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07-10-2020, 06:40 PM
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My First Colt
Picked this up today along with a Pre-Victory. It came in on consignment from a guy whose dad ran a liquor store in St. Louis back in the day. We're figuring this one spent a lot of time in his pocket or behind the counter. The serial is from 1951 and it's super tight. Otherwise, I know nothing about Colts. Can't wait to shoot this thing.
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22lrfan, 2ndshift, 31FordA, Absalom, andy52, Beemerguy53, bmcgilvray, browningcollector, CajunBass, CCantu357, chief38, Collects, crazyphil, daddio202, Darkenfast, ditrina, Eltioloco, Injunbro, Inusuit, Jack Flash, JayCeeNC, Jessie, JH1951, kmyers, krsmith58, Kurusu, ladder13, Lee Barner, LEO918, leonardocarrillo, Lewel, loknload, Low Country Man, Luvmine, MCorps0311, Moo Moo, moosedog, Mr Sten Man, Muddyboot, Muley Gil, NavySCPO, NYlakesider, Old Arkansawyer, Papaw, pawncop, Private Smith, reccpd101, Richard Simmons, RobertJ., Rock185, RoyS, RWPBR, sigp220.45, sipowicz, smitty_bs, Tadeus67, TeamPB, VaTom, vonn, Xfuzz |
07-10-2020, 06:58 PM
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Very nice! looks all orig....first, probably not last
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07-10-2020, 07:02 PM
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Very nice.
Unlike S&Ws, Colts seem to come and go for me. I always have one or two around, but their lives at my house are usually limited although the three in the safe will probably remain for a while.
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07-10-2020, 07:05 PM
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I don't own many colts either but I got this one from a former St. Louis city detective a few years ago.
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07-10-2020, 07:53 PM
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The early post-war years were strange ones. Colt used a variety of ejector rod styles; your gun has the oddly short one. They also use the Coltwood composite grips. Your wooden ones look original, but a 1951 vintage should have shipped with Coltwood unless it was special order.
My DS in .32 New Police (sold some years ago) was also from 1951. It came with the long ejector rod style, and the Coltwood, which clearly had experienced some shrinkage.
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07-10-2020, 08:34 PM
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Here's my first, a 1926 Police Positive Special in .38 Special. The 5" barrel was the attraction for me, I love the balance.
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07-10-2020, 11:44 PM
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You guys have some very nice Colts. Once in a while, one comes my way. I currently have a 3 5 7 model carried by an old lawman. It still looks pretty good since he had it refinished at some point.
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07-11-2020, 12:01 AM
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Your DS, if it dates from 1951, would be called the "Second Issue" by most Colt fanciers. However, some Colt collectors seem to have developed their own nomenclature for them to reflect minor changes. Also, the "Coltwood" plastic grips, not wood, would probably be correct at that time. Several years back, I bought a nice DS Second, except it had Coltwood grips which were not correct for its date (ca. 1960). I had no problem in swapping them for the correct checkered wood grips. I have to say that yours probably has an incorrect extractor rod and knob. A correct rod extends almost to the muzzle, and the knob is a different shape. See below for what it should look like. For my money, the DS (especilly the Second Issue) is the perfect snubby. Pre-war DSs in high condition can bring serious money.
Last edited by DWalt; 07-11-2020 at 12:08 AM.
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07-11-2020, 12:54 PM
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I figured the grips are wrong as they should be the Coltwood but I thought I read somewhere that the longer ejector rod may not have been ordered until later into the decade.
Either way, the size being between a K and a J Frame seems perfect and I’d been looking for a 38 to have around as another carry option or car gun. For $500 this one should do just nicely.
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07-11-2020, 01:21 PM
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Those are some fine examples of Colt pistols.
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07-11-2020, 01:51 PM
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Pretty nice finding that one. I like it. I can not tell for sure but it looks like a dual tone finish. Colt was already playing around with making guns a little cheaper post ww2 trying different finishes and grip materials. My first Colt is a 1949 Colt police Positive Special in nickel dual tone and Coltwood grips. The flutes,top of frame and trigger guard area are all dull while sides of frame are polished. Kind of tough to get good pictures of my shiney version.
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07-11-2020, 07:24 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LLOYD17
I figured the grips are wrong as they should be the Coltwood but I thought I read somewhere that the longer ejector rod may not have been ordered until later into the decade.
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I can't say that the early Second Issue DSs did or didn't have a long rod, but none of my references mention it ever having a short rod. I have not seen a Second Issue which had a short rod. I have a friend with a 1952 DS, and it has a long rod.
Last edited by DWalt; 07-11-2020 at 07:26 PM.
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07-11-2020, 07:52 PM
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Y'know, one of the many things I love about the Forum is that on a site devoted to Smith & Wesson firearms, we can have an informed, intelligent discussion about Colts as well... 
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07-11-2020, 11:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DWalt
I can't say that the early Second Issue DSs did or didn't have a long rod, but none of my references mention it ever having a short rod. I have not seen a Second Issue which had a short rod. I have a friend with a 1952 DS, and it has a long rod.
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I was unable to find anything definite on the short rod with the long knob (SRLK); even the Colt forum was a dry hole.
So I did a little research on auction sites. Fortunately there are always plenty of DS and Cobra of all vintages on offer.
Based on this, I am going to say that the OP's knob is original and that Colt used this style of knob on most, but not all Detective Specials and related models, as far as I can tell only in 1951 and 1952.
I found too many for this not to be the case, including one fancy documented presentation pre-Aircrewman from 1951, shipped to Joseph Lorch, which is fairly certain not to be a parts gun.
Last edited by Absalom; 07-11-2020 at 11:23 PM.
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07-12-2020, 12:53 AM
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Since I’ve never handled a Colt D Frame before, figured I’d compare it to my other pocket gun. Longer in the grip frame and definitely wider but an extra round of 38 spl will do that I guess. 6 38 spl vs 5 38 S&W is quite the argument, though I get a kick out of the idea of dropping a 120 year old S&W in the pocket. Once I get this DS out to the range it’ll definitely enter the EDC rotation.
Fun fact, the Lemonsqueezer’s barrel is about 3/16” longer than the DS.
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Last edited by LLOYD17; 07-12-2020 at 12:57 AM.
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07-12-2020, 06:11 AM
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My First Colt
Last edited by moralem; 07-12-2020 at 06:15 AM.
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07-12-2020, 07:51 AM
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Two ounces more than Chief's Special but you get the 6th shot. Ever so slightly bulkier but not noticeable with an OWB holster. The Dick Spl. is a great classic revolver - enjoy it!
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07-14-2020, 12:34 PM
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An addition in case anyone here is still interested 
A discussion on the Colt forum has convinced me that the style of ejector rod knob on the OP’s Detective Special was likely an attempt by Colt to standardized knobs across models. Shortly before, this type of knob had replaced the pre-war knob on the Official Police, and was also used on the Officers Models.
It likely didn’t last long on the DS and was replaced by the long rod with small knob due to complaints that the ejection stroke was too short. Just a hunch.
Last edited by Absalom; 07-14-2020 at 12:39 PM.
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07-14-2020, 01:21 PM
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I bought this off a retired NYPD Capt some 30 years ago.
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07-14-2020, 06:55 PM
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There are some very nice Colt snubies here,thanks for sharing them.
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07-14-2020, 07:17 PM
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For sure, the long extractor rod is better for improved fired case extraction with a snubby. As I have written earlier, I often shoot .38 Short Colt cartridges in my .38 Special snubbies. The case length is shorter (0.76") than .38 Special (1.15") and you get more complete extraction. I handload the .38 Short Colt to around .38 Special ballistics (125 grain lead bullets at +/- 900 ft/sec from a 2" barrel). Factory .38 SC loads are fairly weak, less than factory .38 S&W.
Last edited by DWalt; 07-14-2020 at 07:29 PM.
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08-06-2020, 04:30 PM
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She shoots great! This was at 15yds.
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08-07-2020, 01:20 AM
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Not my first Colt, but it is my first Detective Special. It is a 1964 model.
Larry
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08-07-2020, 05:30 AM
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I also have a second model DS. Also quite accurate. The action is silky smooth. Colt got these guns right.
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08-12-2020, 09:27 PM
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If you want, you could add your photos to the DS picture thread please.
Detective Special Picture Thread!
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08-14-2020, 01:05 AM
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Be careful. Det spl's are very addictive.
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