The Colt 1917 is a fine revolver. If you have become accustomed to shooting S&Ws, a Colt grip will feel a little strange in your hand at first. But fire enough rounds and you will become familiar with it fast enough.

The Colt internals are a little more complicated than those of a S&W; if you are the kind of guy who likes to dig into the insides of his machines, the first time you take a Colt sideplate off it will look like a different world in there. But just go slow, pay attention to the order in which you remove things, and you will do fine. Look out for the complex set of interlocking small pieces that drive the hammer block. That's the most easily confused sub-assembly. It would be good to have an exploded parts drawing available if you start to work on it.

Colts by their design have tighter cylinder lock-up than S&Ws. If you have a Colt that has ANY cylinder movement when the hammer is at full cock, or after the hammer has fallen and while the trigger is still all the way back, look for a different unit. The general principle is that a loose Colt needs tending to.

If you can't find a S&W 1917, go ahead and get the Colt. Later, if you come across the S&W model, you can sell the Colt and get the one you wanted in the first place. But you may find you want both.

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David Wilson