When I took a job as a security guard way back in the day, I was knighted as an "armed guard" based on the training I got from saying I'd fired a gun before. I was issued a Colt Official Police with fake pearl grips. I thought that gun was COOL. Of course I had never handled a handgun before, much less fired one. Praise the Lord I never had to fire that one either. Barney Fife knew more about what he was doing than I did, but they gave me more bullets. In a couple of years, I managed to not shoot myself or anyone else.

Anyway, I've had sort of a soft spot for Colt OP's since then and have owned a couple, three of them over the years. None currently...at least until yesterday.

Wife and I stopped by the LGS and I set up camp in front of the used revolver case, and looked to see what was new. Didn't notice anything at first, but I saw a set of grips that looked interesting. I could tell they were "plastic" of some kind. Then I saw they were attached to a Colt Official Police with what looked like a 6" barrel, no..it's not that long, but it's not a 4"...it's a 5". I don't think I've ever seen a 5" OP before.

I asked to see it. The grips were "Coltwood" a plastic that Colt used during the war, and afterward for a few years. The two interlocking screws on the right side told me it was fairly old, but I couldn't remember how old. The gun shop guy took it and measured the barrel...yep 5", then he checked "the book" (website actually). 1947 or 48.

The gun looked to have never been fired. No marks at all on the recoil shield. The only thing in the chambers or the barrel looked to be dust. No turn line. Even the Coltwood grips looked new.

A little rust on the hammer, the trigger was "checkered" I guess that's the right word. Mechanically it was dead on. Timing, lock-up, everything.

Tagged at just under $700.00. And I mean JUST under. I asked if they could do any better? No, sorry. It literally just came in two days ago. It just hit the shelf this morning. I hem and haw...do I really want it? No box or papers. Is it too nice to shoot? Is it too much? When was the last time you saw one like it? I don't know? When do you expect to see on like it for less? That was easy...never.

Lousy pictures before it was hauled off to lay-a-way purgatory.





I will probably shoot it at least a few times to make sure it works.

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John 3:16 .

My first issued revolver was a Colt OP in ‘68 and I was forced to use it. Fast forward to 1974, another OIS w/my issued Colt Detective Special and I was lucky enough to walk away from both unscathed. My first off-duty was a Colt Cobra that I still have today.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

I have a 4" OP that I bought back in the 80s at a gun show for $125 OTD. It dates to 1951 by serial # and is very solid mechanically. It has had a bit of cold blue touch up and the plastic "Coltwood" grips were shrunken and loose. I replaced them with imitation ivory. Lockup and timing are perfect but I consider the Colt action inferior to the S&W so I just shoot it occasionally with my standard pressure cast bullet handloads.

I have a 6” Official Police, early 1950’s vintage, that I got from a friend of my Dad. It has some cosmetic flaws, but it’s great mechanically. Very fun to shoot.

My old partner started his career as a State Trooper, coming to the county after he retired from PSP. His issue service revolver as a new Trooper was a 6” Official Police. When he retired from our unit, closing a 50 year career in law enforcement, I tracked down a near mint 6” Official Police. Our unit presented it to him on his last day, in a nice wooden case with a plaque. I told him that since he got a Official Police at the start of his career I figured he should get one at the end.

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Wheel guns are real guns.

I picked up a very nice 1955 4 inch from my buddy’s father’s estate. He gifted it to me for helping him organize and sell his dads collection (a fair number of which I bought myself). I had these grips to replace some funky oversized grips that were on it. It shoots great.

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I will have to check the date on this one but picked it up for $400, but like the SWs….the days of $400 model 10s are long gone.

Back in the 1980s, Handloader Magazine did a three-issue article on the 38 Special. It was written by one of the real authorities in the field, Ken Waters. He used, I think, four different revolvers each with a different barrel length. It was a very exhaustive project.
The 6"revolver was a Colt Official Police. Basically, it was an Officers Model Target without the target sights. That particular revolver, throughout the entire test, was consistently the most accurate revolver of the lot. By that, I don't mean it shot the tightest single groups with every load, every time. But, it was at the top or near the top more often than any other revolver in the test.

Well done, and a great price, especially for the wonderful condition!

If memory serves, and at my age it is a Q, I believe I paid $85 for my off-duty Colt Cobra in 1968.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

I have a 1942 6"HB...not near as nice as yours...grips almost smooth in spots, still shoots good...yours is a real beauty. Cool gun

The Official Police, and its predecessor, the Army Special are very nice revolvers. That five inch .38 you found is a beauty!! I'd have sprung for it at that price in a heartbeat.

I have a five-inch barrel Colt OP. This one was manufactured in 1932. Note the half-moon front sight blade versus your cut version. These are truly fine revolvers and I hope you enjoy yours as much as I imagine you will!

Bryan

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Ordnung muss sein
SWHF #789

I also have a 5" OP. However, mine is a 1930s .32-20. It is a great shooter.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I have a 5” also. Picked it up about a year ago. Only bidder, so I got it at $499. I’ve had 4 OPs thru the years, this one is staying with me tho. I believe it’s 1957 vintage.
The 5” is sweet. All my past ones were 4 or 6.

I’m a Smith & Wesson collector, appearances to the contrary.
I went a little Official Police crazy a couple decades ago, almost all of these have been converted to S&W revolvers through sales and trades. I had the 5” OP on the right in the middle photo on my table at the Lakeland gun show a couple of weeks ago and didn’t get any interest in it. I kept a couple, mostly .22’s. It’s a fine revolver but it’s no Military and Police…



Regards,

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turnerriver

One of my EDC is a 1968 Colt Cobra that used by a local police officer back in the day as his off duty gun. It was one of 4 sent to a local gun store - now closed - that catered to police sales. They also had a shipment of Pythons at the same time. I got it when my FFL got the estate to sell off. Missed out on the Python but grabbed the Cobra at a good price.

I go back and forth between my 442 and Cobra for pocket carry. And currently a 3” 36 due to a hand injury but hoping this week to get the all clear to go back to the lightweights