For much of American history, moving the mail could be surprisingly dangerous. Before electronic payments, secure trucks, and modern tracking systems, postal employees sometimes carried cash, securities, jewelry, and other valuable items across isolated roads and railway lines. Robbers knew that mail shipments could be attractive targets, especially during the early 20th century. In response, the Post Office Department sometimes supplied firearms for specific security duties. These 8 handguns reveal how dramatically postal protection changed over time.
1. Colt Model 1917 Revolver
The Colt Model 1917 became one of the most important handguns associated with the Post Office during the dangerous mail-robbery years after World War I. In 1920 and 1921, Model 1917 revolvers were issued to postal employees guarding mail, with Colt-made examples forming a large share of the government supply. Chambered for .45 ACP, the revolver reflected the urgency created by repeated attacks on valuable mail shipments. It was not a normal everyday tool for every letter carrier, but part of a broader armed-guard system protecting postal transportation and facilities.
2. Smith & Wesson Model 1917
The Smith & Wesson Model 1917 filled the same postal-security role as its Colt counterpart and was also drawn from wartime government stocks. Postal employees received these .45-caliber revolvers during the early 1920s, when mail robberies had become a serious national problem. Historical accounts describe both Colt and Smith & Wesson versions being used by postal personnel. The large revolver was practical for an emergency guard assignment, although its size eventually encouraged the Post Office to look toward smaller handguns for routine duties aboard railway mail cars.
3. Colt Bankers Special
The Colt Bankers Special became closely tied to Railway Mail Service work because it was compact enough for clerks who spent hours sorting mail inside moving trains. Colt introduced the model in 1928, and surviving records and collector research document Post Office purchases for railway service. It was generally associated with .38-caliber ammunition and a short barrel. Its small dimensions mattered in a cramped mail car, where a clerk had to work around sorting cases, sacks, doors, and other employees while remaining prepared to protect valuable mail.
4. Smith & Wesson Terrier
The Smith & Wesson Terrier is another small revolver connected with the Post Office Department’s later railway-mail era. In 1937, the department reportedly obtained 550 Terrier revolvers, making the model a notable part of the postal firearms story. The Terrier was considerably smaller than the heavy Model 1917 revolvers used earlier, reflecting a shift toward compact sidearms for personnel who worked around mail cars and secure shipments. Surviving examples and period records have made these relatively uncommon postal-marked revolvers especially interesting to collectors today.
5. Smith & Wesson Registered Magnum
One of the strangest postal handguns was the Smith & Wesson Registered Magnum, a premium .357 Magnum revolver that was far more unusual than the compact guns normally linked with railway clerks. Historical collecting records identify a 1937 Post Office Department purchase of only 15 examples, acquired through the U.S. Army. That tiny quantity makes the guns remarkable today. Rather than representing standard equipment for thousands of carriers, these revolvers appear to have been a specialized government purchase connected with postal security duties and valuable shipments.
6. Colt New Service
The Colt New Service represents an earlier and broader chapter in federal firearms history, with examples of the model entering government inventories after World War I. Historical sources note that some surplus 1917-era revolvers and related government arms were used by federal departments, including the Post Office. The New Service was a large-frame revolver available in several cartridges, so it should not be confused with a single standardized postal model. Its significance is that postal protection sometimes relied on surplus government handguns rather than one permanent issue weapon.
7. Colt Single Action Army
Colt Single Action Army revolvers also appear in the historical record of postal protection, although their use was much less standardized than later Railway Mail Service handguns. Research into government arms records shows that some Colt single-action revolvers were loaned by the Army to the Post Office Department during the late 19th century. These guns belonged to an era when mail moved by stagecoach, rail, and other exposed routes. Their presence illustrates how postal security evolved long before compact revolvers became associated with railway clerks.
8. Ruger Speed Six GS33-PS
The Ruger Speed Six GS33-PS marked a much later and more specialized chapter in postal firearms history. In 1986, the Postal Inspection Service contracted with Ruger for a stainless-steel .357 Magnum revolver with a 3-inch barrel, and delivery followed in 1987. About 3,000 were reportedly produced for Postal Inspectors and Postal Police Officers. Unlike the earlier guns used by railway clerks, this revolver was purpose-built to Postal Inspection Service specifications. It was replaced by a semiautomatic pistol roughly 5 years later, ending a distinctive era.
