Colt Official Police vs. Colt Police Positive

D

Doug.38PR

Moderator
What advantage does teh Colt Official Police have over the Police Positive? Or vice versa. Seems, to me the OP can handle hotter loads (loads as strong as the .38/44 which would be on the low pressure end of the +p+ status in power) band have less recoil and be more accurate with a longer barrel than a snubbie. The Police Positive with an equal barrel length has a smaller frame yet is just as difficult to conceal as the OP. How did it hang on so long? (I think it lasted longer than the OP and went well into the 1980s as far as production goes) The PP to me, as cool as the OP Jr looks, is essentially just a Detective Special with a longer barrel thus making it harder to conceal.

Any thoughts
 
Like most revolver makers "back in the day", they offered the smaller guns for those who had smaller hands, or who just wanted a lighter, more compact revolver, firing less powerful ammo.

The mid-frame revolver was for those with larger hands or who wanted a stronger, heavier gun, capable of firing more powerful ammo.

In fact, the small frame Colt's like the Police Positive were very popular with police agencies, and many were sold to foreign countries like Hong Kong and Columbia as late as the late 1980's.

The Police Positive was made by Colt until about 1996, so it was popular with a lot of people.
 
the weight of a police positive is 23 oz...the official police(with same 4 inch barrel) is 34 oz...I prefer the OP in 4 or 5" barrels..but love the snub detective special(same as police positive except 2" barrel and round grips)...
 
Both the OP and the PP were holster revolvers. The PP and the PPS were not meant to be concealed. The DS was made by putting the short barrel on the PPS to make a concealable revolver.
 
The Police Positive was originally designed for rather aenemic calibers such as .32 and .38 Short Colt. The Official Police was designed for the more modern .38 Special. In my mind, the Police Positive is more of a collector's piece wheras the Official Police is more suited to everyday use.
 
Everyone please note that Colt made two different revolvers called the Police Positive and Police Positive Special respectively. The Police Positive came in .38 S&W and .32 Long. The Police Positive Special uses a longer frame and cylinder to allow use of the .38 Special cartridge. Any Police Positive in .38 Special MUST in reality be a Police Positive Special. Many people say Police Positive when they really mean the Police Positive Special.

As for a comparison of the PPS and Official Police, as noted, it's merely a difference is size. The OP is much larger. It's the same frame size as the original Colt .357 Magnum, Offiers Model Target and Match, Trooper and Python. The PPS is the same frame as the Detective Special.
 
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