Colt Cobra .38 Special

Colt Cobra .38 Special with Colt factory installed hammer shroud and gold annodized Tyler-T grip installed by original owner. The revolver is nestled in an vintage leather hand-sap.
(click image to enlarge photo)

The Colt Cobra .38 Special revolver is a small, short or snub-nose barrelled revolver produced by the Colt Firearms Company.

The revolver is the same overall size and configuration as the Colt's famous Detective's Special. The difference is that the weight of the Cobra is much lighter than the Detective Special. The Detective Special was constructed entirely of steel whereas the Cobra has a steel cylinder and barrel but the frame is made of an alluminum alloy. While very well manufactured the Cobra should be considered a vintage handgun. Colt stopped producing the Cobra long before the advent and extreme popularity of .38 Special + P high velocity ammunition and the high pressures to which these cartridges are loaded could stretch or otherwise damage the alluminum alloy frame.

As could be expected from a small revolver of this type and vintage it contains fixed sights. The front sight is a semi-ramp and the rear sight groove is shallow and wide enough to allow for a pretty good sight picture. As this is an earlier model there is no shroud covering the ejector rod however the original owner did order this revolver with the factory installed hammer shroud. This would enhance the ability to draw the revolver from a pocket without the hammer catching on the pocket, coat, or jacket. This older model Cobra also contains Colt's smaller walnut grips. The lack of the ejector rod shroud and smaller grips certainly give this piece it's "classic-vintage" appearance, however the smaller grips make the revolver more difficult to hold when shooting. Therefore the original owner attached a gold annodized Tyler-T grip adapter which fills in the gap at the top of the gripframe and provides a nice finger groove. One of the great things about acquiring a vintage Colt firearm, especially one that is in good condition, is the fact that they were made in the days when the manufacturing craftsmen took pride in their work and the company was dead-set on producing firearms of the highest quality. As such the trigger pull in both single and double action are very smooth.

Shooting the Cobra with standard pressure ammunition was not problem. This target was set at 21 feet and fired at with 18 rounds of 158 grain semi-wadcutter lead ammunition which is the type ammunition that this revolver was designed to use. Accurary was actually very good for a light-weight, short barreled handgun.

Both the Colt Detective Special and the Colt Cobra were favored by plain-clothes police officers because they were easy to conceal and held six rounds as opposed to the five round capacity of the Smith & Wesson snub-nosed revolvers. While the Cobra was carried by many a police detective, it's claim to fame is undoubted the fact that Jack Ruby used a Cobra .38 Special (serial number 2744 LW) to kill presidential assassin Lee Harvy Oswald in the basement garage of the Dallas police station.

.45 ACP Shoot-Out: Para Ordnance VS. Ruger

In this Range Report we compare the Para Ordnance Tac-4 with the Ruger P-345. The photo of the Tac-4 listed below was copied off of Para Ordnance's website due to the fact that I do not own one. The Tac-4 shot for this report was a range rental so it's performance was affected by the fact that it appeared to have had about 5,000 rounds through it without being cleaned. The front inch of the slide was more thoroughly blackened than a piece of Paul Prudhomme's cajun redfish. In fact, the carbon residue completely obliterated the white dot on the front sight.


The Tac-4 is a Commander sized 1911 copy with the primary difference being the Para Ordnance exclusive LDA (Light Double Action) trigger. As a 1911 purist I shunned the LDA trigger for many years. My motto was "Give me a single-action or give me death". However, as society has become more and more litigious to the point of absurdity, I have been more open to examining double action pistols as a factor to limit the liability of a possible accidental discharge by the light pull on a single action semi-automatic pistol. As I have looked at double action semi-automatics I have certainly seen some pretty heavy and horrid trigger actions. So bad that I would be worried that the long and heavy pull might cause me to throw a shot wide and miss the target completely. The liability of a wild shot could be just as bad as an accidental discharge.

I should have examined the LDA pistols earlier. (Actually I might have if they had taken my idea for the name. If you remember, when Para Ordnance was launching their new double action pistol, they held a contest to determine the name. They touted it as being light, fast and firing the venerable .45 ACP cartridge. I offered the moniker "Thunder and Lighting" and well...they opted for Light Double Action.)

The Tac-4 is a double stack pistol with a capacity of 13 + 1. I thought I would not like a double stack 1911 but, just like the LDA trigger, the double stack is actually pretty good. Obviously it puts 5 more rounds in the pistol and, the extra width of the grip frame actually distributes the recoil energy over a larger area causing less perceived recoil.
(click photo to enlarge)
The top target was set at 21 feet and took 30 rounds of Remington UMC 230 grain FMJ ammunition. The bottom target was set at 30 feet whereupon it was fired on with 30 rounds of Remington UMC ammo.
Both the top and bottom "Shoot 'N See" targets are only 3.5 inches in diameter.

The accuracy of the Tac-4 LDA is fantastic. The trigger pull does not cause the shooter to flinch. This is another pistol that I have become very fond of (this is the second time I have rented it).







Ruger P345

I have always been a fan of Ruger's revolvers, especially their single action revolvers. Their .22 caliber semi-auto pistols and the 10/22 rimfire rifle are staples in the firearms industry and every shooter's battery usually contains at least one. I have never had much use, however, for their centerfire pistols. While they have a reputation for accuracy, reliability, and ruggedness the are...not much to look at and rather chunky or bulkey. It appears that Ruger took this into consideration as they designed the P345. The slide is similar to slides of other Ruger centerfire pistols, however the stainless steel version is matte on the top and polished in places on the sides. All of this makes it just a little more handsome. Ruger really put some design effort into the grip frame. It is black polymer, of which I am not a fan, but they executed it well. The grip area is contoured for the thumbs and palms and the panels are nicely checkered. The grip is rather slender and I wonder how the handling characteristics of this pistol might change if the magazine (which is a standard 8 rounder) was widened slightly to make room for a double stack of .45 ACP ammunition. The feel of the grip could also be improved by inserting checkered rubber panels in place of the checkered polymer panels. This pistol is of the traditional double action variety (double action for the first shot and single action for every shot there after).

The single action pull is fine and inherent to the accuracy seen in the photos to the left. The double action pull is a long struggle throws shots off target as shown in the target on the left. The double action shots and circled and appear just outside of the target rings.
(click photo to enlarge)

The sights are of the three dot style with the rear sight be very low profile. Even so the sights provide a more than adequate sight picture.

All operating levers are in their traditional places and my only issue is with the safety/decocking lever. Ruger has apparently done whatever they could to make the pistol easy to conceal. All edges have been rounded, the pistol's weight is only 29 ounces. The safety/decocking lever is very flat and while that makes the pistol easier to conceal it makes the safety/decocker a little more difficult to move with your thumb. However this is a minor complaint. My major issue with this handgun is the stiff double action pull. The Para Ordnance LDA trigger is certainly much better, however other manufacturers, such as CZ, have been able to produce traditional double action pistols that provide a longer double action pull that does not have a negative affect on accuracy. On the positive side, the Ruger P345 can be had for around $400.00 or less than half of the price of a Para Ordnance Tac-4 LDA pistol. That makes the Ruger that much more attractive!

CZ P-01 9mm

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CZ P-01 9mm pistol pictured with two targets. Top: The P-01 put 15 rounds into this small target at 21 feet. The bottom target absorbed 35 rounds at 40 feet.

Also pictured is a Mel Pardue folding knife featuring a Damascus steel blade, bonze sunburst bolsters and carved buffalo horn handles.

Last week I wrote about the Compact CZ-75 D PCR. This week I fired the Compact PCR's cousin, the P-01. The P-01 was selected by NATO for it's forces carrying a 9mm pistol. The P-01 is the same frame size and weight as the CZ 75D PCR and likewise has a capacity of 14 + 1. Like most all standard CZ pistols, the P-01 is double action only for the first shot and single action thereafter. The differences between the P-01 and the 75 D PCR are few:

1. The P-01 has standard CZ 3-dot sights instead of the low profile rear sight on the 75 D PCR. The results here are neutral. I cannot determine an advantage to either sighting system. Both types of rear sights are drift-adjustable for windage.
2. The P-01 has an under-rail allowing you to attach a light or laser sight. The rail also has the effect of providing a little more perceived forward balance and I think this is a good thing.
3. The P-01 has a set of forward cocking serrations which again is a neutral feature for me. I have rarely utilized the forward cocking feature.
4. Trigger pull. The double action trigger pull on the P-01 is a little heavy and gritty. Internet reports state that, with the advent of the P-01, CZ stopped hand fitting the trigger system. Regardless, the trigger can be "shot in". After about 1,000 rounds the double action trigger action pull has smoothed out and has lightened comparably to the CZ 75 D PCR.

Like the D PCR, the grips are contoured rubber and fit my hand remarkable well. There is no need to look for aftermarket replacements unless you are looking for something more visually appealing.

The accuracy of the P-01 is first rate, as has been with any CZ I have every handled. I like these compact pistols and want to add a caliber .40 S&W to the my stable of Cech firearms.

Battle of the Initials
HK versus CZ

Left: HK P7 M8 Pistol
Right: CZ 75D PCR
Middle: Wayne Clark automatic swinguard stilleto knife with a 5 inch ATS-34 blade, T-6 Aluminum liners and bolsters and G-10 scales. The knife measures a total 11.25 inches overall.

(click to enlarge picture)

In this post we will compare two similarly sized compact, semi-automatic 9mm handguns; the HK P7 M8 and the CZ 75D PCR. For this comparision we will examine 8 factors: size, capacity, sights, trigger, grips, ergonomics, accuracy, and price.

I wrote about the HK pistol last week so there is little new to say about it. It is still a classic firearm, very modern, and very fun to shoot and...so is the CZ. The CZ is one of the most copied firearms in the world. It is made in Czechoslovakia and while they were behind the iron curtain they did not bother to patent their design. Consequently other manufacturers of differing quality have pirated the design and marketed clones some of which do not quite measure up.

So let’s begin the comparison:

Size
While both pistols are compact the HK is just a little shorter and a little thinner. Here’s how they stack up:

Specs: CZ75D PCR..... HK P7 M8
Weight: 1.7 lbs..... ......1.72 lbs
Length: 7.2 inches .....6.73 inches
Barrel: 3.9 inches .....4.13 inches
Height: 5.3 inches .....5.1 inches
Width: 1.4 inches ......1.14 inches
Frame: Alloy .............Steel

Advantage goes slightly to HK. It is shorter yet has a longer barrel and slightly thinner. The weight difference is negligible.

Capacity
The HK P7 M8 has a single stack magazine capacity of 8 + 1 while the CZ 75D PCR has a double stack magazine holding 14 + 1. The advantage goes to CZ for holding 6 more rounds while only adding a mere fraction to the width of the pistol.

Sights
Both have fixed sights front and rear with the rear sights being drift adjustable for windage. Both pistols sights are low profile with the CZ having a snag free Novak-type rear sight. This is a very slight advantage for CZ.

Trigger
The HK P7 M8 is single action only and the CZ is a traditional double action type (double action on the first shot and single action for follow-up shots). The triggers on both of these pistols are very good however; the HK has a short single action only trigger pull and has a very crisp release. The Double Action pull on the CZ is a little bit on the long side and there is a fair amount of creep in both the double and single action pull. While this all gives the HK trigger the advantage I want to assure everyone that the CZ trigger is not detrimental to the handling and shooting of the pistol.

Grips
The grips of the CZ are contoured rubber which gives the best feel of any auto pistol that I own. The HK on the other hand does not really have replaceable grip panels. The grip frame is stippled to give the shooter more control over the pistol. While the stippled grip frame is certainly comfortable the advantage here goes to CZ.

Ergonomics
The CZ does not have a traditional safety lever and instead has a decocker which was easily engaged by my right thumb in order to lower the hammer after having chambered a round. The CZ also has an enlarged magazine release which is also easy to reach with my right thumb. The HK pistol has no safety lever, but rather it employs a squeeze cocking device that also acts as a grip safety. The gun is completely safe until the squeeze cocker is engaged making the pistol ready to fire in its single action mode. The HK also has an ambidextrous magazine release lever right behind the trigger guard. I find that it is very easy for me to reach that lever on the right side of the frame with my trigger finger while I catch the falling magazine with my left hand. The advantage here goes to HK.

Accuracy
Let's get right to it...this one is a draw. Due to the HK's gas operation the P7 M8 is one of the only semi-auto pistols, chambered in a military cartridge, to have a fixed barrel. This enhances accuracy. The CZ has a detachable barrel affixed to the frame by an underbarrel link held in place by the slide relase pin. However the CZ has two integral rails on which the slide rides along the frame. This also enhances accuracy.

Two targets placed at 21 feet. The target on the left absorbed 26 rounds and the one on the right took 24 rounds of 9mm ammo.

(click to enlarge photo)



Both targets were set at 21 feet. The target on the left took 16 round and the target on the right took 34 rounds.
Price
This is not really a fair comparison. The HK P7 M8 is no longer produced and was never manufactured in large quantities. So when you come across one it commands a hefty sum (figure probably $1500 if it is in very good shape). The CZ on the other hand retails between $350 and $450 depending on the gun shop and is a bargain at either of those prices.

So who wins. Well that kind of depends on what you are looking for. If your are a collector and are in the market for a reliable, accurate and unusual piece that will undoubtedly increase in value go with the HK P7 M8. If you are just looking for a reliable and accurate 9mm shooter, go with the CZ.

Smith & Wesson 325-PD in .45 ACP

Smith & Wesson Model 325 PD pictured with 6 rounds of Winchester 230 grain hollow point ammunition in a full moon clip. Also pictured is a Gene Osborn hunting knife with a cable Damascus blade & fully filed worked spine, nickel silver boslter and curly maple handle with silver wire inlay.
(click to enlarge picture)



The Smith & Wesson 325PD (Personal Defense) revolver in today's range report comes with a 2 3/4 inch barrel, adjustable rear sight, and hi-vis front sight. This is one of S&W's scandium revolvers and it is a lightweight tipping the scales at 21.5 ounces. The 325's heritage goes back to the 5 inch barreled Smith & Wesson Model 1917 which was a .45 ACP revolver Smith & Wesson produced in World War I when Colt was unable to manufacture enough of their new model 1911 .45 semi-auto pistols. As you can imagine, in a time of trench warfare, a fast firing and accurate .45 caliber handgun was a pretty useful tool. The Model 325 PD is produced on S&W's N frame just as the Model 1917 was. When the government came to Smith & Wesson in 1917 they wanted a handgun that fired the .45 ACP for a couple of good reasons; first they had a large capacity of this ammunition and wanted to keep the ammo maunfacturers focused on producing one handgun round, and second, they only wanted to keep one handgun round in inventory which would simplify the shipment process for the supply and quartermaster units. The Military was very smart, knowing if would be very difficult to keep an inventory of two different handgun ammunition on hand and supply the troops with the ammunition each group needed. There was however, one problem with their request. The .45 ACP, being a semi-automatic round, had a rimless case and the revolvers required a rimmed cartridge in order for the extractor to be able to remove the fired shell casings from the cylinder. This problem was solved by the development of the half-moon and full moon clips which were nothing more than a piece of circular (or semi-circular) stamped sheet metal with bushings cut into them that held 3 (half-moon) or 6 (full moon) cartridges in place. After firing, the shooter pushed the extractor rod and the extractor pushed against the moon clip expelling the fired casings. As a bonus, the moon clips also made the revolver easy to reload.

In WWII these handguns were again pressed into service along with other S&W revolvers such as the Victory Model .38 Special. A large amount of them went to England as a part of the Lend-Lease program. Quite a few of the Victor Model revolvers were issued to Navy pilots. In the mid 1980's supplies of these revolvers were found overseas and began to come back into the US on the used/surplus military market. I remember seeing quite a few at Sherwood International and the Pony Express gun shops in the San Fernando Valley at that time. The quality of the Victory Models were somewhat suspect as their production had been rushed and had a reputation not being all that accurate. Still many could be found in very good condition and were picked up be collectors looking to round out their presentation of WWII arms. The Model 1917's however were shooters. The condition on those coming in at the time ranged from fairly poor to very good, but they were tough guns and their reputation for accuracy was very good. Because many were in an outward condition that did not attract the military afficianados, the shooter had a bargain and found a platform that could be customized without the guilt of ruining a collector's item. I saw several at the Pony Express Gun Shop that had been refinished, had the 5" barrel cut down to 2 3/4 inches, squared off the front sight and added a gold bead. I even remember one that had those refinements along with a jeweled trigger and hammer. Alas, although I wanted one, these customized handguns went for the princely sum of $425.00 which was way too rich for me at the time. It is evident that the 2 3/4 inch Model 325PF hails from those shortened and customized Model 1917s.

I have written about this particular revolver before and, after firing it, found that the supplied Ahrens grips, while certainly functional, were not up to my liking in terms of appearance. They chunky and just plain dull. That led me to order a set of Eagle checkered and finger-grooved Secret-Service style boot grips.

Left: Ahrens grips supplied by S&W with the revolver.
Right: Eagle checkered and finger grooved Secret Service style boot grip

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I took the revolver to the range, fired 12 rounds through it and had to put it down. The Eagle grips, while extremely attractive, are very narrow. This caused the recoil to be more focused and really hurt the web of my shooting hand. I then placed another order, this time from Hogue, for their checkered Bantam grip. This grip (as seen in the pictures of the revolver in this report) are very handsome, have palm swells, are more rounded and make the recoil very acceptable. The Bantam grip also has a finger groove but the shoulder of the first groove is very high which allows your middle finger to get a better grip of the handgun.

Shooting the Model 325 PD
As you can guess, there is some significant recoil coming from this light-weight revolver. However, with the right grips, the recoil is managable.


The target at the left was hit with 24 rounds of .230 grain ammunition at 21 feet. This is great accuracy from such a light weight power-house. Ammunition was Fiocchi and Winchester white-box and I had no problem with the bullets coming unseated from improperly crimped casings that occurred the first time I wrote about this revolver. The morale remains the same: always use quality ammunition.

H&K P7 in 9MM and S&W .44 Special

H&K P7 Model 8 in 9mm with vintage Walt Disney World Security Officer Badge.
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The Heckler and Koch P7 was designed by H&K to submit in the West German police trials of 1977. This is probably one of the most innovative post WWII pistol designs and regrettably was discontinued in 2005. (I was fortunate to get one of the last ones off out of their plant.) The West German police wanted a modern 9mm but also wanted it to be a safe pistol. The H&K P7 offerred a modern design with an unusual, but very effective, safety device and provided supurb accuracy as a part of the total package.

The inherent safety of this pistol was provided by the grip safety which also cocked the pistol. Now, grip safeties were not new; John Browing put them on his .45 pistol in 1911 and his .32 pistol back in 1903. However, what was different about this one is that it is on the front strap, instead of the backstrap where John Browning put them. The Browning-style backstraps have been criticized as some people have occasionally missed them as they griped the pistol to fire and, if the grip safety is not depressed, the gun just ain't gonna fire. With the H&K front strap grip safety you can't really miss the safety lever if you are gripping the pistol to shoot. What makes it even more safe is that it requires 8 pounds of pressure to depress the safety lever. Therefore the pistol is not capable of firing until the shooter applies at least 8 pounds of pressure to their grip. Once the 8 pounds of pressure is applied to depress the safety lever, it only takes one pound of pressure to hold the lever in the firing mode.

The accuracy on this pistol is first rate and is due to several factors:

1. The Safety Lever. As the safety lever is depressed it also cocks the pistol. The pistol then fires in single action mode and I don't care what any other experts say...a single action pistol with its short, clean trigger pull is easier to fire accurately than a double action pistol.
2. Low barrel axis. The barrel and slide of this pistol sit very low in the hand. Lower than any other pistol I have handled. This allows the shooter more control and cuts the perceived recoil making the first and follow-up shots more accurate.
3. Fixed barrel. Fixed barrels are more accurate, however most large caliber semi-auto pistols do not use a fixed barrel as the built up energy when the cartridge is fired is not dissappated by any barrel movement. Fixed barrels on .22s are fine and some gun makers put fixed barrels on .32s and .380s (NAA and Seecamp). However, if you have ever fired one of these "mouseguns" you know that they just down right hurt! H&K found a way around this problem. The pistol is gas operated. The gases which cause recoil are routed into a piston via a port in the bottom of the chamber. This is a great system although the piston gets very dirty from the fouling of the gasses and needs to be clean thoroughly after you are through shooting. Also, for some reason, the pistol gets very hot while shooting. I had heard of this and took 150 rounds of 9mm with me to shoot. I would shoot 50 rounds in the H&K, then put it aside and shoot 100 rounds through the other pistols I took with me to the range. Even so, when I got to the final box of shells, the pistol was heating up pretty fierce.

Shooting the P7

I like this pistol a lot! It is easy to shoot and very accurate:

(click to enlarge photo)

The target on the left is 35 rounds fired at 30 feet. The second is 40 rounds at 21 feet.

Originally, when these pistol were produced the magazine release was on the heal of the grip in the traditional European style. As the gun was produced in later versions for the American Market an ambidextrous magazine release was added right behind the trigger guard. This is a very ergonomically correct placement as I am able to work the safety with my right thumb on the left side of the pistol or with my trigger finger on the right side. The sights are of the 3-dot variety adjustable for windage although there was really no windage adjustment necessary for this pistol.

While I love this pistol, sales were poor and, as I mentioned earlier it was discontinued last year. So what happened? Well I can only guess but two things come to mind. First this was always an expensive pistol and second, the magazine capacity is only 8 rounds. While this is a fairly compact pistol, Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Glock, and others were producing good 9mm pistols with much higher capacities for much less money. The pistol was an innovative design and was produced with a lot of hand-fitting of the parts which kept the costs up. In fact, one of the reasons H&K gave for discontinuing the pistol was that all of the people who has been making it for the past 28 years were retiring. I am glad to have this one. Their price on the secondary market will only increase.

Smith & Wesson Heritage 44 Special

(click to enlarge)

This is another revolver that I have recently written about and I just want to update that it continues to shoot well. The target on the left contains 6 rounds fired at 30 feet. I know it looks like there are only five rounds on the target, but the grouping at the bottom right of the 10 ring actually took four slugs. The target on the right is 50 rounds at 50 feet. Also pictured is the "Rising Phoenix" knife by Gene Osborn. The knife is made of hollow-ground ATS-34 steel with a fully fileworked spine, bronze Damascus bolsters and sculpted Mammoth ivory handles.

Vintage Colt Autos and Revolvers


From left: Model 1903 in .32 ACP (sporting faux ivory grips), Pocket Positive Revolver in .32 Colt Police (.32 S&W Long), Model 1908 in .380 ACP and (bottom) Officer's Match in .38 Special. Also pictured is a vintage Fort Lewis Police, Department of Defense badge and Grandpa's brass knuckles. (click to enlarge photo)

The Colt Model M pocket pistos were manufactured from 1903 (in caliber .32 ACP ) and 1908 (in caliber .380 ACP) until 1947. Production continued through World War II with the US Army issuing both the .32 and .380 pistols to General officers. Eisenhower, Patton, and Omar Bradley were all issued a Colt Model M pistols with Patton receiving one in each caliber. At the end of their service the officers were allowed to purchase their pistol, belt and holster. This practice continued through the Vietnam War. These pistols were extremely popular with almost one million produced, about three-quarters being calibered in .32 ACP.

They were also used in many Hollywood movies of the 1930's and 40's. In fact Hollywood liked to use both the .32 semi-automatic pistol and .32 caliber revolvers for several reasons:

• .32 ACP blank ammunition was more reliable than .45 ACP ammo.
• The smaller caliber ammunition produced less of a report than a .45, .44, or .38 Special so they were less of a problem for the sound engineers who did not have the sophisticated digital recording equipment of today.
• The final reasons were that the smaller caliber guns made their movie stars look more imposing. The recoil of a .32 was very manageable when shooting one-handed and a .32 auto pistol or revolver was smaller than a full sized .45 auto or .38 revolver so the forced-perspective of a smaller handgun made the actor look bigger.

Humphrey Bogart pointing a Colt Pocket Pistol at Claude Rains in Casablanca.

(click to enlarge photo)

So the next time you are watching a gangster film with Bogart, Cagney, Muni, Garfield, or Robinson take a close look at the heat they are packin'. It might be a .32.

But don't limit your scrutiny to vintage cinema, in 1997's L.A. Confidential corrupt police captain Dudley Smith produced a Colt Model 1903 .32 ACP from the pocket of his bathrobe and used it to dispatch Detective Sgt. "Hollywood" Jack Vincennes.

Captain Dudley Smith fires a .32 ACP from his Colt Model 1903 Pocket Pistol at point blank range into the heart of Sgt. Jack Vincennes.

This scene was preceeded by one of my favorite movie lines. Sgt. Vincennes comes to Captain Smith's house in the middle of the night to discuss the possibility of police corruption whereupon Captain Smith says "Don't start tryin' to do the right thing now Jack, you haven't had the practice".

Shooting the Model M pistols

Model 1903 in .32 ACP

The serial number of this pistol puts it's date of manufacture as 1912. This pistol is just 6 years shy of it's 100th birthday and the only thing that has been replaced have been the grips. The barrel, springs, magazine and finish are all original. The finish is probably 90% and still maintains some of the famous bright blue luster that Colt used to be able to put on their firearms.

50 rounds of .32 ACP ammunition fired at 21 feet.

(click to enlarge photo)

This pistol is easy to shoot. The recoil is almost non-existant and the old girl still has plenty of accuracy left in her. Due to the popularity of these pistols spare parts (both old and newly manufactured) are available. It is not difficult to find original and aftermarket grips, and newly made springs, magazines and barrels. The one complaint I have with these pistols (and most pistols of this era) is their sights. These pistols were not intended as target guns or for anything other than close quarters shooting, but better sights would be great for these old eyes. With all of that being said, she shot pretty good at 21 feet. Originally this pistol would not feed hollowpoint ammunition. After my last session I polished the feedramp with 000 steel wool. On this trip to the range both Winchester Silvertip and Federal Hydra-Shok ammo fed with no malfunctions.

Model 1908 in .380 ACP

49 rounds of .380 ACP ammunition fired at 21 feet

(click to enlarge photo)

The serial number of this pistol puts its date of manufacture as 1935. Again, this pistol is in all original condition, including original grips. The finish is also about 90% but is almost black in color. The .380 ACP cartridge had a more robust recoil than the .32 and caused the checkered thumb safety to eat into my right thumb. This is probably partially due to the well-worn walnut grips. The checkering on the grips is still visible, but they are fairly worn down with age bringing the thumb in closer proximity to the safety lever. A new pair of aftermarket grips would undoubtedly solve this issue. Again, practical accuracy within intended ranges is certainly pretty good.

I would love to find a "junker" Colt .380 ACP (that has no collector value) and have it refinished and updated with better sights. These are fantastic handguns produced by a premier factory at the height of their art. All parts of these pistols were hand fitted and the amount of time and craftmanship that went into the production of these pistols would render them impossible to produce in today's world.

Colt Pocket Positive

The Colt Pocket Positive was produced in .32 Colt Police (interchangable with the .32 S&W Long cartridge) with a 98 grain round-nose bullet. The Smith & Wesson cartridge pushed the bullet a little faster than the Colt round so the S&W cartridge survived and the Colt round is relegated to curio status.

I have written about this pistol before and was not really impressed at the accuracy. Since then I completely scrubbed the barrel, bringing back the prominence of the rifling, and added a Tyler T-Grip adapter to the aftermarket grips that were already on the piece. Firing yesterday I was still not happy with the accuracy until I tried backing some of my trigger finger off the trigger. It is a little difficult to see, but this is a very small revolver and it is too easy to get too much finger on the trigger and...Bingo that's all she needed!

Here's 50 rounds of .32 S&W Long fired at 21 feet and that's about all the accuracy that could be expected from this little piece. Now I am very happy with it's performance. If your life was threatened, this little revolver, loaded with Mag-Tech 98 grain semi-jacketed hollow point ammunition, would be better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. (Although come to think of it...a poke in the eye with a sharp stick is pretty effective too.)

Colt Officer's Match in .38 Special

I have written about this old shooter before. I don't have much to say except that I am very happy with the way she performs. Here's fifty rounds fired at 30 feet.

Conclusion

In this range report we looked at four Colt handguns all produced well before WWII. So what's the morale? These old timers are still useful and the next time you see one in your dealer's show case or at a gun show, give 'em a look...or don't and it will still be there when I come in.