Colt Agent

S

Slyk

Inactive
Liking at possibly buying a Colt "agent" in .38 special. This is the parkerized finish with plain wood grips. Asking price is $550
I would be buying this as a ccw gun. I feel like Colt made good quality and the material in it was good in its day as compared to modern materials and the Colt would carry 6 rounds as opposed to 5 in a j-frame . However the Colt will have several years on it and some metal fatigue could be happening
Looking for your thoughts on this idea
Thank you-
 
'Modern materials"? "Metal fatigue"? "Good in its day"?

The Colt Agent revolver, a variant of the Cobra, was first produced way back in the cave-man period, in 1955, and was made up almost into historic times, 1986.

Yes, it might be almost as good as a gun made in modern times.

Jim
 
To answer the question, nothing wrong with an Agent and the materials are first rate. "Metal fatigue" isn't an issue. If it hasn't been abused, I'd be a buyer at $400 maybe $425 tops. That of course assumes you live in a free state. In California, the Northeast, etc. $550 may be an excellent price.
 
As a sort of apology, I feel a cross between amused and ticked when guns I bought new are considered antiques. That means that I am, well, an antique also. ;)

One poster actually asked if the S&W Model 28 could be used with smokeless powder or did he have to load black powder for such an old gun!!!

Jim
 
I was at the range a few weeks ago practicing with my 3 inch S&W Model 66 Combat Magnum when some younger guys arrived.
They saw me shooting the .357 and were just totally agog that I would actually carry such an antique as a REVOLVER as a defense gun.
"Why, you only get six shots" one exclaimed.

They were shooting high capacity Glock's. Shooting very fast and with one hand.
I think one of them may actually have gotten a bullet on the target.
I did notice that one of them looked rather thoughtful when he saw the nice group I had in the bullseye. Not all in the center mind you, but at least in the black.
 
"...way back in the cave-man period, in 1955."

Excuse me? I was born in 1955. Never wore a suit from a wildcat's hide.

A Colt made in 1955 is not going to show metal fatigue. Snubs rarely get shot enough to show wear let alone fatigue.

For carry I have to say pass on the snub 38 and get a compact 380. Much lighter and it carries 7 rounds.
 
I'm a little confused here. Back around the mid 80's I had two parkerized Colt revolvers. One was called the "Agent" and had a steel frame as I remember, like a parkerized Detectives Special. The other was a Trooper called the "Peacekeeper."

Long time ago, maybe not remembering right.
 
I have one, it says "AGENT" on the barrel. It is an alloy frame detective special, with a shrouded ejector rod. Blue finish.

Gun is rated to take +p ammo, but back in the day, Colt said that if you shot +P, you should send them the gun after a couple thousand rounds so they could check it.

I don't think they still say that today.....

$500+ is actually on the low side of what I see being asked at the gun shows for this model, $700ish is more common, but I also don't see a lot being sold at that price.....;)
 
QUOTE:...One was called the "Agent" and had a steel frame.

To my knowledge, Colt never made an Agent with a steel frame. I can only guess that your "Agent" is really a Detective Special that had an Agent barrel installed on it.
 
To my knowledge, Colt never made an Agent with a steel frame. I can only guess that your "Agent" is really a Detective Special that had an Agent barrel installed on it.
Click to expand...

Could be, so long ago. But it looked like this.

th
 
Colt made two aluminum framed revolvers back in the 50's.

The Cobra was nothing more then a Detective Special with an aluminum frame.
The Agent was intended for deep concealment. It had a "stubby" grip frame with short grips.
Both had the original "skinny" barrel and exposed ejector rod.

In 1966 Colt changed all "D" frame revolvers to the stubby grip frame.
Models like the Detective Special and Cobra had grips that overlapped on the bottom of the butt to provide a full sized grip.
The Agent still had the short grips.

In 1973 Colt changed these to the new heavy, shrouded barrel.
 
Some Agents were made with better finishes than the ones made when Colt was having labor problems. Here's mine with the "rougher" parkerized finish. The action on this particular revolver is as slick as my Pythons which just goes to show you have to judge Colts on their individual merit if you want to carry one or use it as a shooter, rather than as a collectible. If I carry a revolver OWB, it's this one. I wouldn't take $550 for it.

 
I got a 38 special 1969 Colt Agent in 2000 for $250 with an Aluminum frame, Parkerized finish and rubber grips.

I worked up to a few grains past max load for 357 magnum with peaky Blue Dot powder [not recommended], and it bent the frame slightly. It was out of commission for ~ 13 years, and then I read Kuhnhausen's books on double action Colts and tweaked it a little. The frame is still bent but it is working again.

I got a Colt Cobra in 2014 for $425 that is a lot like the agent.

I would buy another Agent for $550 if I lived in a good state. WA went sour in 2014.
 

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