Recently acquired a .357 Trooper Mark III off of a gentlemen that was selling off a few pieces of his collection. I don't know how the pictures are going to show, but I'd say that the metal is in 95% + condition with the grips being near that.

The cool thing about this one is that it was one of the very early run production guns as the serial number dates it to 1969. It also has the recessed cylinder that is typically seen on S&W magnums, and not the fenced cylinder of most later Colts.

I just shot it, and boy is it a hoot. The single action trigger break on it is as good as a factory Smith. The double action trigger though, well not so much. It is heavy and has noticeable stages through the full pull. Accuracy however is superb, and I shot this as well if not a little better than I do the vast majority of my other revolvers. That might be due to having to concentrate A LOT on that trigger.

One thing that puzzles me though, and hopefully some of you can chime in. This revolver has a very nicely inscribed "387" about a half inch to the 7 O'Clock of the thumb piece. It is very faint, but looks professionally done. You may be able to just barely pick it up on the first photo. Anybody know what this means?

Thanks for looking and any input on the above question.

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Police Inventory Number ??

Congrats on the purchase. The Trooper MKIII of the '70s had a really nice blue job, probably the best of the MKIII line up. I had a '75 and it was comparable to a Python, but not quite.

All Colts have a great SA breaks, but the V springs are known to stack in DA and part of the design. A proper action job can eliminate about 90% of it without going to extremes and redesigning the mechanics. The MKIII action uses a coil mainspring though and results in an overly heavy DA pull. I believe they may make lightened aftermarket ones but not sure. I gave up on the MKIII design long ago in favor of strictly v springs.

Glad to hear yours is very accurate. I wasn't impressed with mine. You must have a very low serial number as they came out in '69 too IIRC. It is anyone's guess to the number inscribed on the side plate. Not factory, that's for sure. Take your best guess. Could be something to do with an agency issue. They range from professional looking to down right crude.

I have a Detective that has a crude electro pencil number C4 on the front grip strap, it was an old LEO piece. Then above the C4 someone etched in very small AJ or something. Luckily it's on the grip strap and this gun is an honest carry piece anyway.

Doesn't affect function though so enjoy your gun.

Very Nice! I bought a new 6" in 72, IIRC. Mine had the fenced type cylinder you mention. I didn't realize till your post that the earlier MK IIIs had the recessed chambers like S&Ws. Mine had an excellent SA trigger. I recall the DA was smooth, but so heavy as to be almost unusable for me.

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NRA Life, COTEP 640

I had one in satin nickel back in the my younger days. It went to finance whatever firearm it was caught my fancy next. I did a lot of trading back then. Yours looks great.

Neat revolvers that look similar to the Model 19 but are actually closer to the 586 in size.
Colt made the same gun chambered in .22lr but they dont pop up for sale very often.

I picked one up years ago from the widow of a collector. She had so many guns she had packaged them into "lots" of five guns. I had to buy all five just to get this one.

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I picked up this 1973 6" about a month ago. I had it out to the range for the first time just a few days ago.



I did a side by side comparison shooting it against my 6" Model 19-4 with ammo ranging from .38 wadcutters to full house magnums. Sorry to tell ya boys, but the Colt won.

I was issued one just like that as a uniformed LEO in the late 1970's.
I could shoot it OK, but never liked the double action trigger pull; I much referred the S&W action.
My department later switched to the S&W Model 66.

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John

I have 2 troopers, and I have always liked them, my old 6" has seen a lot of use but the 4" has stayed in the box for the most part.

I hope the OP enjoys theirs and congrats on adding another wheel gun to the family

1970 , 4"with box and papers , 1974 6"

Very nice! I traded my brother out of this Trooper, and it has quickly become one of my favorites.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

I appreciate the replies and photos, means that I'm not alone on here . I've got a few other Colt's laying around that I'll eventually photograph, and probably share some of the pictures here. I've taken to photographing all of my stuff for insurance purposes lately, and with the ridiculous costs of Colt wheel guns nowadays I'd hate to miss documenting everything.

I do like fine Colts though, and admittedly probably like them more than Smiths. However, the astronomical prices for Colts means that I own a lot more Smiths. This Trooper MKIII fit my police revolver niche, and the price was right (about what I'd pay for a comparatively conditioned model 19-3).

I'm agreeing that the numbers might be a department marking, but the revolver shows no signs of having been reblued. There is a faint trace of holster wear, and the internals were near spotless when I pulled it apart.

I do kind of wish that mine was a 6", but maybe someday I'll win the lottery and add another to the stable (after the King Cobra and Diamondback).

We have one example of a Trooper Mk III here. Quite a fine revolver, but we would also love to have a 4" version.

Never had a Mk III, but I have a flock of the earlier Troopers and .357s. I guess the Mk IIIs are just too new-fangled for me. Just saw a fairly nice .357 with Gen 1 target grips at the gun show this morning - priced at $1400. Evidence I suppose that the prices are creeping toward those being brought by Pythons.

Only 357 magnum I own is a 1975 Colt Trooper MKIII. Haven't taken her out except a wipe down with silicone cloth. She's due for some fun time soon. Think I paid about $400 some years back and while not as pretty as the ones posted here she'll do for me. Back when ebay allowed selling gun parts I managed to snag most of the parts for a Colt Trooper MKIII. Almost brand new barrel,cylinder,trigger assembly and various pins,screws and springs. My brother who lives in New York wants the trooper real bad. But won't sell me his 586. Shame on him. Got too many toys he wants but cannot have up there. Told him to sell the house and move to a gun friendly state. Does he listen, nope just drives around in his huge motor home. Could take that $$$ and get a lot of S&W's and really have fun. Frank

My Trooper Mk III is in .22 Magnum with a 4" barrel. Although I do have a supply of .22 Magnum ammunition, the gun is not for casual shooting. The .22 Magnum ammunition is too expensive. It is a good gun for shooting rattlesnakes.

I have the Trooper's little brother, the Lawman. It is a good shooting revolver that will swallow any .357 load you care to use. Good holsters are a little hard to find. A purposeful gun belt is a requirement as the short barrel makes it "top heavy" and wimpy belts will let the butt twist away from the body.

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My brother owned and shot a 6" MkIII in 22rf as a Bullseye gun from the 70's thru into the 90's. He shot everything DA, even the slowfire . No mention of ever switching to a semiauto,,just liked the revolver. No complaints about the trigger pull, all stock springs. I did have to replace the trigger return spring once (torsion spring). It broke after umpteen thousand rounds.
I put an Aimpoint on it in the late 80's said he couldn't see the sights well anymore.
I couldn't hit anything with it as it was just too heavy! with all that hardware on it. It certainly held up well though.
It went somewhere after he quite Bullseye, but he still shoots DA most all the time, offhand of course,,even out at 100yds, Now w/our late Dads K22 from the 60s. No Aimpoint on the K22, I guess he over showin' me up.