Greetings,
This is my first request for information on this forum. My experience reading for the last few months gives me hope for some advice.
Today I visited my local Clean Well-Lighted Place For Firearms and was very impressed with the whole deal. Owners are polite, well-experienced and helpful guys my age (60s). What immediately caught my eye was a Colt's 1903 Pocket Hammerless. The pistol has (original, I assume) solid hard-rubber grips featuring the "Colt" banner and rampant pony. There is virtually no finish on the slide. I don't know whether it's the earlier 4" or the Type II 3 3/4" barrel, since I wasn't aware of that distinction until I got home and looked it up.
Due to lack of foresight, I had no light to inspect the bore. However, the controls work, safeties function per spec, and the slide and trigger action were smooth and unsurprising. The magazine looks clean and functional and dropped easily (despite the heel-mounted release button.) Also, I neglected to write down the s/n, but the gun features the barrel bushing, which to my understanding dates it between 1903 and 1910. They're asking $350, as-is-no-guarantees.
So, my questions are:
What are the possible weaknesses/dangers associated with this weapon in terms of breakage, parts availability, etc?
Who of y'all has experience with owning/shooting/carrying one of these?
My handgun experience, aside from fun with a Uberti 1851, is mostly limited to a 1911, as my forum name indicates. I'm probably aware of most of the arguments for different/newer/other handguns, but I'm very interested in a handy discourager due to my current neighborhood. And it's a Colt 1903, which I've wanted for awhile.
Therefore:
Will it function and hold up to familiarization/practice/fun etc?
Is it likely to break and cost me more than I can afford to fix it?
Will it be, or be able to be made, reliable?
Is that a reasonable price?
Thanks for any help, gentlemen and ladies. My experience here leads me to expect no shortage of opinions, so have at it.
This is my first request for information on this forum. My experience reading for the last few months gives me hope for some advice.
Today I visited my local Clean Well-Lighted Place For Firearms and was very impressed with the whole deal. Owners are polite, well-experienced and helpful guys my age (60s). What immediately caught my eye was a Colt's 1903 Pocket Hammerless. The pistol has (original, I assume) solid hard-rubber grips featuring the "Colt" banner and rampant pony. There is virtually no finish on the slide. I don't know whether it's the earlier 4" or the Type II 3 3/4" barrel, since I wasn't aware of that distinction until I got home and looked it up.
Due to lack of foresight, I had no light to inspect the bore. However, the controls work, safeties function per spec, and the slide and trigger action were smooth and unsurprising. The magazine looks clean and functional and dropped easily (despite the heel-mounted release button.) Also, I neglected to write down the s/n, but the gun features the barrel bushing, which to my understanding dates it between 1903 and 1910. They're asking $350, as-is-no-guarantees.
So, my questions are:
What are the possible weaknesses/dangers associated with this weapon in terms of breakage, parts availability, etc?
Who of y'all has experience with owning/shooting/carrying one of these?
My handgun experience, aside from fun with a Uberti 1851, is mostly limited to a 1911, as my forum name indicates. I'm probably aware of most of the arguments for different/newer/other handguns, but I'm very interested in a handy discourager due to my current neighborhood. And it's a Colt 1903, which I've wanted for awhile.
Therefore:
Will it function and hold up to familiarization/practice/fun etc?
Is it likely to break and cost me more than I can afford to fix it?
Will it be, or be able to be made, reliable?
Is that a reasonable price?
Thanks for any help, gentlemen and ladies. My experience here leads me to expect no shortage of opinions, so have at it.