I did get to handle one of the newly manufactured Colt 1908's recently. I'm fond of these pocket pistols and have several in my collection. I've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new ones so I can take a look and get my hands on one. I was both impressed and, although not disappointed, unimpressed in some aspects. I must note I only handled one, did not get to try it out at the range.

The CNC machining was impressive, as was the quality and fit. The finish was pretty good by today's standards, but not nearly to the standards of a highly polished hand fitted Colt of days gone by. Reportedly, a number of these are going directly to Colt's custom shop for some hand work so I'll be interested to see how they turn out.

Here's a picture of a new one . . . not my picture.




Here's a picture of a 89 year old model 1903 from my collection . . . you can see a difference in the finish.

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They are neat little guns,haven't seen the new ones yet.I know an old Dr in his 80s that carries an original at times.Got a good look at it awhile back,made in '28,high 90s finish.Same guy keeps a nib Python in his filing cabinet

Are the new ones Parkerized?

What's a real world price? I read that Colt will list them at about $2500.

The new ones have a brushed finish. The old one pictured above looks polished.

If that's the case they surely won't be selling very many!

1908??

I know they brought back the 1903, which is a 32, but the '08 is a 380. They doing it now, also?

MSRP on the '03 was supposed to be 1200.

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I have one 1903 and the finish isn't the best but the high level of
polishing is still obvious. Critical dimensions of semi autos are hole
placement and size and their position relative to the machined working
surfaces and location of various other components of a receiver. CNC machining makes it possible to achieve a level of precision in slide
and receiver machining that was very difficult with the many different
set ups and seperate operations of the old ways. And faster and
cheaper. The reality is that Colt could afford to sell these for a lot less
than $1200 if they wanted to. I would guess that if the demand is
there the real world price will drift down to the 6-7 hundred area of
other high end .32s and .380s in time.

I haven't seen a new one yet, but judging from the photo, the finish looks (for lack of a better word) crude. That finish would not be acceptable to me on a $1200 pistol.

I was looking at one in the LGS. The man behind the counter didn't drop a specific number, just said it was expensive. Thought of the old saying about a Rolls-Royce, if you have to ask how much, you can't afford it. I handed it back.

Good catch . . . I double checked and it was a 1903 in .32 ACP. They're not making them in .380 (yet).

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These guns are not made by Colt. They are made for Colt.

For some reason, they are going for the WW2-looking parkerized finish....

It is not parkerized.
It is a brushed finish that has been blued.
Not as good as polished, but not bad either.

Your right. Colt licensed their manufacture to US Armament Corp.

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Not the least bit surprising. I read that when Colt scrapped
their old machinery and bought new CNC equipment to
continue making the 1911s in house their initial investment
was ten million dollars. I've never heard of US Armament
Corp. before but wouldn't be surprised to learn that like some
of the US companies that sell 1911s with their name on them
they are just importers, not manufacturers.

Here it is, specs etc.

US Armament | Colt Licensed 1903 "Hammerless" General Officer's Pocket Pistol

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