Ronald Posted December 30, 2015 Share #1 Posted December 30, 2015 Has anyone seen or purchased the type of shoulder holster feature on the book by Mr. Brunner, OSS Special Weapons, Vol2. Is it a ridged leather or soft leather? I have seen one and it is a very soft leather and quite flexible for a holster. The one I have seen has a white strap instead of the green. Are the ones being sold now legit? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronald Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share #2 Posted December 30, 2015 This is like the one I saw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Flick Posted December 31, 2015 Share #3 Posted December 31, 2015 Has anyone seen or purchased the type of shoulder holster feature on the book by Mr. Brunner, OSS Special Weapons, Vol2.....Are the ones being sold now legit? Thanks Yes, the example below has been in my collection for 20+ years. I also owned an identical holster but with the white strap. I sold the white strap example a number of years ago. The example in your post has a different type of green strap. It appears to me to be a herringbone style of fabric. I have not encountered that type of strap on the holsters that I have observed. I am not familiar with any such holsters being sold now. I will say that if holsters of this type are coming out of the woodwork in quantity now (70 years after the OSS went out of business) it would raise some red flags for me. In my experience genuine OSS Colt Pocket Automatic holsters are extremely scarce. Regards, Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted January 1, 2016 Share #4 Posted January 1, 2016 Colt is re-issuing the 1903. Maybe those folks who have the holsters want to make some money now by selling them to guys buying the new guns. I would like to have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronald Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share #5 Posted March 5, 2016 Would anyone know where I could locate and purchase one of these holsters? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rawhide45 Posted March 12, 2016 Share #6 Posted March 12, 2016 Yes, the example below has been in my collection for 20+ years. I also owned an identical holster but with the white strap. I sold the white strap example a number of years ago. Colt 32 US Property.jpg The example in your post has a different type of green strap. It appears to me to be a herringbone style of fabric. I have not encountered that type of strap on the holsters that I have observed. I am not familiar with any such holsters being sold now. I will say that if holsters of this type are coming out of the woodwork in quantity now (70 years after the OSS went out of business) it would raise some red flags for me. In my experience genuine OSS Colt Pocket Automatic holsters are extremely scarce. Regards, Charlie Charlie, are there any markings on your OSS holster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Flick Posted March 13, 2016 Share #7 Posted March 13, 2016 Charlie, are there any markings on your OSS holster? Nope, completely unmarked. Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwill Posted March 13, 2016 Share #8 Posted March 13, 2016 I have a couple of examples of this holster, also unmarked. Regards, Kevin Williams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rawhide45 Posted March 13, 2016 Share #9 Posted March 13, 2016 Kevin, what color are the straps on your OSS holsters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwill Posted March 14, 2016 Share #10 Posted March 14, 2016 One side looks nickel plated but the top side isn't. It just looks like the natural metal color, if that makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rawhide45 Posted March 14, 2016 Share #11 Posted March 14, 2016 Kevin, do you have any pictures available? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwill Posted March 14, 2016 Share #12 Posted March 14, 2016 Not at the moment. I'll try to dig out the holsters and camera when time allows. You seem to have a specific end in mind.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rawhide45 Posted March 14, 2016 Share #13 Posted March 14, 2016 I was wondering if there were any design variations among the OSS issued holsters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronald Posted March 14, 2016 Author Share #14 Posted March 14, 2016 Are you only referring to the one type I posted in the beginning? From what I researched, the only difference I found was one had a green strap and the other a white strap. The one I posted in the beginning is a reproduction type that has been around and is being passed off as originals purchased from a past US Naval surplus auction. One just sold on ebay for 249.00 and he even listed it as a repro. Someone has more money than sense. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rawhide45 Posted March 14, 2016 Share #15 Posted March 14, 2016 Ron, I am referring to the OSS shoulder holster pictured on the cover of Brunner's book. Specifically, I would like to know whether we can trace the history of these OSS holsters for the Colt M1903/1908. Charlie and Kevin reported that their examples have no markings. Can we confirm a military contract existed or could it be an agency made or private purchased holster? Are there known variations other than the use of both white and green straps? Were these rigs widely used in the field during the war? Did they primarily come into use during the postwar occupation? Maybe we can piece together some of the history. Period photos could prove useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwill Posted March 14, 2016 Share #16 Posted March 14, 2016 Meadows reports three basic types of shoulder holsters for the Colt Model M, with variations on what he refers to as Types 1 and 3. I think that the holsters in this thread were bought by/for the OSS from the Texas Tanning Company (TEXTAN) in two batches: 1,200 on March 259, 1944 and 504 on Jan 31, 1945. The only variation is the cloth strap--white or olive drab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Flick Posted March 14, 2016 Share #17 Posted March 14, 2016 I don't have my copy handy right now but Brunner's book on the Colt Pocket Hammerless Automatic Pistols II has some information on these holsters. As Kevin pointed out earlier these holsters were apparently made by TEXTAN of Yoakum, Texas, which supplied other USGI holsters in WW2. Regards, Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronald Posted November 27, 2017 Author Share #18 Posted November 27, 2017 What was the significance of the metal hardware (snaps & buckle) on these holsters? I see some of the white straps have blackened hardware and the others have plated(?) hardware. Was it that they used what was available at the time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronald Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share #19 Posted August 7, 2018 A friend recently gave me this original OSS shoulder holster for my collection. I was also able to obtain a correct cloth chest strap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronald Posted August 8, 2018 Author Share #20 Posted August 8, 2018 Will have to take better pic of the previous shoulder. Here is my other OSS Shoulder Holster. I doubt very seriously if very many of these 2 types of shoulder hoslters exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronald Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share #21 Posted August 9, 2018 Let me clarify this. The first holster in post 19 was issued to OSS. As with any holsters in WW2,G.O.'s could request one. As with all OSS items, not many G.O.'s knew about the holster and did not use it. The second holster in post #20 was procured as an upgrade to the first holster. It is more commonly known as a G.O. holster even though it was not specifically made for them. It was a much sturdier and better quality holster, and probably why G.O's used them! The first holster was a flimsy thin holster and very few even survived, making then rare. Both were made by TEXTAN but neither had any markings. That said, both were made for the intelligence community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronald Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share #22 Posted August 9, 2018 If you are fortunate enough to have one of these holsters, don't be afraid to post a pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jangle Posted February 20, 2021 Share #23 Posted February 20, 2021 I remembered reading this thread a few years back and recently saw these photos of "supposedly" an original OSS left hand draw shoulder holster with leather straps in the original box. Notice the large ink stamp L, OSS and contract number on lid. Again, not my holster....just food for thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronald Posted February 24, 2021 Author Share #24 Posted February 24, 2021 Silence from jangle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jangle Posted February 25, 2021 Share #25 Posted February 25, 2021 ?????? Ronald, If you have something to say about the holster I posted photos of, say it here in public so all of the members can benefit from your knowledge, instead of sending me numerous PM's trying to find out where the holster is, so you can purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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