Boyt USN .45 holster- too bad someone hacked it up

[skohler]

I ran across this holster at a booth selling odds and ends. It is a shoulder holster for the .45 marked Boyt 44 USN. Thought it was cool even though someone decided to "customize" it. I know collectibility is gone, but just couldn't stand to see it get trashed even more. Someone cut out the US stamp on the front, not sure why. Also added another snap among other things.

[skohler]

I ran across this holster at a booth selling odds and ends. It is a shoulder holster for the .45 marked Boyt 44 USN. Thought it was cool even though someone decided to "customize" it. I know collectibility is gone, but just couldn't stand to see it get trashed even more. Someone cut out the US stamp on the front, not sure why. Also added another snap among other things.

 

Front

[hawkdriver]

I've seen this done to holsters before. It's someones idea of making a quick draw holster. It allows someone to get their finger on the trigger as they are drawing the weaponout. Waste of time and a good holster. As for the second holster, hard telling what it's for.

[Bob Hudson]

I ran across this holster at a booth selling odds and ends. It is a shoulder holster for the .45 marked Boyt 44 USN. Thought it was cool even though someone decided to "customize" it. I know collectibility is gone, but just couldn't stand to see it get trashed even more. Someone cut out the US stamp on the front, not sure why. Also added another snap among other things.

 

Well, if a sailor did the cutting and carried it like that on duty, then it is still a collectible military relic.

[skohler]

Well, if a sailor did the cutting and carried it like that on duty, then it is still a collectible military relic.

 

I would agree, but after 60+ years, hard to say who did the damage. Would the military frown on "customizing" like this (my guess would be yes)? Wishful thinking on my part that it would have been done in the service.

[craig_pickrall]

There was a lot of customizing gear during combat. You see lots of photos of holsters that have been cut.

[Bob Hudson]

I would agree, but after 60+ years, hard to say who did the damage. Would the military frown on "customizing" like this (my guess would be yes)? Wishful thinking on my part that it would have been done in the service.

 

You can look at the cut edges and get an idea as to whether they look as aged as the rest of the holster: if so, I'd say there's a good chance it was done "back in the day." As Craig said, customizing gear was pretty common especially when it was all leather and cloth. To me the most interesting collectibles are those that actually look like they went to war as opposed to having sat in a storage box for 65 years.

[Charlie Flick]

Skohler:

 

Regardless of who did the modifications, it is a real shame in my opinion. That holster is extremely scarce. It is a Navy marked M3 for the M1911A1 pistol. Very, very few of the M3 holster production were marked for the Navy, which during WW2 had the .38 Special S&W Victory Model as the primary sidearm for Naval aviators and others requiring a handgun. Navy marked M3 style holsters for the Victory are relatively commonplace, but not so for the M3 holsters for the .45.

 

I understand that the mods are part of the holster's history, but as a collector of USGI holsters I lament what has happened to this one. Too bad.

 

Regards,

Charlie Flick