Mills shotgun belts - How hiStorically accurate are they ?

[Gun Creek Phil]

I've seen Mills shotguns belts for sale at River Trade junction with different belt buckles.
There is US army buckle, Wells fargo buckle (could be nice with a coach gun).For me Mills belt in the US  army suits only with 45/70 trapdoor ammo or 1873 SAA
What about 12 gauge shotgun in the US Army during Indians Wars ?
And for Wells Fargo express messengers did they wear special gear or oly civilian clothes? Is the Mills shotgun belt accurate with à WFC buckle ? 


Thanks   

[Major 2]

Here is one for the Span-Am era


I have another photo of a SG Mills on at cavalry forager ,  in one of my books

[St. George]

They were designed primarily for the hunter, long after the Indian Wars, though the Army used the web and canvas Model 1876 'Prairie belt' for its .45-70's - 'real' Mills shotgun belts show up in the late 1890's.

The Army's 20 guage, single-shot Trapdoor 'Forager' shotgun used a pouch.

The buckles are fakes, but during the era - the hunter's belt did use a Dog's Head, and the Army used a 'US' on the stamped Model 1881 plate, with a cast version appearing late  - the rest are considered spurious.

There are several long, detailed posts on this belt - here and in 'The Barracks' and the 'NCOWS Forum'.

Wells Fargo's and other carrier's employees wore regular clothing of the type seen on civilians of the time - usually consisting of a sack coat, trousers and vest.

They looked like everyone else.

The various Railroad guards came closest to having a 'uniform', per-se - but many wore everyday working man's garb that can be seen in the different volumes of the Time-Life series - 'The Old West'.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Trailrider]

Howdy, Pards,
Keep in mind that NOT ALL canvas belts were "Mills" belts!  The M1874 and slightly later, light tan web cartridge belts with the sewn-on cartridge or shotshell loops were NOT Mills belts.  The true Mills belts, like the blue one shown in the thread, had the cartridge/shell loops WOVEN in integrally with the body of the belt.  Capt. Anson Mills designed the belts and the machinery to weave them, and his brother-in-law ran the factory while Mills served in the Army during the Indian Wars.

[Grogan]

Here's a funny story for you.

One of my Grandfathers was a very avid duck hunter.

However he died when I was a young boy.

My Father didn't really hunt much, so as I got old enough I "inherited" my Grandfather's hunting gear (what of it would fit me, or wasn't rotted from age i.e. Waders) could be useful, etc.

Amongst the gear was a nice canvas shotshell belt with a nice stamped brass buckle with a Pointer's head on it.  It looked almost new!

In the early 1970s I became very avid about duck hunting also and I started using this shell belt.  I used it for about 2 years and kept it in good shape, but I realized that it was probably fairly old as my Grandfather had died in 1950.

So I went into a local gunshop and asked the very knowledgeable owner if he could get me another, either just like it, or something similar.

He wrote down all the information, "Anson Mills" etc. and spent some time going through catalogs and calling around trying to see if he could locate more of these.

It wasn't until I went to some gun shows that I saw similar belts, usually in pretty poor condition, or else the similar blue belts with the .45 cal. loops and the "US" buckle.

Asking around I found out more of the history on these and came to realize the US belts dated to the Spanish American War and who knows how old the Shotshell belts were?

Since I used that Mills shotshell belt last, I've moved a few times.  I've still got it, packed away somewhere, still in Very Good condition!

And a word of advice on something I've noticed...while many of the replicas are very well done, the actual manufacture of the Mills belts was somewhat unique and their woven canvas material isn't duplicated anywhere these days.

A knowledgeable collector can spot the difference immediately.

[Harve Curry]

I have an original white color Mills belt, similar closure to the blue one above. Except it is for a  50 double rifle cartridges, making it a 100 round belt, also has double rows for 38cal. handgun.I'll try and get a picture of it on here.
regards,
Bill W