New to me. Colt Official Police from 1936.

[SPEMack618]

Heck, all a man needs is a Heavy Duty with two speedloaders on his sam browne belt. If things get too bad, there should be an Ithaca riot gun clipped to the dash.

Well, it just looks like your wife had the buyer's remorse you didn't. I'd chalk this one up as a win all around.

[Jcordell]

Originally Posted by SPEMack618

Heck, all a man needs is a Heavy Duty with two speedloaders on his sam browne belt. If things get too bad, there should be an Ithaca riot gun clipped to the dash.

Well, it just looks like your wife had the buyer's remorse you didn't. I'd chalk this one up as a win all around.

There you go. I have (well the department has it) a photo from 1943 of an officer with my department. He's got what appears to be a large framed Colt New Service revolver in a cross-draw holster with a lanyard cord (and a Sam Browne belt to include the suspender) and is holding a Stevens 520 Riot Gun. He's wearing the classic police officer hat, looks to be in his forties (who knows possibly a World War I vet?) and he just looks tough.

Standing next to him is another uniformed officer with a S&W M&P on his strong side. It has a six inch barrel which I know because the holster is designed for a 4" model. There are two inches of barrel sticking out from the holster. The best part is he's wearing an old brown wool Cardigan sweater over his uniform and has his hat kicked back over his head. Looks to be in his sixties and has a big old happy smile on his face. Funniest photo you've ever seen.

My wife said that the happy old grandpa probably shot and killed a few suspects in his time and the tough looking marine corp cop is probably a rookie. It was in the middle of World War II and manpower was at a premium.

I've got to scan that photo and post it. I'll see if I can get it from our department historian (i.e. The Chief).

[SPEMack618]

Cordell, that would be awesome if you could.

I opined to any one who would listen at the Ft. Stewart Soldier and NCO club that if the Army insisted on me wearing a yankee "I'm going to burn your barn down" blue uniform, they could atleast bring back a sam browne belt to go with it.

[funkychinaman]

NJ State Troopers still wear Sam Browne belts. It goes with the whole image. It's just a shame they don't still wear breeches and boots though.

[Jcordell]

Actually there are times (like the 15th hour of my 12 hour shift) when the Sam Brown design looks pretty good. Mostly I can see the usefulness of that suspender. The belts get pretty heavy after awhile. A few years ago I swtiched from a leather belt to an Uncle Mike's synthetic patrol belt. The lighter weight was nice, but the belt just didn't last. So now I'm back to the classic Safariland equipment belt. A little heavier and stiffer, but tougher as well.

Thankfully I've lost a bunch of weight over the past couple of years. Makes wearing all the equipment a little easier - a little.

Anyway the old Sam Browne design actually looks pretty sharp. It might be old fashioned, but it looks good. Looking good is a major part of being a uniformed officer I've discovered over the years. For example (returning to my weight), since losing my weight, I find suspects are less lippy with me. Instead of calling me a "fat ass" and a "fat fucker" and (my favorite) "fat bald fucker" they now say things like "you're not fair", " I don't like you", "you're a jerk cop", and "Go fuck yourself".

[funkychinaman]

Originally Posted by Jcordell

Actually there are times (like the 15th hour of my 12 hour shift) when the Sam Brown design looks pretty good. Mostly I can see the usefulness of that suspender. The belts get pretty heavy after awhile. A few years ago I swtiched from a leather belt to an Uncle Mike's synthetic patrol belt. The lighter weight was nice, but the belt just didn't last. So now I'm back to the classic Safariland equipment belt. A little heavier and stiffer, but tougher as well.

Thankfully I've lost a bunch of weight over the past couple of years. Makes wearing all the equipment a little easier - a little.

Anyway the old Sam Browne design actually looks pretty sharp. It might be old fashioned, but it looks good. Looking good is a major part of being a uniformed officer I've discovered over the years. For example (returning to my weight), since losing my weight, I find suspects are less lippy with me. Instead of calling me a "fat ass" and a "fat fucker" and (my favorite) "fat bald fucker" they now say things like "you're not fair", " I don't like you", "you're a jerk cop", and "Go fuck yourself".

Have "pig" or other pork-related insults fallen out of the law-breakers' vernacular?

[funkychinaman]

My favorite piece of Sam Browne lore: The Sam Browne belt came to be because THE Sam Browne had lost his left arm and needed a way to stabilize his sword.