My wife's uncle Mike gave me this gun yesterday. He thought that I might appreciate it. He was right. I love it.
The 1962 Colt Trooper .357 originally belonged to my wife's great uncle, William Strader of the West Virginia State Police from 1951 through the early '70s. He carried this on duty and also later when as the second captain of the West Virginia University Department of Public Safety (police) in Morgantown, WV. I went to WVU in the 1990s. This might be the same revolver carried in the photo below, not sure.
Sometime thereafter, he traded the revolver to his brother / my wife's grandfather, Walter Strader, who had retired from the US Army after years of distinguished service and returned home to Buckhannon, WV. Walt carried this gun on his post-retirement gig as a security guard at West Virginia Wesleyan College. I never met William but had the pleasure of knowing Walt for nearly 20 years before he died in 2014.
Everything about this gun is cool. It was carried and used by two legitimate old-school badasses. Typical LEO gun bluing wear with freckling in the backstrap from exposure to rain or use as a handrest. You can see clearly on the right side, between the grip and cylinder, where a finger rested often enough to create a shiny spot with pitting. Left top grip panel is cut down, probably to clear a speed loader. Mechanically this is 100%. It has an excellent trigger. This era Trooper shares internals with the Colt Python. A permanent resident in my collection. Will shoot it a time or two.
Here's an article from 1964 or 1965 about the Strader brothers.
The 1962 Colt Trooper .357 originally belonged to my wife's great uncle, William Strader of the West Virginia State Police from 1951 through the early '70s. He carried this on duty and also later when as the second captain of the West Virginia University Department of Public Safety (police) in Morgantown, WV. I went to WVU in the 1990s. This might be the same revolver carried in the photo below, not sure.
Sometime thereafter, he traded the revolver to his brother / my wife's grandfather, Walter Strader, who had retired from the US Army after years of distinguished service and returned home to Buckhannon, WV. Walt carried this gun on his post-retirement gig as a security guard at West Virginia Wesleyan College. I never met William but had the pleasure of knowing Walt for nearly 20 years before he died in 2014.
Everything about this gun is cool. It was carried and used by two legitimate old-school badasses. Typical LEO gun bluing wear with freckling in the backstrap from exposure to rain or use as a handrest. You can see clearly on the right side, between the grip and cylinder, where a finger rested often enough to create a shiny spot with pitting. Left top grip panel is cut down, probably to clear a speed loader. Mechanically this is 100%. It has an excellent trigger. This era Trooper shares internals with the Colt Python. A permanent resident in my collection. Will shoot it a time or two.
Here's an article from 1964 or 1965 about the Strader brothers.
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