New 1903 Colt Hammerless

N

NWCP

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Colt is reintroducing the 1903 hammerless in .32ACP! I've got two originals, but am looking to get one of the new officer model pistols. I truly enjoy shooting the 1903 in .32 ACP. I'm totally amazed Colt is bringing out the original design. It's supposed to run around $1300 msrp, hopefully they'll run a little less retail. Regardless the cost I've got to get one for a range day pistol rather than shooting one of my originals. A great design and really fun to shoot. It is an honest to goodness snag free CCW. I'd carry it as a BUG to my HK VP9. Life is good. :D
 
I think there's another thread about this somewhere. Sounds like it is only going to be a limited production run. My guess is that demand will be high and so will prices.
 
Seems to me that we will have the same old problem. Replicas that sell well are those of guns that are either not available or are scarce. But Colt made over a half-million of those guns and most are around today at reasonable prices. So...

If the gun is an exact copy of the M1903/1908, why pay $1300 when a very nice original, with historical value, can be bought for under $1k.

If it is an updated, improved model with, say, adjustable sights, a better safety, better slide serrations, etc., then it is not an M1903/1908. It is just another low/medium power single action pocket pistol, of which there are scads available, including some by Colt, selling at a lot less.

Jim
 
This comes up every time there's a "I wish Colt would reintroduce the xyz".
Unless it's something rare, like, say, the Pocket 9 (the whaaat?), there are probably plenty of them around, and priced lower than a new one would be.
 
If the 03 was re-introduced with aluminum receiver, firing pin lock, bit better sights, bit better safety latch, and that's it, it would be a winner IF it was reasonably priced to be competitive with other .32/.380s.

But if Colt expects their name to make it sky high in price, well they can keep it.

Deaf
 
Some guys in a room at Colt discussing prices.
"I think we should price it at $500."
"Nah, this is Colt, let's price it at $900."
"But, we can make a profit at $400?"
"This is Colt! $1500!"
"$2500! I don't care if nobody buys one! Yeah, baby, pass me another burning C-note to light my cigar!"

I suspect that Colt actually has one of the smallest profit margins in the entire industry.
 
Well poop. I may have picked the wrong time to finally win an auction on a 1903. $450 seemed like a good price for one that looks good and supposedly functions well.
 
I wonder if it's investment casted and MIM and CNC'd. Tooling up to make only 3,500 of them the old fashion way (forged and milled) would be rather cost prohibitive.
 
Tooling up for MIM is what you do if you're making tens of thousands.
I suspect it would be cheaper to machine barstock, if your making a few thousand pieces.
 
Repros sometimes sell for less. One poor example is the Olympics arm plastic POS copy of a classic aluminum beautiful Whitney Wolverines. I have a real one,
 
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RickB -according to that link, they're only making 3,500 of them. With a limited run like that, it's hard to see a return on the investment of tooling up. At the Ruger factory I was told that Bill Ruger was looking at the XGI (7.62 mm version of the Mini-14) and was told that it would cost $1 million to tool up to produce it. He figured he could easily make $1 million just by continuing production of the Mini-14s and decided nope, it wasn't a sound business decision.

That's why I'm trying to figure out what cost effective means they'll try to make them. Mind you, I've never studied industrial manufacturing and have yet to take any CNC courses.

You're ruling out MIM and I won't disagree. I have only seen the machine at S&W but don't know about how much it would cost to tool up. I now they can get certian things done with investment castings and finished via CNC. It certainly can't be EDM either as that sucks up a lot of juice.

I wonder if they outsourced some parts to China/India/elsewhere with final finish and assembly here in Estados Unidos?
 
How are the Gatlings made? That might provide some insight into the vendors and processes that they will use on the '03.
 
Ruger's Pine Tree Castings division is making these '03's so way, way less machining and hand fitting than the originals.
 
zombietactics said:
Good lord ... why would they release it in .32ACP?

The .380 variant would almost certainly be a better seller.
Click to expand...
  • Colt management believes (likely correctly) that most buyers will be collectors who will park the gun in the safe and never fire it, thus, it doesn't matter what it's chambered for.
  • They don't want to read 'Net social media and/or gun 'zine articles whining about how the thing is a proverbial boat anchor compared to the LCP/P3AT/P238/Mustang. ;) :rolleyes:
 
Does the repro gun have the thicker extractor that was common to .32s and .380s in later production?
If so, it would be pretty easy to open the magwell, replace or rebore the barrel, and supply (hopefully functional) .380 mags, even if Colt didn't intend both calibers.
 
There seems to be a continuing belief that any gun made before, say, 1970, was hand fitted. In fact, the M1903/08 Colts required almost no hand work. The old timers had very sophisticated machinery and tools and knew how to use them. There were no CNC machines, but every part was jigged up and precisely machined, then checked on a gauge. A check of guns like the M1903 or an early 1911 will show little or no filing or evidence of handfitting, and most spare parts made in that era require no fitting to drop in, something that cannot be said of parts made today for current production 1911's.

Jim
 
Slopemeno - I can see a combination of investment casting and CNC. Pine Tree can make the parts and CNC would be quick to get them to dimension.
 
I have an original, in .32 ACP, checkered hardwood pistol grips,

but only one original magazine. The two aftermarket mags are unreliable. Anyone know where I can find original mags?:confused:
 
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