Colt 1903 Pocket 'Hammerless' Project

[kip595]

As some of y'all know I tend to collect shooters as well as hold an affinity for the old pocket guns of various brands and calibers. In recent years in the pursuit of both of these aims I've developed what my fiancee calls a 'minor obsession' with giving rough Colt Pocket autos especially as much of a new lease on life as possible, be it through cosmetic work, mechanical fixes, or a combination thereof. I like to work with rough ones that have little to no value to the high end collector and do as much as I can to make them reliable, safe, good looking as possible, and of course fun.

Recently through the kindness and dealings of another forum member, Ozark Marine; I was able to take on a new such project with a 1912 .32 that was pretty much fully in the white on the slide and starting to pit pretty gravelly on the frame. Mechanically solid I still gave everything a thorough once over for safety and then used a blend of cold-hot-cold formulas I've come up with over time that leave whatever stampings are left intact and give a dark semi-gloss not too dissimilar to the post-war S&W satin finish. It holds up fairly well when wiped down with CLP Collector's formula about once a year or so and I've no qualms or worries about losing the finish if/when I take them to the range. I've included before and after pics below to go with the 1913 .380 (shown with the .32 before any work) I found in similar condition some years ago.

Hope this amuses everyone, and if not, happy shooting to you anyway!

*Forgive the red blots on the last 3 of the SN, old habit.

[Ozark Marine]

Look's 110% better!!
You do nice refinishing.

[Bruce51]

Nice job! Thank you for sharing.

Bruce

[Hair Trigger]

Looks really good. Those ivory (?) grips make it look like something Capone might have had in his pocket.

I have a 1943-mfg. Govt. Issue 1903 ("US PROPERTY" stamp) that my stepdad carried during WWII. Still has a very nice condition blued finish, only minor wear at the muzzle. I love shooting it, very smooth gun, but what else would you expect from a Browning design? He also gave me the original owner's manual for it.

[kip595]

Looks really good. Those ivory (?) grips make it look like something Capone might have had in his pocket.

Funny you mention those; I actually remembered something I read from a book on John Wayne's years when they switched his pictures to color about how he didn't like the way the early 'plastic' grips the studios usually put on SAAs to save money didn't look authentic to him. So I took the plain white resins that it came with and saturated them down in a solution of tea, coffee, and tobacco boiled in water to get that old ivory look, which is apparently pretty close to what they used to do for the old "Oat Operas". Takes some time and smells like an English tea shop in the smoking days, but comes out looking pretty decent.

Great to hear about you having your step-dad's; these old beauties ought to be cherished and enjoyed just as much as 1911s and Registered Magnums IMHO.

[Ozark Marine]

Yours is a beautiful example of a M 1903 Hair Trigger.
And your family history of being carried by your stepdad in WW2, U.S. Property marked and original owners manual you are a very fortunate man to be the owner of that historic Colt.

Was your stepdad SAS or a officer? Either way you must be proud of his service.
Take good care of that Colt. Thanks for sharing it here.

[Hair Trigger]

Originally Posted by Ozark Marine

Was your stepdad SAS or a officer? Either way you must be proud of his service.
Take good care of that Colt. Thanks for sharing it here.

He was a Technical Sergeant, same as Sgt 1st Class in today's Army, and was Quartermaster in a headquarters company. His company CO got the pistol for him, as his duties involved carrying cash and documents, but I don't know much more detail than that. I didn't know he had the pistol until about 6 months before he passed, over 16 years ago. He didn't talk much about his service, like many WWII vets, and postwar he became a CPA until he retired in the early '80s.

[Ozark Marine]

If I were you I'd get that M 1903 lettered by Colt. That will tell you the complete history of that gun from when it was built to how many in the shipment and who it was shipped to. Cost around $75-$100.00 and takes about 3-6 months.
Also there is a Army ordnance historian service that would research the serial number and supply you with the information of which Officer or enlisted man signed for that weapon with date and unit info.
I can't remember the Army unit but I do believe it is in Illinois.
It is a very special piece of Colt and United States history.

[Hair Trigger]

Originally Posted by Ozark Marine

If I were you I'd get that M 1903 lettered by Colt. That will tell you the complete history of that gun from when it was built to how many in the shipment and who it was shipped to. Cost around $75-$100.00 and takes about 3-6 months.
Also there is a Army ordnance historian service that would research the serial number and supply you with the information of which Officer or enlisted man signed for that weapon with date and unit info.
I can't remember the Army unit but I do believe it is in Illinois.
It is a very special piece of Colt and United States history.

It would be nice to have the complete paper trail on the pistol, I'll look into it. I did look on a website (don't remember which, was right after I got the pistol) that listed Colt SN#'s by model, and found the manufacture date to be in 1943. That fits pretty well, he served the entire war, having joined the Army in 1938, when he was 18. That also means he made rank fairly rapidly, since he was E-7 by 1944. Wartime promotions, I think, were based a lot on need and performance. He stayed in until 1946, as he was also involved in the Occupation for a short while, but then separated after returning to the US (from Germany). Went to college on the GI Bill.

Sorry to divert Kip595's thread. Have you any more resurrections to show us? I still like the "gangsta look" of those off-white grips.

[Ozark Marine]

Have you fired it?

EDIT: yeah sorry Kip, I get carried away talking about M 1903's.

[kip595]

No worries at all fellas, paraphrase John Lennon's quote about Chuck Berry and Rock'n'Roll, if it didn't already have a title might as well call this thread a celebration of the Colt '03s!

[Hair Trigger]

Originally Posted by Ozark Marine

Have you fired it?

Quite a bit, I don't own safe queens. I tried it as a CC for a short while, but FMJ is all it likes, JHP's don't feed well in it and you get quite a bit of feed malfunction clearance practice with JHP's. I don't reload for it, just pick up a box of cheap FMJ every now and then, and they work fine for punching paper. I love how it shoots, very smooth, low recoil. I used it to teach my daughters how to shoot a semi after moving them up from a .22 rimfire.

I do keep it clean and in a lined box and am very careful with the finish when I take it to the range. It does have a significant value apart from the personal history. Blued military issues are more rare than the Parkerized finish.

[kip595]

I actually did use the .380 for a CCW for a while; although it doesn't like traditional JHPs it always fed Hornady 90 gr. FTX without a problem.

These days I mostly stick to the PPK or a S&W .38/357 for personal carry.

Those military blues are few and far between, so once again congrats on a beautiful firearm and piece of family history.

[chief38]

I have a soft spot for those Colt Pocket Pistols and own a bunch in .25, .32 and .380. Some are almost 100 years old and still shoot and function like new. It still amazes me how good the triggers and accuracy are considering these are not meant to be "target guns".

I understand that the new recent production (reproduction) are very nicely made but could NOT bring myself to spend that much on a Repro. when for similar or less money I can get the Real McCoy. The real ones in great original condition are still out there if you look hard enough.

[OLDSTER]

Nice job on the 1912. Please post "after " photos on the 1913. I have a similar passion of bringing back-from-the-dead early "pre-war" pocket/vest pistols. Currently trying to re-vitalize a 1921 Ortgies .25

[kip595]

I'll try and clean up and post some pics of the '13 soon, the above is technically an 'after' of the original treatment and cleaning I gave it some years ago. When it first came to me the finish was so far gone the pawnshop salesman thought it was an early 'stainless' finish and it still had the original early logo grips. The grips were so worn, and starting to develop hairline cracks around the grip screw, that I took them off to prevent any further damage and put the walnuts on. It's actually been one of the most reliable and best-shooting .380s I've owned to date, and easy to call a favorite in my humble collection.

[ovrbrdonammo]

Looks good ! I know you can find some grips for under a hundo,please