There, I said it.

A four letter word on the Smith and Wesson forum.

I was able to fulfill a bit of a 'gotta have' today.

Picked up this C O L T 1903 in the venerable .32 ACP cartridge.

I have always admired the total design of this hundred year old pistol.

It has quite the provenance also.

Got it home tonight and disassembled it. Ha. First time jitters. Came apart really smooth.
Re-assembly, not real smooth. But, I did it.

Holding this 'melted down' gat in my hand was quite an experience.

Light weight, smoothed over and comfortable to hold. And, no hammer bite.

Anyone help with the year of manufacturing?

Enjoy,

bdGreen

Tap image to enlarge.

1916. Good condition for that vintage. Nice find!

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1908 and 1917. One with no finish at all and the other reblued......

I’ve always thought those old Colts were some of the coolest handguns. Nice score OP

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Some Might Say.

I own one in each calibre, .25, .32 & .380. I didn't buy them for SD/HD, didn't buy them for competition, but simply because they are SUPER COOL! BTW I do shoot them and not one jam out of any of the three since I've owned them!

I have a bunch of magazines for each calibre and most are original two tone cyanid treated versions. Just love these little things!

bd- that holster is cool.

I also have all three, here are the .25 and the .380 couldn't find a picture of the .32.

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Jim
Many K and N Frames

An informal survey of hundreds of Heiser holsters shows that the Colt pocket autos are a close second to the Government Model in popularity.
Does your holster have a maker’s mark ?



Regards,

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turnerriver

The holster does not have a makers mark.
It, I suspect, is custom made and much newer than the Colt.

I would be interested in finding a period holster for my Colt. The one in your picture of the Heiser is very nice.

Someone went to a lot of trouble to fabricate the custom case and holster for this guy.
Happy to have it.

bdGreen

Love that pistol. The 1903 is the only pistol in my collection. Mine is from 1940. I do like yours. It is a early one.

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Grips on these little dudes are a constant debate....Grandpa left me mine , from 1912....I see all kinds of logos on the grips...lots of reproductions....I've been told to get some cheap ones for shooting,as the orig. ones break easily, not sure about that though....nice pistol

[QUOTE=bdGreen;140971883]There, I said it.

A four letter word on the Smith and Wesson forum.

I was able to fulfill a bit of a 'gotta have' today.

Picked up this C O L T 1903 in the venerable .32 ACP cartridge.

I have always admired the total design of this hundred year old pistol.

It has quite the provenance also.

Got it home tonight and disassembled it. Ha. First time jitters. Came apart really smooth.
Re-assembly, not real smooth. But, I did it.

Holding this 'melted down' gat in my hand was quite an experience.

Light weight, smoothed over and comfortable to hold. And, no hammer bite.

Anyone help with the year of manufacturing?

Enjoy,

bdGreen

Tap image to enlarge.



Why they could almost be Colt Model 1903 brothers. Your nice new .32 is less shabby than this one, also from 1916, but mine's first rate mechanically with a bright bore.

Even though in contrast to WW II, these did not see any use in WW I, many specimen from that decade sure were well used. Mine is a year later, from 1917.

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Model M s are a toss up with 1911s as my favorite JMB pistol design.

Sleek, thin, very accurate, and one of the most ergonomic handgun designs, even to this day. Boringly reliable too.

Below is my "1908" in .380 (they're really all 1903 Pocket Hammerless as far as Colt named them). Mine is a Type III, from 1926.

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Nice bd, great leather for it too. I don't have a 1903 but here's my only 1908. Nice to have a chance to show these "off brands" once in awhile.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

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Congratulations on your new-to-you Colt!
Take it out and shoot it - I think you will be quite impressed!
For me, the 1903 is one of the most accurate and reliable 'smaller' size handguns ever produced. They are also a pleasure to carry as they really do not get in the way or bog you down.
Here's one of mine from 1924:

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I don't like Colts all that much in general, but I sure am glad I clicked on this thread.

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Now go make God proud...

Bogie inspired me. A Model 1908 .380 from 1922 that shipped to Shapleigh Hardware in St. Louis.

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Guess I have gone gangster to.
Climbed out of the deer stand this am and made a
couple stops.
Picked this up:
Book shows 1922
.380 with what I think are genuine MOP stocks.

I will stray a wee bit here and offer up another .32 just not a Colt but a Savage from 1919.......

Another happy owner of the trio here. Wonderful guns and very natural pointers.

It's ok to say it out loud. Many of us have some Colts in the corral.....of course these 1903s are so classic that everyone should have one. My uncle left me this one.

Colt 1903 32 ACP (1).jpg

Colt 1903 32 ACP (2).jpg

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

Very nice Savage and very nice Colts! You guys never fail to make me smile with all of your expansive collections.

A friend of mine has one of these Savage pistols in 32 acp. It's not in as nice a shape as OP's but it's a nifty pistol. His father kept it in tool box at his work for years and when he passed away it went to my friend.

I had a 1903, also in 32 acp. Mine was considered a 3rd gen. made in 1941-ish if I remember correctly. had to sell it a decade ago to help finance a move but now that I'm settled for good...I'm gonna get me another one.

I only have one Colt...

Yes, fun thread. Colts don't do all that much for me, except maybe Single Action Armys, and I've dumped all of my Colts except a very old Colt Cobra that was a gift from a dear friend, but these pistols are top notch and I might acquire one again some day.

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Come and take it!!

It's funny. The original post mentioned "hammer bite".


My wife did not like to shoot my 1903 because it always bit her. I finally decided that what was happening was she was holding her grip so high on the gun that when the grip safety was squeezed in, the web between her thumb and the rest of her hand would go into the space between the top of the grip safety and the bottom of the grip safety indentation. Then when she relaxed her grip after shooting, the grip safety would come back and pinch the web of her hand.


I had never seen nor heard of that happening to anyone, before or since.

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I always take precautions

I'll see your Savage from 1919, and raise you a Savage from 1923 (1917 Model).

Also a 32 acp, they're intriguing little poppers too imo.

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You are among friends here. I have the trifecta.

If you really want to test your manual dexterity and patience, take apart and reassemble a 51 Remington.

Have four of these little jewels. Granddaughter likes the 32 cal. Have some info that I can email if anyone wants it.

A literary question.

A series of 'private detective' stories the the main charecter carried either a 1903, or, 1908 Colt Auto.

My wife and I read a boatload of them back in the early 90's, before internet.

I keep flashing on "Spenser for hire", but it doesn't feel right.

Anyone have any clues?

Rob

Philip Marlowe
"He always keeps a .32 ACP Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless pistol along with him while investigating different cases."

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μολὼν λαβέ

Well, iffen ur only gonna have 1 COLT, hard to find a better one to own!

Thanks for triggering those memories. In the Spenser novels I remember he usually carried a S&W 38 Chiefs Special. According to Wikipedia he also had a few other firearms, but no Colt 1903/1908:

In the 1970s and 1980s, Spenser usually carried a Smith & Wesson Model 36, .38 Special caliber, "Chief's Special" revolver. He would sometimes carry a .357 Magnum revolver that he usually kept in the top drawer of his office desk, for "just in case" situations. Spenser also had a small .32 caliber revolver that he carried as a "back up" weapon in the 1970s and early 1980s. In the novel The Widening Gyre, Spenser carried a .25 caliber semiautomatic as a back up, and had it in his hand when confronted by two assassins - killing both. In 1992, Spenser started regularly carrying a Browning Hi-Power 9mm semi-automatic pistol. In 2010, Spenser replaces the Browning with a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol. In 2012, he starts carrying the Chief's Special again while working, but also carries the .357 Magnum or the .40 caliber Smith & Wesson, in addition to the .38 Special, when anticipating a possible gunfight. On rare occasions, Spenser would use a rifle or shotgun when the situation required them. Spenser of the TV show carried a Beretta 92 9mm semi-automatic pistol. He also used a revolver, mostly in the first season.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

VERY enjoyable thread. BD those are some very good pictures

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Forum consigliere

Just bought this 1940 yesterday, probably close serial number, mine’s 541841

Screwed up badly a couple of months ago. LGS had a nice condition .380 on consignment for $700. Got them down to $650 and then passed on it. Excellent price in the condition it was in.

Colt HK S&W Glock Beretta etc etc etc. i like them all because i'm a GUN NUT! don't care who makes it if i like it i'm getting it -

Not dirty, just different. I posted back in July about NEVER having owned a Colt revolver, snd how I fixed that by buying a 1968 Trooper . 357 (aka poor man's Python) and received nothing but love and support!