Any Colt New Service Fans Out There Besides Me And Gizamo?

[RobertJ.]

This was originally .455 Ely, re-chambered to .45 Colt. Made in 1916. It's my favorite of my collection.

 

[Airedale]

I went to my local P&G to look at the model 1 1/2 I posted in the antique section. I left with this New Service.

It is a .45 Colt, the barrel measures just shy of 4 1/2" from the cylinder face. The rampant colt and the barrel markings are crisp. Serial number is: 3255xx. I believe that is 1926 production. The grips are, I believe, real mother of pearl. They have a good heft and don't seem to be any sort of plastic. I am going to replace the grips with some nice wooden checkered grips. I am not a fan of the pearls.
Dave

 

[therevjay]

I think they are really cool, particuarly with Bbl.s cut to snub length. But the frame size is waaay too big for my hands.

 

[Rusala1965]

My Colt New Service

Here is mine. Herrett grips and Duracoated. Originally chambered in 455 Ely and was converted to 45 Colt. I love this gun and it shoots like a dream.

 

[Babalooie]

Not a New Service, but recently purchased an Official Police in .38 Special on a whim. The trigger is like buttah. Serial # 539692 which, according to the Proofhouse, equals 1928. Has a rounded cylinder release.

 

[semperfi71]

Since Babalooie snuck in an Official Police I will add mine.

Four inch made about 1958 NIB when I bought it, with the box.

Five inch and a six inch.

The Official Police(s) are robust .38 Specials. Built on the same frame as the Python and of similar size to the S&W L-Frames. They supposedly can handle the .38-44 factory loads according to older Colt literature. I load them with 158 grain lead SWCs to about 1,000 fps. No pressure signs.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

1917 U.S. Property .45...pictured earlier in the thread but with new grips now.

 

[DHENRY]

1920, .45 Colt, 7-1/2" barrel.
Don

 

[Rusala1965]

Very, very, very nice.

Not a very good pic but it's my 38 Special Shooting Master made in 1928. I wish I could find one in 44 Special.

 

[Fishslayer]

My LGS has a lend/lease on consignment. It has some Brit marks on it. The .455 (something) has been partially erased and .45AR marked for caliber.

I was tempted. The finish is pretty darn posh for a .mil weapon. Lockup is rock solid. What put me off was the timing. The cylinder doesn't lock until the hammer is all the way cocked. Is this normal for Colt?

 

[Joni_Lynn]

The Colt has a 2 stage hand to rotate the cylinder into lock up and it doesn't acheive full lock up until the trigger is pulled. This is because the hand stay IN contact with the ratchet during firing. Check it on all 6 chambers both fully cocked and then also with the trigger pulled all the way back.

 

[Texas Star]

My LGS has a lend/lease on consignment. It has some Brit marks on it. The .455 (something) has been partially erased and .45AR marked for caliber.

I was tempted. The finish is pretty darn posh for a .mil weapon. Lockup is rock solid. What put me off was the timing. The cylinder doesn't lock until the hammer is all the way cocked. Is this normal for Colt?

The finish is pretty darn posh because it was made to Colt's commercial standards and it WAS NOT a Lend Lease gun. Lend-Lease was a WW II project. Some were sold to Britain for general issue, but many were privately purchased by officers. I've seen them with names and regiments marked on them. S&W's equivalent Triple Lock and MK II .455's also had commercial finishes.

The Colt timing is as you and Joni Lynn described. But it wears sooner than the systems used by Ruger and S&W, and a famous pistolsmith once told a friend of mine that he could hand tune a Python, and it'd be out of time again within as soon as 500 shots! Most aren't that bad, but it makes the point.

The larger ones are said to hold their timing longer than the small ones, like the Detective Special.

The system is flawed, and Colt should have fixed it far sooner than they did, with the MK III, in 1969.

Today, many gunsmiths won't/can't even tune older Colts, and if they do, it costs real money. If you want a shooter, get a Ruger or S&W.

But those old Colts were beautifully made, and otherwise pretty rugged. I've owned some and liked them. I just couldn't handle the timing issue, and many need to have the barrels turned slightly to align the sights. The late Col. Chas. Askins told me that when he ordered Colts for the USBP in the late 1930's, he had to re-sight almost all, and they were New Service .38 Specials.

I asked why he didn't just order M&P's, which would also be lighter to carry. He said that the Colt reps were nice guys, and those from S&W were snobby elitists, and he didn't want them to get the business.

I forgot to ask why he didn't specify Official Police .38's, but he may have wanted to use existing holsters, made for the M-1917, which was the prior Border Patrol issue gun. And he was aware that many times, the revolver was used as a club. The NS made a better club.

Bill Jordan later made the point that it was often better legally to shoot a man than to pistol whip him. A nightstick or lead-loaded "slapper" is a better club and using one won't damage the revolver!

 

[Joni_Lynn]

If you intend to shoot one of the Colt's with a 2 stage hand, I recommend putting a bit of grease/lube on both the ratchet and both stages of the hand. That will be a dramitic help in keeping it in time. Running one dry and/or cycling the action fast will cause them to go out of time faster as will end play on the cylinder since it is in hard contact with the hand during firing.

Great revolvers but they require more attention than a S&W or Ruger.

 

[PALADIN85020]

Actually, Colt revolvers have some things going for them that comparable Smiths do not.

First, the cylinder rotates clockwise (from the firer's viewpoint). This rotates the cylinder into the frame rather than out of it. The Smith, rotating counter-clockwise, tends to force the cylinder out of the frame. The hand on the Colt is on the shooter's left, preventing the cylinder from moving out of the frame; on the Smith, it's on the right.

Secondly, because the two-stage hand on the Colt maintains pressure on the ratchet, pushing it against the cylinder stop at the moment of firing, the lockup is vault-tight at the moment of firing. Try it yourself. With the gun empty, cock and pull the trigger, letting the hammer down easy with your thumb, but maintaining rearward pressure on the trigger. With your other hand, try to rotate the cylinder in either direction. There's no wiggle whatsoever. With the Smith, you will most always get some play, however minute it might be.

That said, the Colt is a rhymes with witch to properly maintain, tune and perform gunsmithing on. I own four Colt DA revolvers, a U.S. Model 1909, a U.S. Model 1917, a Python, and a Dick Special. All work perfectly, but you can call me lucky.

John

 

[5BeansintheWheel]

I think those that turn their noses up at one make or the other, are really missing out.

The finest from rivals in the 1920's, a .44 S&W Special and a .45 Colt. I love them both!

 

[Simmer down]

I picked up a New Service in 45LC today. 4.5" barrel. Proofhouse says it a 1910. No lanyard but a plug. It looks like it was reblued long ago after it was worn in some spots, the rampant colt is faint.

Any idea how cautious to be with choosing loads? It feels tight as a new gun.

 

[Mike1957]

Here are 3 of them.

.38 Special

1909 Army in .45 Colt (refinished)

A well worn New Service in 38-40

 

[keithherrington]

Here is mine





The NS was built in 1919, has a 4.5" barrel, is chambered in 38-40 and is in museum condition throughout. It's a rather blunt instrument, not at all refined as the Model 58 shown with it, but would be THE gun to carry back in the day.

The other is a Bowen custom Model 58 in 41 Magnum, my vision of the epitome of the fighting revolver.

Keith

 

[Wyatt Burp]

here's my factory nickel 1932 .45 Colt with an old newspaper featuring the crowning of that stuttering king in 1937.

 

[Alpo]

Apparently I'm a failure as a photographer. Onliest pic I've got. My favorite model with my 1914 4" 38/40.

http://s17.photobucket.com/user/therealalpo/media/Guns/MissieNewService38-40.jpg.html

http://s17.photobucket.com/user/therealalpo/media/Guns/MissieNewService38-40-1.jpg.html