Yes, I dare to mention the "C word" on the S&W forum. Many of us here also have a few Colts, so I thought I'd throw this draft article up for comments. The Colt Police Positive Special was an icon from 1908 on through as late as 1995, with over 3/4 of a million having been made. Hope the info will be of interest.
John
In the early part of the 20th Century, the standard police sidearm was a revolver, and it was likely to be from one of two makers: Smith & Wesson or Colt. Although .32 caliber revolvers were quite prolific at first, the market later came to be dominated by the more powerful and effective .38 special cartridge. S&W’s main offering in that caliber was its Military and Police model, a “K-frame” revolver still being made as the Model 10. Colt’s flagship police handgun was known as the Police Positive Special. Today Colt no longer makes double-action revolvers, and so, to much of the public, their offering is now largely unknown. I hope this article will correct that situation, as the Colt “PPS” was an effective handgun with some particular advantages over its rival “M&P.”
Although the first solid frame swing-out cylinder revolver originated in Europe, Colt decided to make competitive guns in Hartford, Connecticut. Chief engineer Carl Ebbets was assigned the task, and in 1888 he patented the first Colt revolver so configured. Subsequently in 1889 and 1892, the U.S. Navy and Army bought revolvers chambered for the .38 Long Colt cartridge.
Colt first introduced the Police Positive revolver in 1907. The “positive” in its name referred to a positive hammer block that prevented the hammer from going forward until the trigger was deliberately pulled. The gun could be dropped on its hammer, fully loaded with six cartridges, and it would not fire. It immediately became a popular gun, but it was chambered in some fairly puny calibers: .32 Colt, .32 New Police, .38 New Police and .38 S&W. The latter cartridge is not to be confused with the .38 special; it’s not as powerful, it’s shorter, and cannot be chambered in a .38 special handgun due to its somewhat larger diameter.
The Police Positive did have some endearing qualities. First, it had a smaller frame than the Smith M&P, making it lighter, an advantage for police who had to pack their revolvers all day. Also, the cylinder rotated to the right, pressing the cylinder into the frame, rather than out of it, as the left-rotating S&W revolvers did. Further, the “hand” (a mechanical part that pushes on the back of the cylinder to rotate it) continued to push on the cylinder ratchet as the locking bolt fell into place to align the chambers with the barrel. There was no slop in this system, and the lock-up was precise and solid. The Smith & Wesson revolvers always had a small amount of play in their system. While Colt lauded this feature, the Smiths had an ace in the hole – their revolver could be chambered for the more powerful .38 special, which was essentially an elongated .38 Long Colt.
In 1908, Colt corrected this situation by offering the Police Positive Special. This utilized a slightly more robust frame and a 0.25 inch longer cylinder. These “D frame” models were chambered for the .38 special and the .32-20; both were a considerable improvement over their predecessors. These carbon steel revolvers could be had either blued or nickeled, with barrel lengths of four, five or six inches. The rear sight was a fixed groove in the topstrap, and the front sight was the typical “half moon” configuration popular in that era. The barrel marking was “POLICE POSITIVE” with “.38 SPECIAL” to the right of it. Initially, only the .32-20 guns were specifically marked “POLICE POSITIVE SPECIAL.” The revolver pictured is one of the .38 special “first issue” PPS revolvers with a six-inch barrel, and weighs just 25 ounces. Manufactured in 1922, this fine-condition blued revolver is still fully functional and could easily serve its intended role for self-protection today. In 1926, a shortened PPS with a two-inch snubby barrel found popularity and fame as the Detective Special. It’s still a popular gun today, many years after production stopped.
In 1928, the Police Positive Special was upgraded with standard checkered wooden grips (previously available until 1923 only on special order) in place of the older hard rubber offerings. It had a slightly heavier frame. Another nicety was a checkered topstrap. A third issue of the PPS with improved metallurgy first appeared in 1947. In 1977 a fourth issue was upgraded with a shrouded ejector rod housing. It was only manufactured for one year and was the last of the traditionally-actioned PPS revolvers. The final fifth issue, re-introduced with a new “Mark V” action, was called simply the “Police Positive.” It was manufactured from 1994 to 1995, and was specifically approved for the use of +P ammunition.
Colt did make a slightly larger and heavier .38 special revolver, the Official Police model. However, the PPS was much more popular for its weight savings and equivalent performance to the Official Police. In fact, the PPS gave an impressive weight savings of 11 ounces over its bigger brother. Besides police department purchases, large numbers were also bought by the general public. In the end, over 750,000 of the Police Positive Special model were made.
The PPS in .38 special was also well-liked by the not-so-savory element back in the day. Mob kingpin Al Capone favored a 4-inch barreled nickel model with walnut grips made in 1938. In June of 2011 it was sold through Christie’s auction house to a private collector for the tidy sum of $109,080.
Colt and Smith & Wesson revolvers operated a bit differently. The Colt cylinder release had to be pulled back. The S&W release was pushed forward. The Colt cylinder rotated to the right, while its S&W counterpart rotated to the left. The Colt lockwork was more complex with leaf springs, while the S&W used only one leaf spring (the mainspring) to power the hammer; and everything else in it used coil springs. The Smith’s extractor rod was supported at its forward tip, while the Colt had a freely-exposed extractor rod. Gunsmiths found that the Colt was harder to tune and that the S&W had a slightly smoother action. However, the later Colt Python revolver was highly regarded for the extra care it received at the factory, making the action very smooth indeed.
It should be mentioned that under no circumstances should "+P" .38 special or .38 special "heavy duty" ammo be fired in the pre-1930s guns. They were never designed for these higher pressures, and it's best to be on the safe side. Later guns could withstand a limited diet of heavy loads and were so listed, but I personally would avoid using them.
In the end, Smith & Wesson’s revolvers won out for the police market, but the Colt offerings were very popular in their day and gave S&W a tremendous run for the money. The old Colts are now rapidly becoming collectors’ items, and the increasing prices being asked and paid reflect this. The Colt Police Positive Special was one of the reigning police and civilian revolvers throughout the ‘teens, ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s. It’s an American classic that would be well placed in any handgun collection as a reminder of great Colt revolvers in “the good old days.”
(c) 2013 JLM
John
In the early part of the 20th Century, the standard police sidearm was a revolver, and it was likely to be from one of two makers: Smith & Wesson or Colt. Although .32 caliber revolvers were quite prolific at first, the market later came to be dominated by the more powerful and effective .38 special cartridge. S&W’s main offering in that caliber was its Military and Police model, a “K-frame” revolver still being made as the Model 10. Colt’s flagship police handgun was known as the Police Positive Special. Today Colt no longer makes double-action revolvers, and so, to much of the public, their offering is now largely unknown. I hope this article will correct that situation, as the Colt “PPS” was an effective handgun with some particular advantages over its rival “M&P.”
Although the first solid frame swing-out cylinder revolver originated in Europe, Colt decided to make competitive guns in Hartford, Connecticut. Chief engineer Carl Ebbets was assigned the task, and in 1888 he patented the first Colt revolver so configured. Subsequently in 1889 and 1892, the U.S. Navy and Army bought revolvers chambered for the .38 Long Colt cartridge.
Colt first introduced the Police Positive revolver in 1907. The “positive” in its name referred to a positive hammer block that prevented the hammer from going forward until the trigger was deliberately pulled. The gun could be dropped on its hammer, fully loaded with six cartridges, and it would not fire. It immediately became a popular gun, but it was chambered in some fairly puny calibers: .32 Colt, .32 New Police, .38 New Police and .38 S&W. The latter cartridge is not to be confused with the .38 special; it’s not as powerful, it’s shorter, and cannot be chambered in a .38 special handgun due to its somewhat larger diameter.
The Police Positive did have some endearing qualities. First, it had a smaller frame than the Smith M&P, making it lighter, an advantage for police who had to pack their revolvers all day. Also, the cylinder rotated to the right, pressing the cylinder into the frame, rather than out of it, as the left-rotating S&W revolvers did. Further, the “hand” (a mechanical part that pushes on the back of the cylinder to rotate it) continued to push on the cylinder ratchet as the locking bolt fell into place to align the chambers with the barrel. There was no slop in this system, and the lock-up was precise and solid. The Smith & Wesson revolvers always had a small amount of play in their system. While Colt lauded this feature, the Smiths had an ace in the hole – their revolver could be chambered for the more powerful .38 special, which was essentially an elongated .38 Long Colt.
In 1908, Colt corrected this situation by offering the Police Positive Special. This utilized a slightly more robust frame and a 0.25 inch longer cylinder. These “D frame” models were chambered for the .38 special and the .32-20; both were a considerable improvement over their predecessors. These carbon steel revolvers could be had either blued or nickeled, with barrel lengths of four, five or six inches. The rear sight was a fixed groove in the topstrap, and the front sight was the typical “half moon” configuration popular in that era. The barrel marking was “POLICE POSITIVE” with “.38 SPECIAL” to the right of it. Initially, only the .32-20 guns were specifically marked “POLICE POSITIVE SPECIAL.” The revolver pictured is one of the .38 special “first issue” PPS revolvers with a six-inch barrel, and weighs just 25 ounces. Manufactured in 1922, this fine-condition blued revolver is still fully functional and could easily serve its intended role for self-protection today. In 1926, a shortened PPS with a two-inch snubby barrel found popularity and fame as the Detective Special. It’s still a popular gun today, many years after production stopped.
In 1928, the Police Positive Special was upgraded with standard checkered wooden grips (previously available until 1923 only on special order) in place of the older hard rubber offerings. It had a slightly heavier frame. Another nicety was a checkered topstrap. A third issue of the PPS with improved metallurgy first appeared in 1947. In 1977 a fourth issue was upgraded with a shrouded ejector rod housing. It was only manufactured for one year and was the last of the traditionally-actioned PPS revolvers. The final fifth issue, re-introduced with a new “Mark V” action, was called simply the “Police Positive.” It was manufactured from 1994 to 1995, and was specifically approved for the use of +P ammunition.
Colt did make a slightly larger and heavier .38 special revolver, the Official Police model. However, the PPS was much more popular for its weight savings and equivalent performance to the Official Police. In fact, the PPS gave an impressive weight savings of 11 ounces over its bigger brother. Besides police department purchases, large numbers were also bought by the general public. In the end, over 750,000 of the Police Positive Special model were made.
The PPS in .38 special was also well-liked by the not-so-savory element back in the day. Mob kingpin Al Capone favored a 4-inch barreled nickel model with walnut grips made in 1938. In June of 2011 it was sold through Christie’s auction house to a private collector for the tidy sum of $109,080.
Colt and Smith & Wesson revolvers operated a bit differently. The Colt cylinder release had to be pulled back. The S&W release was pushed forward. The Colt cylinder rotated to the right, while its S&W counterpart rotated to the left. The Colt lockwork was more complex with leaf springs, while the S&W used only one leaf spring (the mainspring) to power the hammer; and everything else in it used coil springs. The Smith’s extractor rod was supported at its forward tip, while the Colt had a freely-exposed extractor rod. Gunsmiths found that the Colt was harder to tune and that the S&W had a slightly smoother action. However, the later Colt Python revolver was highly regarded for the extra care it received at the factory, making the action very smooth indeed.
It should be mentioned that under no circumstances should "+P" .38 special or .38 special "heavy duty" ammo be fired in the pre-1930s guns. They were never designed for these higher pressures, and it's best to be on the safe side. Later guns could withstand a limited diet of heavy loads and were so listed, but I personally would avoid using them.
In the end, Smith & Wesson’s revolvers won out for the police market, but the Colt offerings were very popular in their day and gave S&W a tremendous run for the money. The old Colts are now rapidly becoming collectors’ items, and the increasing prices being asked and paid reflect this. The Colt Police Positive Special was one of the reigning police and civilian revolvers throughout the ‘teens, ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s. It’s an American classic that would be well placed in any handgun collection as a reminder of great Colt revolvers in “the good old days.”
(c) 2013 JLM
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