Picked this up today. Serial number is 657XXX. 38 Special. 6" barrel. Date of Birth 1941/1942. One of the last Pre-war OM's. Serial number is part of the Official Police Range from that time period. Which, according to R.L. Wilson, is correct. Haven't shot it it. It's in very good shape. Sorry about the photos. I'm rushed. Paid $500.00 for it. Very clean, shiny bore, great lock-up ect. Just for giggles here it is compared to my S&W K-38. Yes I know it has rubber grips on it. I didn't have the time or inclination to dig out the Magna grips that came with it.

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That's a good one, and you got it at a good price. These guns can be quite accurate, though I still have a problem trying to shoot them with my Smith-adapted hands. I have been told that once I have come to terms with the different grip, I will get tighter groups from a Colt than a Smith.

Maybe, but even if that turns out to be true I doubt I would attribute it to inherent target superiority in the Colt. The Colt OMs are built on a frame that is just slightly larger and slightly heavier than the S&W K-frame. I do better with heavier guns, and that might eventually give me an edge with a Colt.

In my experience, the .38/44 Outdoorsman of any vintage is the best .38 target revolver ever made. I admit I have not yet had a chance to work with a Colt Shooting Master in .38 Special, so I have not yet made a true large-frame comparison.

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David Wilson

When I was a member of the USCG the armories had Colt Woodsman Target .22s, Colt Officers Model Targets, and Model 1911 Targets for the Bases Pistol Teams.

Bet you wished you owned a couple of those now. If for nothing else than the resale value.

I have wondered what became of those weapons.
I remember that in the era 1959-1963 all the M1 Carbines were packed up to be sent to a county in Southeast Asia.

Finding one of those guns would be like getting hold of one of the Model 45's that Smith made for the Post Office. Or perhaps one of the Colt OP's in 22LR. So many guns. So little money....and time.

Now get a picture of you and a friend with business suits, ties and fedoras shooting them one handed alongside each other.

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Front sight and squeeze

My Sport revolver to shoot the Matches at my club is still a Colt
Officers Match .22lr from 1969. It outshoot the most modern revolvers.

This one is within 7000 # of yours, and it shoots excellently. I have been meaning to do a side by side shooting comparison with a K38 of 1951 using the same HBWC ammo to see which one shoots better.


I may have to now wait until warmer weather.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I'm intending to do the same thing. Should be fun. But it does need to stop raining/snowing. I know the revolvers can handle it, but I can't.

My first centerfire revolver was a latter model officers model match with the fully checked target grips etc.

those are excellent guns. the grips is different than smith,but if you can get used to it, they are shooters. back when revolvers were shot in bullseye competition, the records all belonged to colt. one piece of advice, if you don't know about these, don't try to take them apart,at least beyond taking out the cylinder. i have around 15 of the officers models in different configurations and shoot them a lot.

I once took the sideplate off of an Official Police - just for the experience. After having heard all the horror stories about Colt's internals I literally started to sweat. It wasn't that bad after I got the plate off, but I breathed a little easier once I put the plate back on. It's not like a Smith & Wesson is it?

I read more than once in older articles that Colt revolvers were the "Gunsmith's best friend".

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Don't be surprised if the Colt outshoots the S&W with 148 HBWC loads . Colt barrel & chambers cut tighter than the S&W & barrel has a faster twist . With 158 SWC / RN the S&W will probably perform as well as the Colt .

I begged my friend for some of his 148 grain wadcutters yesterday. So now I have a couple dozen of those and many 158 grain LRN's. It should be fun.

Better photos.

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I type. Therefore I am.

Nice! I like the old Colts a lot and have three prewar OMTs, a Shooting Master, and an OMS.

I have something of a sickness... er, fondness for the Officers Model Colts.

One of my favorite non-S&W revolvers is this early Colt Officers Model from 1904 and built on the New Army and Navy frame. SN 230308, only about 400 higher than the lowest number reported on one of these adjustable sight models, which were numbered together with the fixed sight models. At this time (and until 1908) the Colt lockwork involved a right-side sideplate and cylinder that rotated counterclockwise. With the introduction of the Army Special they adopted the basic configuration of the most successful Colt DAs of the 20th century.

When I picked this gun up it needed some light repair, including a new hand spring (a notorious weak point on the New Army and Navy Model). It's all together now, but I have not had a chance to get it to the range. I'm looking forward to the trip.

Wonderful stocks on this one.

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David Wilson

Nice!

This　one is 1928, if memory serves:

I love those old stocks. Great.

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I type. Therefore I am.

David, any idea who made the grips?

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I think they are a rarely encountered Colt factory design. I have seen the exact same pattern on a gun in Wilson's Book of Colt Firearms, and there are similar but not identical stocks on guns produced in the same decade. See the ones on Onomea's 1928 OM, for example. (I think they may be quite a bit older than the gun, but I confess that I am not an expert on the varieties and dates of Colt stocks.)

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David Wilson

Yes, Colt stocks. A rarely seen option on very early target models. Very pricey if shopping for a set. Note the checkered trigger. Early Colts had lots of deluxe features like checkering on triggers, cylinder releases, etc. By the 1920s it had all disappeared.

I have OMT's in .22



and .38



This gun now has proper wood grips. I am on the search for an OMT in .32, but they are scarce and $$$.

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Jim
Many K and N Frames

Here's one from 1915. It is a superb target revolver - and closing in on 100 years old.

Jerry

That is a very fine looking revolver. Very nice.

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I type. Therefore I am.

You never fail to impress with your collection Saxonpig. Beautiful.

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I type. Therefore I am.