Colt detective special. Question.

on the list

A shrouded DS is on my "one of these days" list. I have always thought they were very sleek, appealing revolvers, w/ the advantage of 6 shots v. 5 from the other guys.

Someday...............
 
You can find them for $450 to $500 in excellent condition in my neck of the woods.
Click to expand...

But he's not in your "neck of the woods."

FYI, the only difference between this "3rd series" DS and the older ones is the barrel. Theoretically, you could install an old style barrel in these and have a bogus "2nd series."
 
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The classy business end of my Lawman which is just like a 3rd gen Detective Special.
 
As I said, if I paid a few dollars more than some other guy, it's ok. The guy who sold this to me was the same man that sold me a ruger lcp one month after they were released, for $279. That, if anyone can recall, was when folks on gun broker were selling them for $500 because they were so difficult to find.

I love the gun and look forward to taking it to the range.

Thanks to all for the help, support, and compliments!

Rob
 
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Congrats. It looks very nice. You wont regret your purchase and my guess is that it will become a favorite in very short order.

However the cylinder latch looks to have a purpleish hue to it...indicating possible refinishing. Have you measured the cylinder gap with a feeler gauge yet?

My CCW is a gen 3 DS. The bluing on my DS is the standard by which I judge all bluing. I will never sell mine.
 
I noticed that too. Not sure if it has been refinished, nor is the guy selling it as it came from an estate sale. Could be why it looks so nice and new? I looked at some pics online and a few seemed to have the purplish cylinder latch, so I didn't think much of it. Both the store owner and the sales guy looked it over and said that it appeared to have only been test fired as it showed very little wear.

I am very new to revolvers, so I am not sure what it means to measure the cylinder gap.
 
Check the cylinder gap with a set of feeler gauges - I think Colts run from .005 to .008 in spec. Personally, I think that anything over .006 is excessive.

BuyingUsed-gpr15-11.jpg
 
Thank you for that bit of info. Hoping
I am not walking into a problem here. Looking at the cylinder and barrel, it looks brand new. If this is true, ya gotta wonder why it would be refinished, if in fact it was.

Is it possible that the latch turned that color just by aging?
 
I'll admit. Was a bit nervous so I called Colt. I explained that the cylinder latch is
More purple than blue compared the rest of the gun and asked if it was normal aging or possibly refinished. He said it was very normal due to the different steel content and that if it was refinished, the colors would be better matched. He explained that different steel or nickel contents can cause this type of coloring.

I will still have the cylinder gap measured, but colt told me that the purplish color was very normal in the cylinder latch due to aging.
 
I'll also add, the very nice gentleman that I spoke with at colt said that he's heard this question before and the discoloration of the cylinder latch is well known by colt. He actually indicated that it was a good sign it has NOT been refinished. A bit more relieved now.
 
"Pluming" is a sign of bluing solution problems: whether its contamination, wrong temperature, or worn out salts. Most bluing experts attribute it to worn out salts that were used too long before changing. While Colt has been known to have issues with pluming, it is also common in refinishing jobs done by someone who isn't very meticulous in their bluing process.
 
I picked this up last month on the Smith&Wesson forum for $500 shipped. Looks like it came from the factory...not even a tun line. The seller also threw in 4 speedloaders and a belt holster with it...when it arrived, I noticed the holster was a Milt Sparks PMK...sold it on ebay for 160 bucks...so I guess I got a better deal on this than I thought...:)

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DSIM, is that a photo of your Colt DS?

My daily carry Colt DS is in the same condition as the one photographed still to this day. Except that I have also put exactly 1,325 rounds through mine...and the turn lines are identical to turn lines as the turn lines on the cylinder in that photograph.
 
are you talking to me or to "don't shoot it's me"?

by the way, "don't shoot, it's me", very very nice gun, and a great deal!

edit; never mind, just re-read the post. I see you were writing to DSME.
 
It is Skadoosh...I haven't shot it yet but the original owner said he only put a box of wadcutters through it...I ordered a set of old style wood from numrich and a pachmayr insert since i find the targets don't feel all that well in my hand...a member of the Colt forum has this set up on his 3rd gen Colt and it looks pretty cool to boot....thanks Rob...I am very proud of it....I had looked for about a year for the right one...

ColtDSMycarry_2.jpg
 
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