I've been looking for one for a while. They aren't rare, but the ones I came across were either buffed and pitted and reblued, or really nice and carrying a price tag to match. This one has plenty of honest wear, but the markings are sharp and I think the finish is worn but original. I suspect the grips are from a later model, and I'm sure the mag is a repro, but the price was right so here it is:





Chambering is, of course, the mighty "Calibre .32 Rimless Smokeless".



The serial number dates it to 1913, the beginning of Woodrow Wilson's presidency.

The early ones had a separate bushing, ala the 1911.



The prancing pony is still sharp.



With its Belgian cousin. The family resemblance is pretty obvious.



I haven't shot it yet, and I hope my 56 year old eyes are compatible with the 102 year old sights.

It really feels good in the hand, and while its "big for a .32" that doesn't bother me. It makes me feel like Bogie at the end of Casablanca, and that counts for something.

Anyone else a fan?

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

You found your self a nice one! Looks well taken care of for the age.
As you may know I recently received a slightly newer version of the same pistol (1944) and I agree that it fits the hand well and is a handsome pistol. I'm looking forward to shooting mine soon. Bob

One day, the universe will align, unicorns will dance on rainbows, and I will wind up in the same dimension at the same time as one of each is for sale. And they will be mine!!!!

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James L. "Jim" Rhiner

Yeah, I've got one of them in a 38 auto that I bought back in 1979 for $85. That was a lot of money back then, so I had to think about it before I made the purchase.

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Dr. B

If the new Colt wasn't $1500, I'd buy a new model to shoot. The darned things are so accurate it is incredible.

Don't be fooled, the european loading of the .32 ACP is good enough to use as a carry piece. It will kill far more quickly than you would care to imagine.The Buffalo Bore 73-grain +p load for the cartridge will penetrate a skull or breastbone with consummate ease and kill a human rather quickly.

Bullet placement and penetration from the old 1903 Model with new 73-grain +p Buffalo Bore will "settle somone's hash"... right now!

I have it's tired younger brother in .380 from 1927. Great pistol to hold while watching gangster vs G man or old Bogie movies.

I had one years ago. It shot fine. Wish I still had it!

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I have it's little brother Model N .25 in original box.

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Back to back World War Champs.

I've had a 1908 for years. Same pistol but in 380. They are great fun to shoot once you get used to the tiny sights.

Very nice old Colt!

The magazines for the earliest pocket autos differed in several respects
from the later "2-tone" and late full-blue models that everyone is familiar with. If you could please post some detailed photos of your mag, I can probably tell you if it is an early original. Especially need to see pics of both sides, the bottom of both sides in detail, and the magazine feed lips and follower.

These are fantastic pistols. I wouldn't trust the new Colt repros to be anywhere near as totally reliable and accurate as even a worn original.
I used a .380 as my CCW for 18 years, and have shot thousands of handloads with LRN through several of them. I literally have never had one malfunction. Ever.

Good luck with your gat -- I am properly envious!

John

I love mine.... You will find it to be quite accurate and a joy to shoot. One of JMB's finest renditions IMHO. Don't let people tell you the .32 acp is worthless. Nobody I know would want to stand in front of one.

Nice! My all time favorite cc semi auto. I've been hawking for a 380 but the prices are a bit steep.

Last week was the first time I handled one. Nice gun...for its time. This example was in about the same condition as yours. After holding it I thought 2 things. 1) how big people's pockets must have been back then. Today a pocket gun is half the size and still just barely fits. 2) people had tiny infant hands. I couldn't reliability grip the gun and disengage the grip safety. The grip was sooooo thin. I thought about picking it up but I'm beginning to think my days of surplus and just old guns in general collecting is coming to an end. I had this feeling that it would sit around for a while while I regretted the monetary spending and traded it towards something else.

Actually, more like Bogie in "Key Largo" .

Mine shipped on April 30, 1917, shortly after our entry into the war, to a hardware store in Milwaukie. There is no bluing left, but no trace of abrasion or corrosion either. It must have just rubbed off over decades of carry. I'd love to know this gun's story.

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I'm a fan.
I've got a 1903 .32 with a well worn finish and a 1908 .380 that's been refinished. Got both of them at decent prices and they're both great shooters.
The Pocket Hammerless Model M is one of those classic guns that you just can't help but like.

Colt is building them again (2500 of them) the price is steep, but they are "Parkerized" and are rollmarked as "US Army Issue".

If you can afford the $1500.00 price tag, you'd best get one while you can.

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEET pistol buddy!~!

Congrats on the 1903!!

This website by far has the best info around about the 1903 Model M's: Colt Automatic Pistol and Revolver Information - 18 years of Service to Colt Firearms Collectors

PDF's of the original instruction sheets are also available for download.

Don't waste your time with the aftermarket magazines, the general consensus on the Colt forum from people with experience with them is most of the time they don't work well, and why used Colt magazines for these guns are running in the $100.00 neighborhood.

This is my 1903 .32acp - 1918 type III, with it's big brother Series '70 Gold cup:

I put those later style Colt emblem aftermarket wood grips on it to preserve the original black hard rubber grips, which are in excellent shape, as is the gun itself:

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Per Gunhacker:

"Don't waste your time with the aftermarket magazines, the general consensus on the Colt forum from people with experience with them is most of the time they don't work well, and why used Colt magazines for these guns are running in the $100.00 neighborhood."

What he said! It's almost unheard-of for aftermarket mags to work.
John

I'm still looking. They don't grow on trees ya know.
I got a great Mexican charro style holster and belt for one, but no pistola....yet.

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Halfway and one more step

Congratulations on your new acquisition. I think the 1903 .32 auto is the nicest .32 auto ever made. I have one and a 1908 .25 auto. When I get rich I will get a 1908 in .380. Larry

sigp if I'm not mistaken your early model with the barrel bushing has
a 4" barrel. The barrel length was reduced to 3 3/4" in later versions.
I've got a pretty decent model 03 .32 auto that I bought around 15 yrs
ago when prices were still pretty reasonable. Prices for these things
just keep climbing. I'd like to have one in .380 but I don't expect to
ever find one at any reasonable price.

Would love one to go with my Tommy gun, keep'n an eye out. Just curious, what should I expect to pay for a shooter?

I like mine a lot. I have two. This one's from 1916

Been using it for CCW lately. Doubt if I need more gun, really...



This is my nicer one from 1909

I recommend a set of aftermarket grips if you're going to shoot it as the original rubber ones can be fragile

Nice Colt! I am a lifelong fan; my Dad's off duty was the similar Colt 1908 Pocket in .380ACP. He had no idea how old it was, he purchased it used in the early 60's and carried it until retirement. I have it now, it is worn and pitted (Dad is a Marine but not a gun guy) and shoot it once and a while. Sometimes I consider carrying it out to dinner.

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A shooter with little finish and correct magazine I think you would be looking at around 400.00ish..... Maybe a bit less if you spend time looking. This is based on what I have been seeing on GB recently. Prices are all over the place and going up it seems. Be patient and you may find a nice one locally for around that price.

This is mine. A WW II gun, Parkerized and stamped US Property. It has BNP markings on the barrel so apparently it went to Britain. Came with the original cardboard box, cleaning rod and spare magazine still in the wrapper. Pricey; I haven't fired it much.

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I got mine from my mother. When she was about 93 years old she realized that she couldn't remember how it worked. I showed her but her hands were too weak. So she wanted me to give it to my son, which I might do someday. . .
Anyway, it's in great shape and when I take it out and "limber it up some", I remember my mom quite well. She called it her "38".

Here's my 03. Some loss and freckling of the blue finish but it's
original. I've had this old Hunter brand holster longer than the Colt but
they look like they belong together.

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It just tickles me how whenever a post about these 1903's is done somewhere, it always attracts a lot of posts from people that either have one or want one... amazing how much staying power these little pistols have maintained.

Too bad Colt's reintroduction is a pricey rendition of a government issue "officers gun", instead of a reasonably priced, humble, John Q. Public edition, otherwise I'd snap one of the new ones up in a second, and give my original a chance for an occasional rest... I'd feel a lot better about sending a Buffalo Bore load down range from a new gun than out of one from 1918, which is why I've yet to do so.

Although, it is rumored that after the parkerized military version, they plan to produce a blued version... hopefully, less expensive. I think with the original military versions being so rare, they decided to make these in equally low numbers to ensure that it doesn't affect the premium on the originals.

I'm hoping the opposite will occur with the blued commercial model being so "common".

Sigh... back from dreamland, I keep forgetting... I'm in California, no chance in getting any new issue of a semi-auto pistol due to our current laws.

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Have always admired the Colt Pocket Pistols. Were I more wealthy, I'd like to build a stable of early 1900's pocket pistols.
As I only have a Remington M51 .380 (c.1919), I'd like to add a Colt and a Savage.

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Ret'd LEO
SWCA #2275

For what it's worth, at one time I had a dozen 1903s. The aftermarket mags worked in two of them, and were jam-o-matics in 10 of them.

Congratulations. A timeless, elegant weapon. Hope to have one myself someday.

"Although, it is rumored that after the parkerized military version, they plan to produce a blued version... hopefully, less expensive. I think with the original military versions being so rare, they decided to make these in equally low numbers to ensure that it doesn't affect the premium on the originals.

I'm hoping the opposite will occur with the blued commercial model being so "common"

Colt did something similar with their WW1 Repro 1911's, which were very well detailed -- proper inspector's stamps throughout, very nicely fit and finished. They started with a limited edition of between 3,000 and 4,000 that were Carbona blued, and very handsome indeed. They omitted one step that the originals had, which significantly impacted their appearance vs the originals. They did not polish the slide flats after roll-marking, which would have eliminated the "puddled-up" metal raised around the lettering by the stamping process, as was done on the originals. That, and their "diamond" grips weren't nearly authentic. Otherwise, they did quite well.

They then introduced another run of them, this time in the less-expensive, modern hot blue, which they justified by calling them repros of the late-war "Black Army's." The Black Army 1911's (original)
were not hot-blued, but had significantly less metal polishing to hurry production due to wartime needs.

Colt does not have the facilities to do their original, old finishes, such as furnace blue, etc. They had to contract out the "Carbona" blue repros to a restoration shop for final finish. That had to have raised the expense.

When I saw they chose to produce this repro as a Parkerized "Military Issue" pistol, I figured that simplified their production and lowered costs significantly. I'm guessing a run of blue ones will follow. Hopefully, they will be carbona blue, but if so, they won't be cheaper. Also, the WW1 repros did not have anything like the exquisite polish of the Colt pocket autos. If they do the blue ones right, the extra polish is going to cost.

At first, I couldn't figure out why they chose to do the .32 ACP first, as people really want the .380's. (IIRC, there were 535,000 orig. .32's made, vs. c. 130,000 .380's.) Then it hit me: Sell all the .32's you can, and THEN make a run of .380's! If they offered .380's at first, I fear they'd likely sell only a few .32's.

I don't see these pistols doing much to affect demand/price for the originals, myself. The repros had no effect on the original WW1 1911's.
The price is going to be high enough to preclude all but enthusiasts from buying them. Personally, I'll stick to the originals, although these may be very nice pistols, indeed!
John

Yep... I agree with your assessment of the "repro" 1903's, it sure does make sense to do the .32 acp's first, when one thinks of the reason you gave.

If they were ever to become more reasonably priced, and I'm relocated out of CA to some where that doesn't require new semi-auto pistols to micro engrave their S/N's on fired cases, I would want a new one, as I've become apprehensive about how much longer my 1918 produced 1903 is going to hold up, with it's 100th anniversary only a few years away.

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Late to the party, but congrats!

They are cool "little" guns and would love to own one someday.

I am a fan.

The newly manufactured 1903's are actually not made by Colt's. They are manufactured in Pennsylvania by US Armament Corp. I was on the waiting list to get one but decided against doing so. For that amount of money I will remain happy with the one I have or even perhaps get another original. I would have gone to bat at $1K, but even then I am getting old enough that I may not live long enough to see an appreciation in value. And I probably would have taken it out to shoot it which would have decreased the value to the collectors. They do look nice, but I am certain that matching the quality of the old originals has proven to be quite a task.

I have one of each and never fired either one...the 32 is unfired, so I probably never will shoot that one. I have to say one thing about John Browning...the cat must have had magnificent eyesight, because every handgun he designed had those tiny little micro sights. Maybe the old saying, "aim small, miss small" was on his mind. And maybe he really did make the sights this way...everyone that does shoot one of these pistols always remarks about how accurate they are.

Edit: There is one other thing that everyone remarks about these pistols...how difficult they are to put back together if you completely dissassemble one.

One of my 1903's, this one manufactured in 1927.

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- Change it back -

A very neat pistol from another age. One can never have too many. A great find. Sigp220.45 as an interesting side note, my first one came from Frank's a long time ago.

I picked up a 3rd model lately with the original factory, two toned magazine. I also purchased two replacement magazines from US Armaments which is the company making the modern reproduction of the 1903. The magazines do not look like the factory Colt but they lock in and load just fine. I have no complaints about them especially at the $25 price tag. As as aside, their website checkout would not work for me and I had to make a phone call to order. Also the bottom of the mags are not stamped with the caliber or Colt like they say they are so that may put some people off.

Andrew

I can attest to that. I've had mine apart a couple of times and reassembling one is a real pain.

Yep, a while back {about a year and a half or so} somebody posted a link on here that was a really good tutorial about reassembly....mine would still be in a box apart if not for that!!!!

Nice pistols! The 1903/08 is a classic for sure. Everyone should at least get to fire one.
The very first one I bought was in the late 60's. A 32cal in about 75% condition from a local shop. The price was $29.95. I flirted at the time with buying the like new Savage 32 w/thebox next to it for the same price but figured the Colt was the better of the two.

Lots of them since have come and gone. The last one was a 1908/380 someone heavily polished and reblued but it had nice ivory grips on it. Bought it right, repolished it back to square, engraved & inlayed it.
Sold that one too.
I had a problem shooting the '03s the last few years,,not gripping them tight enough to disengage the grip safety. These and a couple other pocket pistols like the FNs.
So it's probably just as well I don't have one and try to work with it.

Yes they can be a bear to re-assemble if you don't know the procedure.

..a used 1903 from an old time gun shop in Illinois. I was working while Uncle Sam took his time inducting me into his Army. I also had a Ruger Standard model 22 LR. I tried shooting tin cans off fence posts at 15 yds. with the 32 like I did with the Ruger. I don't think I hit a can and quickly traded it off. We all tend to think ammo was cheap back then but it wasn't compared to wages at the time.

Now that I'm an OF with money I have a pristine 1903 and a shooter one also. I have also acquired a nickel 1908 that came with MOP stocks. If you get one with pearl stocks I suggest not using them while shooting. Mine were very fragile and flaked off lots of pearl.

Oh ...and the sights haven't gotten easier to see.

I watch old 30s-40s gangster movies and 1903s are quite common. Bogart, Robinson and Ladd were little fellas and 1903s fit their hands.

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Bob.
SWCA 1821

I finally got to the range to try this old-timer out.

I did ok once I got used to the tiny sights. The target was provided by my buddy and I was having a hard time grouping on the bug monster, so I dialed in on the moon and let fly at 25 yards, the max distance on the indoor range.



It was a joy to shoot. No malfunctions at all in 50 rounds of Fiocchi ball, and the recoil was slight to the point of being non-existent.

Its a keeper.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

Here is a breath of life to the Colt 1903 thread.
One of mine in its proper box:
[IMG][/IMG]

Twins:
yes I am blessed with two of them virtually brand new 1903s in their original numbered factory boxes. The one on the left was made in 1919 and the one on the right in 1921. I have the original Bill Of Sale for the one on the left to a French Canadian police officer and I also have his pistol permit in French.
Jim

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