It was raining Colts today......

[sigp220.45]

Well, only if two constitutes rainfall.

I have posted previously about a Colt Agent .38 I got disassembled in a bag for 80 bucks. I finally admitted I am not a Colt gunsmith and dropped it off at the Colorado School of Trades. I picked it up today (works great!) but made the mistake of stopping at Cabelas on the the way home.

I have previously said Cabelas new "you can't see if it works, and you can't return it if it doesn't policy" would keep me from ever buying a used gun there. Well, that high moral stand folded like a cheap lawn chair under Michael Moore when I saw a Colt Pocket Hammerless .380 in the Gun Library.

I often carry a .32 Pocket Hammerless, and have despaired of ever finding a .380 version for a decent price. I got the feeling they aren't selling a lot of guns these days - the price tumbled to $600 and I gave in.

Here they are together.

Its no collector piece. The finish is rough, especially on the left side. I like to imagine it sitting in a Private Eye's desk drawer, where some Scotch or the tears of a desperate babe with great gams got on it.

The best part is the "Calibre":

Grips (or stocks in Coltspeak) are pretty good.

The serial number puts it at 1914. No barrel bushing.

I'll shoot them both tomorrow. I'm sure the Agent will be fine, I'm interested to see how the .380 shoots. The bore looked like six miles of Somali sewer pipe, but cleaned up pretty well. My .32 also has a rough bore, but shoots fine. If this one shoots well, I may put the .32 on the block to mollify the Minister Of Finance. Or I may not.

 

[Xfuzz]

Good lick...
Stopped by my LGS yesterday.
Neat little .32 Colt hammerless is lyin
in the display case....same price.
Been buggin me all day.

 

[S&W ucla]

..............folded like a cheap lawn chair under Michael Moore...................

That's FAST!!!
Nice Colts too.

 

[Ozark Marine]

Colt M-1908.
Yours dates to 1914.
I've owned a few 1903's, still looking for a 1908.

Congrats, nice find.

 

[jmace57]

A suggestion for you. If you shoot that .380, think seriously about getting some stocks for shooting. The first round I shot through mine, the grips broke!

 

[6518John]

"The bore looked like six miles of Somali sewer pipe"

I think I have just read the greatest use of gun-related metaphor ever written!

 

[6518John]

Good lick...
Stopped by my LGS yesterday.
Neat little .32 Colt hammerless is lyin
in the display case....same price.
Been buggin me all day.

I am taking bets on the over/under on when he will be back at the store tomorrow. My money is before noon!

 

[walter o]

their is a company that makes new barrels for the 1903-or 1908 .
name is "in lead we trust"

 

[shell627]

Great gun. I think Charlie Chan used to carry one in each pocket.

 

[ColbyBruce]

You might want to have a structural engineer check the foundation of your home; to make sure it can support all that weight you add each month.

 

[Kiwi cop]

Please tell me you are joking!

US$600 for a 1908 Colt pocket hammerless in .380?

The same for a .32? (Presumably the '03 model??)

Heck and High Water! That's around NZ$950.

My '03 .32 cost me NZ$250 back in the early-mid 90's. I didn't think they had gone up that much since then.

Oh, and to the OP.

Niiiicccce......

 

[HCH]

The OP definitely has a flair for words.

 

[Texas Star]

Brad-

That's some good, colorful writing! I laughed myself silly over it.

I've read the old Colt .380's sometimes don't feed as well as the .32's. May need extractor adjustment. Good luck.

Tell us how they shoot.

Why the difference in finish on the Agent? BTW, Colt said those guns were good for 1,000 rounds of Plus P before needing factory inspection. Steel ones were good to go for 3,000 Plus P shots.

 

[Old_Cop]

I see a custom double shoulder holster for your 1903 and 1908, and a double breasted chalk pinstripe blue suit with a snap brim fedora.

 

[CelticSire]

I see a custom double shoulder holster for your 1903 and 1908, and a double breasted chalk pinstripe blue suit with a snap brim fedora.

And spats. Gotta wear spats.

 

[squidsix]

Even with the rough finish, that .380 would be mine for $600. WAYYY ahead of its time.

 

[LoadedRound]

Oh Boy

I'm loving both of those. Thanks for nursing that Agent back to health. I thought about it often since the first post.

Enjoy

 

[sigp220.45]

Yay, it shoots!

I had two failures to completely extract in the first mag, and thought: Uh oh.

I had cleaned it, but not oiled it well. I dosed it pretty good, and all was well after that. No more issues.

PPU ball at 7 yards. Barrel seems fine.

Same at 20 yards, the max distance on the range. Tiny sights + old man eyes = mediocre groups. It will get the job done, though.

So, I'm happy. I'll put a few more boxes through it, then start toting it.

Then on the way out, I see this:

As has been noted, I have been on a gun-buying roll lately. To keep peace in the house, I passed.

Of course, my 27 year old son did not pass.

It was a consignment gun, and they threw in this ammo:

Two boxes of factory .38 Special, some reloads I'll disassemble, three boxes of .22s, and some Oxycontin.

Just kidding - the pill box is full of more .22 ammo.

The Agent shot well, too. Life is good.

Thanks for all the nice comments.

 

[tinstarfirearms]

That 1908 is very cool. Do you find a difference when shooting the .32 from when you shoot the .380? Is the recoil sharper in the .380?

 

[sigp220.45]

That 1908 is very cool. Do you find a difference when shooting the .32 from when you shoot the .380? Is the recoil sharper in the .380?

Yes, the recoil of the .380 was more noticeable than the .32, which has virtually no recoil. But it was still very manageable.