Found an old, beat up, filthy, but basically sound holster in a box at a hock shop the other day. Looked like it might fit my 2 1/2 inch Model 19, so I gave the guy $5 for it. Cleaned and restored, it fits the M19 perfectly. Wishbone type, with a tension adjustment screw. No maker's name, just the number "B1025" printed on the back. It had a standard male snap mounted on a D-shaped piece of leather on the BACK of the holster.

Just taking a SWAG, I thought it looked like a Bucheimer so I did some i-research. Turns out this is a Bucheimer B1025 "Semi-shoulder" holster; likely made back in the '60s or '70s. It originally had a sort of paddle affair that snapped on the belt, cross-draw, and the holster snapped to the paddle mount in about the same position that a shoulder holster would ride. The holster apparently wouls pivot on the snap to present the gun for a fast draw.

According to one internet poster, these rigs were popular among off-duty cops and detectives in the New York and surrounding area during the 1960s and 1970s, before pancakes came into style. Supposedly they were liked because they were very secure, but I have a hard time believing that a holster held on with only a single snap could be very "secure".

Since I didn't have the belt plate and wouldn't likely have used it anyway, I cut the snap and it's mounting pad off. There's a perfectly functional belt loop on the back that carries the holster just the way I like it - vertical with the cylinder right at belt level. I think I'm gonna like it. I was surprised that it turned out looking as good as it did considering the shape it was in when I brought it home.

Has anyone else ever seen or heard of one of these, or used one with the belt mount attached?