Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is a fantastic and sought after “half moon” revolver belt rig for the M1917 revolvers. All markings are still very visible and there appears to be a unit marking as well. It doesn’t get much better than this!

The M1917 Revolvers were six-shot, .45 ACP, large frame revolvers adopted by the United States Military in 1917, to supplement the standard M1911 pistol during World War I. There were two variations of the M1917, one made by Colt and the other by Smith & Wesson. They used moon-clips to hold the cartridges in position, facilitate reloading, and to aid in extraction since revolvers had been designed to eject rimmed cartridges and .45 ACP rounds were rimless for use with the magazine-fed M1911.

A moon clip is a ring-shaped or star-shaped piece of metal designed to hold multiple cartridges together as a unit, for simultaneous insertion and extraction from a revolver cylinder. Moon clips may either hold an entire cylinder's worth of cartridges together (full moon clip), half a cylinder (half moon clip), or just two neighboring cartridges.

The modern moon clip was devised shortly before World War I in 1908. The device then became widespread during the war, when the relatively new M1911 semi-automatic pistol could not be manufactured fast enough for the war effort. The U.S. War Department asked Smith & Wesson and Colt to devise ways to use the M1911's .45 ACP rimless cartridge in their revolvers. The result was the M1917 revolver, employing moon clips to chamber the military-issue .45 ACP ammunition. Smith & Wesson invented and patented the half-moon clip, but at the request of the Army allowed Colt to also use the design free of charge in their own version of the M1917 revolver.

The set consists of the following:

- Original WWI issue M1909 Holster: The holster is in great shape, with only light staining, and retains its original russet leather color, having never had oil applied which would darken the leather. The leather is slightly stiff from age and still retains the original leg tie down strap. The reverse is faintly maker marked with G & K for Graton & Knight and is dated 1918. These holsters are worn butt forward on the right hip, for left-handed "cavalry draw". There appears to be a rivet on the belt loop that was replaced, as for when we are unsure.

- Original WWI issue M1910 Pistol Belt: The belt is stamped but is too faded to read unfortunately. The Belt is in fantastic condition, with the webbing not exhibiting any signs of dry rot, tears, or unsightly damage. The brass hardware still retains most of its original blacking. There are other unit markings and what appears to be initials of the original owner.

- “Half Moon” Revolver Clips Ammunition Pouch: The half moon pouch would hold two 3 round half moon clips in each pouch, totaling 6 clips, 18 rounds in total. The pouch no longer has visible markings and it does show signs of field use and wear, but free of any extensive damage.

This is a wonderful set of items in hard to find condition! It would be difficult to try and upgrade from them. Comes more than ready for display.