I recently received a gun that was my great grandfathers. It is a 1925 Colt 1903 .32 ACP. The gun has the matching serial number 462XXX. Now, this appears to fall in line with the serial number for the Type III built in 1925-1926; however, the gun doesn't look like a Type III. It looks like a Type IV. I had a theory that this may have been built at the end of the production life for the Type III and the tooling was changed over and it was produced along side the Type III, but I'm not sure. I've asked some Colt people for some more insight. Do you have any info about this? Here are some photos:
I'm pretty sure he was the original owner. I plan on buying a few magazines, cleaning the barrel and firing mechanism up a bit and taking her to the range. However, I am not going to reblue it or repair any blemishes. To me, that adds to the character of the gun. My great-grandfather (Army WWI) gave it to my grandfather (Army-Air Corps WWII) who gave it to my uncle (Navy Vietnam) who gave it to my mom to give to me (Marine Corps). They would want me to make sure it gets its use like any good gun should. It will go to my nephew (he's 2) when he is responsible enough to know the significance behind it.
Any help is appreciated.
I'm pretty sure he was the original owner. I plan on buying a few magazines, cleaning the barrel and firing mechanism up a bit and taking her to the range. However, I am not going to reblue it or repair any blemishes. To me, that adds to the character of the gun. My great-grandfather (Army WWI) gave it to my grandfather (Army-Air Corps WWII) who gave it to my uncle (Navy Vietnam) who gave it to my mom to give to me (Marine Corps). They would want me to make sure it gets its use like any good gun should. It will go to my nephew (he's 2) when he is responsible enough to know the significance behind it.
Any help is appreciated.
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