Help with identity

[somehiker]

I've posted a couple of pics of what appears to be a sidearm holster/stock made of wood in my albums over at Thelostdutchmangoldmine site.Look in somehikers pics in the album with the white cross on page three.It has suffered some damage from falling rock more recently I believe,and the broken off bits of it are probably amongst the rocks somewhere below.It is hollowed out and appears to have had a hinged butt plate,although the hinge is probably with the missing plate?
So far I have eliminated detachable stocks for both "mauser" and "luger" types.
The notebook under it is 9 1/2 wide by 12 1/4 long.
Found in a canyon east of Phoenix.
Also,how can I downsize photo files in order to post them on sites that restrict their size as this one does.I bought a 12mp kodak and the files are huge.

Thanks in advance for any insight.
Regards---SH

 

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[Rob66]

Yep you can, what ever picture publisher program you use to down load your pics should have a resize option button
Bring it down to about 500 would be good.If you just have a viewer then you can't.

 

[somehiker]

Downsized now...SH.

 

[somehiker]

And the other side

 

[dozer dan]

looks like a removable stock off of a ww11 broomhandle pistol.

 

[somehiker]

That was my first thought,and the Mauser broomhandle dates back to 1896,but the butt end is far too short and has a plate that appears to be different as well.It's possible that it was modified for holster use only,though,and shortened accordingly,perhaps for another sidearm altogether...SH

 

[Monty]

The German Panzer Corps issued tank commancdrs a weapon called the artillery model Luger and it had a longer barrel and a stock mostly referred to as a shoulder board as it was usually flat. There was also a colt revolver built with a long barrel and a shoulder stock. Those are the only ones I am familiar with. Monty

 

[somehiker]

Thanks for the reply Monty,I didn't know about the colt.Cactusjumper supplied a photo and description of a mauser with stock that has the same bracket on the visible side.It appears to me that this one has been modified to fit a different sidearm with clearance cut for a larger trigger guard maybe....SH.

 

[Cubfan64]

Hi Somehiker - I have nothing to add regarding the holster/stock you found (besides the fact that it's a very neat artifact), but I did want to say I really enjoyed the photos you posted on the lostdutchmangoldmine site! It's really nice to see some excellent photos of unique areas!

 

[somehiker]

Glad you enjoyed them Cubfan
I like to get off the beaten path,way off so to speak,and spent seven days at the end of April and beginning of May in there knocking about and poking my nose into places I've never been before,as well as checking out some that got my hackles up on previous hikes.I'm glad that I invested in the digital camera for this trip,although I need to get more familiar with it.Almost all the pics are 12mp which allow excellent detail for enlarging and later examination for things I might have missed seeing.My next investment will definitely be a laptop so that I can review the photos nightly and return to a given location the next day,instead of having to wait until the next trip.Eg:I missed what appears to be a black handprint seen in one pic,and I'm dying to get a closer look at that up close.I've also discovered that I missed important details on a couple of shots because with the bright sunlight I could barely see the lcd screen.Next time I'll rig some sort of hood that extends over both the screen and the lens...SH.

 

[Highmountain]

Glad you enjoyed them Cubfan
I like to get off the beaten path,way off so to speak,and spent seven days at the end of April and beginning of May in there knocking about and poking my nose into places I've never been before,as well as checking out some that got my hackles up on previous hikes.I'm glad that I invested in the digital camera for this trip,although I need to get more familiar with it.Almost all the pics are 12mp which allow excellent detail for enlarging and later examination for things I might have missed seeing.My next investment will definitely be a laptop so that I can review the photos nightly and return to a given location the next day,instead of having to wait until the next trip.Eg:I missed what appears to be a black handprint seen in one pic,and I'm dying to get a closer look at that up close.I've also discovered that I missed important details on a couple of shots because with the bright sunlight I could barely see the lcd screen.Next time I'll rig some sort of hood that extends over both the screen and the lens...SH.

For what it's worth, they didn't design those laptops with the desert southwest in mind and all the dust from the dirt roads etc.

If you get one you might post about it and I'll tell you everything that doesn't work to keep from destroying the keyboards by dust getting sucked in ..... the way they cool them involves pulling air in and venting it out with a lot of holes in the material surface under the keys. Sometimes it only takes one trip to have the comp in the shop getting a new keyboard. If you try covering it with seran wrap it blocks off the cooling entirely and causes the comp to overheat, so you end up having to replace something else while saving the keyboard. Frustrating problem.

Thanks for posting the pistol-stock pics. Interesting find. Just speculating I'd bet it was part of the post-WWII wave of desert explorers debris and it was part of a war trophy one of them brought home, but I can't add anything to what others have said. I do know as a child my step-dad of the time used to go with his other vet-buds and families roaming around the canyons around Apache Junction where we were living and the hills were alive with the sound of shooting. [And not just our groups. Zinging and plunking was often coming from others doing the same thing and causing a lot of anger among those in the group out of fear someone in our group would get zapped by a ricochet].

Jack

 

[cactusjumper]

Paul,

I have taken a laptop into the Superstitions many times. Never had a problem with dust. Obviously, a little caution should be used when running it. I would not set it on the dirt.

In addition to that, I have used my laptop, with a Topo Map program and GPS, while doing searches in the desert around Lake Havasu. Had it set up in my 4 X 4, as well as on my Quad. It can be done without danger, but it needs to be protected from the elements.

You were talking about bringing your camera out of the mountains and downloading the pictures back in camp.
Can't see a problem with that.

It can also be carried in your backpack, but that adds a lot of weight......Just ask me. A lightweight tripod also comes in handy.

Take care,

Joe

 

[somehiker]

Hi HM and CJ:
I know that I didn't specify but I did mean back at camp,so to speak.I know that I would greatly enjoy sleeping under the stars out there,but the sorry fact is that I've always booked a hotel for my trips and commuted back and forth each day.I usually try for in at dawn and back to the car by dark.Often I will hang out by the vehicle for a couple of hours just to enjoy the atmosphere.The wildlife that consider the access roads and the Trail itself,theirs to travel,usually are active by then and I think that about the only critters that I have yet to see out there are mountain lion and bear. Those two I will probably have to catch in the headlights,since I rarely take more than short breaks while hiking.My backpack,with liquids and snacks,rockhammer and sometimes climbing gear and ropes as well as lots of other mostly useful stuff can weigh a ton as it is.Add a belt with gps,knife,camera and binocs and sometimes I feel like I'm doubling the depth of my footprints,and rule #1 is,of course,that whatever you carry in weighs twice as much on the way out.I do know that the Apache traveled a lot lighter,covered ground faster and went a whole bunch further in one day than I ever will in a week,but they did it on creek water and dried packrat ,which my system objects to.
Regards---SH. (who's not gonna carry no computer on his back,no way,never,and that's final---OK?)

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

HI I am curious, that thingie was also a holster, but how can one lose a holster without losing the pistol also??

Basically it appears to be for a Mauser. They are still used by certain Military forces, in fact I used one for a bit in WW-2 it was a 7.63, too small a cal. for serious combat usage, so I opted for a S&W revolver in .45 ACP with the half moon clips.

The Revolver stock is quite different in attachment. This pictured stock fits through a sliding tongue and groove on the back / heel of the grip, where as the revolver hooks on top of the grips and lock with a hook arrangement on the bottom, rear part of the butt..

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[tkimack]

Hi, as an avid gun collector I can tell you it most likely is a bolo model broomhandle mauser stock/holster rig. The bolo models had a much shorter barrel and were manufactured just after ww1 to approx. early thirties. The only other pistol that I know of that it could possibly be used for is a ww2 vintage browning hi-power, but I would go with the bolo.

 

[somehiker]

Found this as well
1855 Springfield Pistol Carbine
SH.

 

[PBK]

Possibiity?

Fabrique-Nationale Browning Hi-Power Semi-Automatic Pistol with Wooden Holster Shoulder Stock.
9mm, 4 3/4-inch barrel. Blued finish. Belgian proofs. Checkered walnut grips. Contained in detachable wooden shoulder stock/holster. Stamped: S.A. Ltd. /1945.

http://www.collectorebooks.com/gregg01/europistol/Lot-952.htm

​

 

[Monty]

tkimack hit on the answer but PBK as always came through with the picture of the Browning HiPower with shoulder stock, which by the way I think is the correct identification. I forgot all about the Browning but I knew it existed, so DOH! M nty

 

[cactusjumper]

Anyone interested can find a little more on this subject, here:

http://www.lostdutchmanmines.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3921#post3921

Joe Ribaudo

 

[somehiker]

Thanks to all that assisted in the identification of this item.PBK definitely hit the nail on the head with the Belgian made version.The shape and especially the hinge plate match the one in my photo exactly,as well as the cutout for the pistol grip.Even the grain and type of wood appear to be identical.If this holster contained a firearm when it was lost,I would expect it to be somewhere upstream from where it was found.Too bad as well that it's in such bad shape.It would have been gratifying to have found something that could have belonged to one of the notable dutchhunters of yesteryear.
Regards:SH.