Just bought a Police Positive! Sweet!

Erich

New member
I'd went into a gun store with a friend (who used to own the store that I managed back in '88-'90; man, did he teach me a lot about guns and business) on Friday. We both looked around and agreed this Police Positive was the only interesting gun in the store. Talked about the revo with my wife when I got home, and thought about it all night. Had to go back and snatch it on Saturday. (Wife is a sweetie, btw, and encouraged me to go spend some money on myself.)

It's an early Second Issue Police Positive from the late '70s, .38 Spl with the heavier 4" bbl. I found it in 95-98% condition (no line around cylinder, slight wear at L/R outside muzzle edge of bbl, small .2" gouge out of butt of rt. grip) with box. It actually didn't look like it'd been fired, just carried - as weird as that sounds. I didn't get a knock-down good deal (he had $250 on it and I only convinced him to take care of the tax for me), but I'm happy with the price I paid given the condition and quality of the revolver I got.

Man, I'd forgotten the quality of work that Colt put into these things, even during the Carter years. Tight bbl/cyl gap, milling down edges of sight groove, gorgeous bluing. They couldn't make this gun for under $1k retail nowadays. It's a poor man's Python, it is.

I like the D-frames because they're smallish, but still plenty stout for the .38s. My (smallish) wife likes the weight and feel of this 4" revo, and (unlike the SP-101 I bought for her to use a while back) she likes the Colt's trigger (great DA/astonishing SA) just fine. She's told me that she has no problems shooting it - that right there makes it great for me to own (the only other gun she feels that way about is her 4" S&W 34-1 .22 lr . . . and I feel a whole lot better with her using this .38). Gun shoots good, too, (1", 3-hole group at 10 yds with horrible smoky PMC 158-gr RNL loads) though I need to make up some decent reloads to see what it'll really do.

Now, here's the part that might be a little odd. I unloaded and put up my .40 Browning Hi-Power, and am now using the .38 Police Positive as a nightstand (locked in the safe during the day) gun. Main reason is that my wife is comfortable with it (she never cottoned much to the BHP or any other semiauto) - she knows it's in the safe, loaded, anytime she needs it. If my local world ever got a lot uglier, I could see the need for the BHP (or my AR), but I feel reasonably confident that the .38 Spl +Ps I've loaded would be effective in a home invasion scenario as things stand.

Well, I'm plenty happy with my new buy and I just had to share! Anybody else use one of these?
 
A great gun and an excellent choice for home defense. I use the Glaser Safety Slugs in .38 Special.

Nit picking a bit but we must be accurate. You have the Police Positive Special. The Police Positive was an earlier gun made on a slightly smaller frame. The Special came about because the .38 Special cartridge was too big for the PP so the frame was stretched a bit and the PPS wa born. I bought my girlfriend a PPS in 4" nickeled configuration 15 years for $265 so your $250 purchase today was very good (well, the one I bought was NIB). Girlfriend became wife 11 years ago but she never did like that pistol so I kept it for myself.
 
Ah, yes, quite right on the accurate model name. Glad to see I'm not the only one using it for home defense in these modrun times.
 
Hello. This is one that I bought for my mother in '88. They are very nice little revolvers. It fits her needs to a "t."

Best.

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I will be picking mine up tomorrow. I bought it a month ago but MD has a one gun per month limit and I bought this a day or two after picking up another gun. Yours sounds like the same condition as mine seems to be, though I got a steal (since I paid less I won't say what I paid). Glad to hear that you like yours so far.

Personally I think you made an improvement making this your home defense gun. Leaving an auto loaded for a long time can weaken the springs in the mag and cause you feeding problems. The oil can dry causing other functioning problems. With a revolver you can keep it loaded for years and be relatively certain it will go off. As far as using .38+P I think that caliber is more than adequate for home defense (I usually use my S&W65LS for HD loaded down with .38+Ps instead of .357s and sometimes I even use regular strength .38s). No, it isn't as powerful as .40S&W but it will do the job more than adequately.

BTW- I hate the grips on the one I pick up tomorrow. I'd love to put some standard Colt wood grips on it but I can't find any grips that are billed for the Police Positive Special. Anyone know if grips for the Detective Special and Diamondback will work on this gun (they are all D frames, right)?
 
Hello. I'm no expert at all on Colt D-frames, but I think that the Detective Special stocks will fit; anything, but the shorter stocks for the Agent.

Best.
 
Stephen, that's the gun! For some reason (probably a combination of size, weight, feel, looks and simplicity), Gina's not in any way intimidated by the PPS (which was not even the case with the Ruger SP-101). In fact, I'm pleased to say that she's actually excited about going out and shooting it. There's really something to the "user-friendliness" of this revo.

Chaim, thanks for not rubbing in your deal. :) I've never left an auto loaded that long! (Man, that BHP is fun to shoot!) Even in my worst period of slacking, I get out to the range once a month . . . and whatever two are on the nightstand and on-deck for carry always go along.

About the use of .38 spl ammo for HD: isn't it interesting how nowadays we consider the .38 a marginal choice, whereas it was literally "good enough for Government work" for most of the last century. It's hard to get that thought out of my head, but ultimately I think Andy Stanford (and others) are correct when they say that shot placement means everything when it comes to using a handgun to stop an assailant. And really, I think you need to put the shot not just in the cardiovascular plumbing but in the central nervous system for a good, fast result. With the .38 at across-the-room distances, I feel confident that Gina will be able to put one where it counts, if G-d forbid, it's necessary.

Thanks for your comments, gents!
 
A lot of people have been killed with the .38 Special and as noted, for 75 years or so it was THE choice for law enforcement. My standard response to someone who says my .38 is too weak to be a defensive round is to ask them to point to the part of their body they wouln't mind me shooting with it. The good Special loads are up in the high 80% range on stopping power.
 
One of the things I always hear when talking 38SPL is the old, "Won't stop a Moro". The fact that the 38Spl wasn't the 38 involved and that today's 38Spl is putting up force numbers that could only be dreamed of in ANY cartridge back then doesn't seem to matter.
 
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