like El Paso Saddlery # 44 John Wayne "Duke" style holsters-I'll include a page from a 1998 El Paso Saddlery catalog below.Lefty,I wish you could see the stitching used in these holsters-it is different but I couldn't tell you why or what type of thread it is-it just looks different to me.
My best guess is these are very late-1970's or early '80's holsters & they may be Dave Duclose holsters although those are,according to my friend's experience & many posts I've read very hard to come by-apparently his notions of timely delivery or delivery at all are somewhat loose.
I've heard different stories about a connection between Myres & El Paso Saddlery but I've never found any confirmation. Bob McNellis wrote the introductions to some of the 1970's,'80's & 90's catalogs I have & didn't mention anything about buying Myres out & I've heard everything from they bought the name,just the machinery,just the patterns & other variations but have never seen any hard information about this.
Regards,
John Witty
turnerriver
SWCA # 1426,NRA Endowment Life member

 

[roger rabbit]

This local auction house specializes in Western/cowboy collections. I sat in stunned amazement yesterday as the bids rolled in. Pr. of Visalia spurs $21K, concho bit $20K, and on and on. Needless to say, I didn't so much as scratch my nose for fear it would be taken as a bid. Vintage leather was very hot.

 

[smith17]

Dan:
Curiously, the Super X .38 Special is not often seen. Much more common was Western's Lubaloy and Match ammo in that caliber. Following up on Bob's comment, does the .357 Magnum box have the Olin Industries callout on the bottom?
Ed

 

[Dan M]

Thanks for everyones input I have learned alot today.
Ed,
Here are some more pictures of the Western Boxes. Perhaps You can tell me what vintage you think it is.

Thanks

Dan

 

[smith17]

Dan:
The .38 special box was from immediately after the war. The .357 Magnum is around 54/55 or later when Olin and Mathieson merged. Nice boxes.
Ed

 

[petenh]

I grew up with Dave Duclos and know some of the later SD Myre's History..I dont think Dave would mind me sharing..

Here goes and I may make some mistakes because it is from memory...

Lacroix bought Myres and moved it to Millis,Mass.

Dave Duclo's bought Myres from Lacroix sometime in the late 70's or early 80s this I'm not sure on exact date.Dave had the shop in Reading,Mass this is where we grew up..I think but not sure that he moved the shop back to Texas,then back to Reading,Mass this is all around 1980-1986 or so...

Shop moved to Maine then back to Texas around 2000...

The Duke holster you have was probably made in the last 15 years by Dave..

Dave knew Bob Mcnellis, but El Paso Saddlery and SD Myres are two separate companys and always have been.

The Lacroix holsters that I have seen in my opinion are not as well done as Dave's work.Dave made several holsters and rigs for me and I have owned quite a few that I picked up on secondary market and Dave's work was always top notch...I'm not going to get into the delivery aspect since it isnt any of my businees and he is still an old friend.
Take care,
Pete
I think I have answered some of your questions...

 

[turnerriver]

Pete,you have confirmed several things I had surmised-thank you.I agree with your opinion of Dave's work-what I've seen of it has been very well done.Thanks again for taking the time to post .