1922 Colt Army (38) Special

[tallball]

I had heard that the old Colt revolvers had very nice triggers, but I had never shot one. So, of course, I came to the obvious conclusion that I NEEDED to own an old Colt revolver.

I had decided to stalk Gunbroker until I found a decent one for $200 or less, but I really liked the looks and description of this one, so I splurged and won it on a $306 bid.

That was a couple of weeks back. I finally got to shoot it last weekend. The SA trigger is very good. The DA trigger is a little stiff, but very smooth. I really like the sights. The rear notch is well cut, and I like the thin front sight - it stands out very well. The revolver pointed naturally for me. Overall I prefer it to my similar Smith & Wesson from the same time period.

I shot it okay. At 15 yards I put about 40 rounds into an area the size of a normal paper plate. Most of them were towards the middle. It shot a little bit low and to the left - eventually there was a nice big hole there.

Here's a picture. It's obviously been shot quite a bit, but it seems to have plenty of life left in it.

 

[SaxonPig]

Looks like a good shooter to me. The early Colts are very cool. Is it a 5" barrel?

I have two Army Specials and one Official Police (of course the AS becomes the OP in 1928).

Made in 1924 and stamped for the St. Louis PD.

A late Army Special (they appear until around 1934 in 32-20 caliber) with a shortened barrel.

And the OP...

 

[Mike Irwin]

This is my earliest Colt, it's a circa 1935 Police Positive in .32 S&W Long.

I also have a Police Positive Special in .32-20 from around the same time period.

They are a lot of fun to shoot, and do have great trigger pulls.


Please be aware, though, that if something goes wrong mechanically with your Colt the chances of being able to find someone who can fix it is going to be between slim and really, really, slim.

 

[RickB]

I've examined two old military Colt .38s, and the actions were wonky in both of them.
They're still pretty cool artifacts, and reek of Remember the Maine and San Juan Hill.
I had a minty Army Special, perhaps unfired, and sold it pretty quickly before I was tempted to make it a "shooter". Real gunmaking artistry.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy


The Army Special was made from 1908 until 1927. By that time sales of revolvers to the military had just about ceased, so Colt changed the name of the model to Official Police to reflect their principal market for revolvers.

This one was made in 1921.

 

[UncleEd]

Whenever I see Colt Army Specials (or the OP) I get an urge to again watch
"The Treasure of Sierra Madre."

That movie was supposed to be about the mid 1920s and as I remember it seemed like Warner Bros. featured just about every Colt DA revolver
in existence until shortly after WWII.

 

[tallball]

Beautiful picture from DJ!