.38 Service Six military web belt rig

[stantheman86]

I like to collect vintage military gear and weapons from the 1900's to the 80's.......since this beat up .38 Special 1975 Service Six fits into the "70's" era, although it's not a military gun but a security trade in,I figured I would use it with my web belt rig I made up out of stuff I had laying around. The Garand 2-clip pouch fits 2 speedloaders or 4 speed strips perfectly, the holster is a Bucheimer dated 1968, and the belt is WWII era. The Ontario fighting knife is new production, a cheapo with a dull blade I picked up a few years ago at the Ft. Drum PX when I was in the Army.......... no web belt rig is complete without a fighting knife 8) I rubbed some Leather New on the holster to liven it up, and I use it as a display item.

I took some poetic license, I thought the rust pitted, crusty, and scoured Service Six looked like a gun that had seen some hard use in a jungle environment, I imagined maybe an "operator" or CIA type guy mught have used a rig like this in the 70's or 80's in South America or somewhere else during an "operation" down there. Since .38 Special was still a "standard" round in the military in the 70's, I thought a .357 wouldn't be a "correct" gun for the rig and it should be a .38. Plus the condition of the gun looks right with the beat up web gear.

 

[ltbarber]

I like it!

 

[Mike Armstrong]

I also like it! Have seen Ruger .38s in various military security units. I DON'T like the ammo Uncle Sugar issued with them , tho. Most who thought they might have to actually use the weapon quickly replaced it with something more effective. Most of us didn't take the various conventions against softnose bullets very seriously. Certainly our opponents didn't and don't.

 

[stantheman86]

Good info One of the "US" marked Service Six .38's is a "grail gun" for me........the odds of me finding one I can actually afford are pretty much nil right now......last one I saw went for over $1,000.

Kind of like 9mm 115 gr. Ball ammo issued today......overseas our PL had 1 box of Federal American Eagle generic red box stuff,the PSG had the other...... I guess that's what the govt. buys........ :shock: Good thing the M9's were so rarely if ever used in combat, with that ammo the pistol would be a last ditch defense at best. I think 9mm is a fine defensive round, and so is .38, I love both and use guns chambered in both for CC and HD. But light weight ball ammo is a poor choice for defense.

 

[WAYNO]

That is a neat holster, and one that I've never seen.

In my era, the Victory Smith's were issued to Army aircrew members. The only holsters that were ever issued to us for them, were leather shoulder holsters, or the built-in holster on our flight-vests.

And, whilst we're talking about these revolvers, the Service-Six was chosen as the replacement for the old Smith's. The Army Ruger is my holy-grail, too.

Thanks for the photo.

WAYNO.

 

[Mike Armstrong]

Stan, we always managed to find a box of SuperVel hollowpoints somewhere (Now I wonder how THOSE got in my cylinder????).

Has anybody SEEN a US military issue Service Six out in civvies? Was it an overrun or an actually issued service gun (or could you tell?)?

I suspect that if these are still in service, we will NEVER see them surplussed to US civilians. They will be given to one of our so-deserving allies or turned into Chinese crap to be resold to us at Whale-fart....always nice to know that your cheapo "US brand" tool USED to be an actual US MADE tool....(rant of the morning--where's that coffee?).

 

[stantheman86]

I saw that holster for sale and I had to have it, I got another one without the wire hanger in moldy condition for $5 at a gun show. I always loved full flap revolver holsters, and the fact that this one was US Army issue was a huge plus for me. It was made for the S&W 10 but of course a Service or Speed Six fits perfectly. I also have an open topped USAF swivel holster made for the S&W 15, and also a govt. stock numbered leather double dump pouch from the 70's.

I believe all of the US Army Service and Speed Sixes are over-runs, so I've been told. I have seen them with and without the US stamp, and not all of them had lanyard rings. If they are still in service somewhere, I never saw a single Ruger revolver in my 3 years in the active duty Army from 2007-2010. All the MP's had M9's. Sadly those Rugers were probably destroyed, which is the reason I guess, they are so expensive if you can find one. I would also be wary of fakes, now with the prices of these US marked Rugers. Any scheister can take a round recoil plate blue .38 Service Six, drill the butt for a lanyard ring and stamp US on frame.

I have heard from some guys who were civilian DOD guards in the 80's and 90's and they report using stainless and blued .38 Service Sixes, along with S&W 15's and 10's and Colt Official Police revolvers.

I have the same exact US Army TM as WAYNO, it lists a Service Six with lanyard ring and a 4" Speed Six without lanyard ring.

 

[WAYNO]

I have the same exact US Army TM as WAYNO, it lists a Service Six with lanyard ring and a 4" Speed Six without lanyard ring.

But, those that I handled had lanyard rings, as well as a rounded grip frame. And when I say rounded, it was not as much as a Speed Six.

WAYNO.

 

[Roundels]

When I worked security out in the Utah desert back in the pre-terrorist Wild West days of the early 1980s, the DoD guys all carried blued 4" square butt Service Sixes without lanyard loops in what was then the classic Border Patrol rig, with Don Hume Jordan holsters (the ones with the straps, not the thumb breaks), GI issue American Handcuff brand cuffs (the ones with the raised rivets), GI cuff cases, double dump pouches with Bianchi Speed Strips, and GI black leather belts, all plain. The Sixes were really tough guns-more than one came up undamaged after a trip to the asphalt courtesy of a forward-strapped holster (some of you guys out there know what I'm talking about, hm?). They also carried plain old plastic capped M-16s (not the A1 or 2) with the brittle triangular hand guards and 180 rounds of ammo per rifle in mag pouches slung over the barrels by the grenade loops. As I recall, what set those weapons apart from most of the others I've seen was their hard chromed bolt carriers. The MPs carried 1911s in all sorts of different leather gear including Safariland basketweave(!), but it had to fit the web belts in Army issue. I worked for a contractor whose issue weapons included a bunch of heavy barreled S&W Model 10s and one Model 15, and we could wear any leather gear we wanted as long as it was black (my rig was all Safety Speed if I remember right). DoD .38 carry ammo was typical cryptically headstamped FMJ and ours was 158 grain LSWC of various makes, but there was also some back pocket KTW floating around both camps because it was occasionally necessary to put down antelope that had strayed onto the roads and gotten hit. Contrary to popular belief, that pointy round would produce a near-instant single shot kill if you put it in the right place. I remember getting a ton of free range practice because you could sign out one 50 round box of Federal match ammo per week from the security office arms room whether you were contract or DoD (or maybe officially only if you were the latter-they never asked and we never told ). There was an old trailer at the range that had a wooden crate in it the size of a refrigerator filled to the top with nice nickeled once fired brass and a stack of empty red plastic trays all the way to the ceiling. We used the cardboard boxes for fuel in a well ventilated 55 gallon drum that served as a wintertime hand warmer between strings. Man, those sure were some good times!

I've been going to gun shows for almost 30 years and I've never seen a single US marked Service Six for sale or even on display. My guess is that they are keeping a few racks of Victory Models company in some depot igloo somewhere...

 

[Snake45]

The Garand 2-clip pouch...

If I'm not mistaken, that's a pouch for two M1 Carbine 15-round magazines, though it might hold Garand clips too.

When I was a kid, a surplus store down the street sold these cheap, like 35 or 50 cents or something apiece. I bought six or eight of them and a $1 copy web bet and made my own "Garand belt" out of them. Found out much later that a real Garand belt was different and had four pouches together on each side.