Slick Shooters from the "Roaring Twenties"!!

[les.b]

Sometimes I have to tell myself that Smith and Wessons are my favorite brand!! I was doing some cleaning in the safe today, and was struck by the fact that both of these little Colts date from about 1925:



Of course the top one is a .32 ACP Colt model of 1903, and the lower is the .25 ACP Colt model of 1908. These were very popular guns from their introduction through WWII, and the .32 was an issue arm for general officers of all branches through the Vietnam Nam era. I was lucky to find both of these in really nice shoot able condition at relatively reasonable prices a few years ago, and have a lot of fun with them.

They are in just about the condition that I love. Well preserved, with shiny bores, function flawlessly, and yet are not so pristine that I am afraid to shoot them. I don't need any firearms that I am not comfortable shooting. I have shot both of these two extensively, and they are great shooters.

I am also a big fan of "film noir", and also the 1930s and 1940s cops and robbers or "gangster" movies, so these little guns fit right in.

Is anyone else interested in these vintage firearms?? I have more and if you'll show me some of yours, I'll try to round up a couple more to post!!

Best Regards, Les

 

[M1A]

As you know my vintage revolvers are British, so I can't play here. I do love those Colt's though. Nice and smooth to drop in the pocket.
Last week I fired a friends Colt .32 revolver he has from a bootlegger buddy. Real small for big hands and was hitting the primer off center. So some misfires too. Told him to put it away.
You've got a nice pair there.

 

[Walter Rego]

Here's an interesting comparison of what a shopper may have had to choose from in the early to mid-20's

 

[S&WIowegan]

This Gun for Hire

Alan Ladd used a Colt 32 or 380 frequently in this famous movie. Anybody who tried to mess with him or stop him "got it". Great pocket guns, especially for little fellas like Ladd, Cagney, Robinson and Bogart.

The first centerfire semiauto I owned was a Colt 1903 bought used in 1964. I tried to shoot tin cans off fence posts at about 15 yards.....forget it. I know we all wish ammo prices were like they were back then, but to me that 32 ACP box of 50 was too expensive. I was making about $2./hr pretax, 40 hrs/wk in a factory.

I traded the 32 for a Colt 1917 revolver. Surplus 45ACP was still available.

 

[les.b]

As you know my vintage revolvers are British, so I can't play here. I do love those Colt's though. Nice and smooth to drop in the pocket.
Last week I fired a friends Colt .32 revolver he has from a bootlegger buddy. Real small for big hands and was hitting the primer off center. So some misfires too. Told him to put it away.
You've got a nice pair there.

Glad you dropped in, M1A!! Here is a little Colt Pocket Positive made I believe in 1922!!! It is chambered for the ."32 Colt New Police", same as the .32 S&W Long. It is a little nicer than I usually like to get, but when I had the chance, I jumped on it. Nice or not, it still gets shot. Mostly with my very mild handloads, lead bullets, won't ever wear it out with those. It is still about 97%, so it probably didn't see much action back in the day. This is a model that a lot of FBI guys started carrying both before and after they were authorized to carry firearms. J. Edgar Hoover had one, and it was still issued to him when he passed away from what I remember. Decaprio used one in the movie about Hoover, and I understand that the FBI provided technical assistance in the firearms and other aspects of the film. As with all of these guns, I can't help but wonder what stories these shooters could tell if only they could talk!!!



This little guy might have been in a bootleggers desk drawer, or in an investigator's pocket. It had the new fangled "positive" safety that resulted in the "Pocket Positive" moniker, and was, and still is safe to carry with a round under the hammer. One of my favorites!!!

Best Regards, Les

 

[les.b]

Here's an interesting comparison of what a shopper may have had to choose from in the early to mid-20's

Thanks, Walter!!

Those are some fine looking shootin irons!!! And right out of the period that I'm looking for!! Thanks for sharing with us. I have been looking for both the Savage and the Remington when the right stars align, and the price, condition, and money in my pocket all happen at the right time. Beautiful!!

Best Regards, Les

 

[JohnRippert]

Here is a mid 20's 1905 4th Change to keep the party rolling.

 

[les.b]

Alan Ladd used a Colt 32 or 380 frequently in this famous movie. Anybody who tried to mess with him or stop him "got it". Great pocket guns, especially for little fellas like Ladd, Cagney, Robinson and Bogart.

The first centerfire semiauto I owned was a Colt 1903 bought used in 1964. I tried to shoot tin cans off fence posts at about 15 yards.....forget it. I know we all wish ammo prices were like they were back then, but to me that 32 ACP box of 50 was too expensive. I was making about $2./ pretax, 40 hrs/wk in a factory.

I traded the 32 for a Colt 1917 revolver. Surplus 45ACP was still available.

Bob:

Thanks for the tip on the movie, I saw it many years ago, but will be looking for it on Amazon or Netflix, I have been watching a lot of oldies lately on my iPad or streaming on the net. Nice thing with that is that you can stop and pick back up on another device. If those old time directors knew that we could freeze frame in high def, they might have been a little more careful when filming!!

Yeah, I remember when things were a little tighter for me also, guess I'm not averse to treating myself a little bit now that the kids are established, and I'm in a little better position now. But I still save a lot by reloading for most of my toys, and that really saves money now that ammo prices have escalated recently. Plus I can tailor loads that won't stress these old treasures.

Best Regards, Les

 

[LedFowl]

Mauser Model 1914, made in the mid-1920's



Colt 1903, made in 1929

 

[les.b]

Here is a mid 20's 1905 4th Change to keep the party rolling.

John:

That's a really nice Smith!!! Thanks you for sharing with us! That is another of those guns that you have to wonder, was it carried in a police officers holster? A bad guys overcoat pocket? What is the story behind it. That was a very eventful period of time in the good old USA, and what with prohibition, and the advent of automobile enhanced crime, there were lots of colorful characters on both sides of the law.... Where did my guns fit in???

Best Regards, Les

 

[Papaw]

Walther Model 4, made about 1920

 

[kaaskop49]

Glad you dropped in, M1A!! Here is a little Colt Pocket Positive made I believe in 1922!!! It is chambered for the ."32 Colt New Police", same as the .32 S&W Long. It is a little nicer than I usually like to get, but when I had the chance, I jumped on it. Nice or not, it still gets shot. Mostly with my very mild handloads, lead bullets, won't ever wear it out with those. It is still about 97%, so it probably didn't see much action back in the day. This is a model that a lot of FBI guys started carrying both before and after they were authorized to carry firearms. J. Edgar Hoover had one, and it was still issued to him when he passed away from what I remember. Decaprio used one in the movie about Hoover, and I understand that the FBI provided technical assistance in the firearms and other aspects of the film. As with all of these guns, I can't help but wonder what stories these shooters could tell if only they could talk!!!



This little guy might have been in a bootleggers desk drawer, or in an investigator's pocket. It had the new fangled "positive" safety that resulted in the "Pocket Positive" moniker, and was, and still is safe to carry with a round under the hammer. One of my favorites!!!

Best Regards, Les

What a sweet little number. Looks like it handles cleanly. We shooters of today get into debates ad infinitum about +P, magnums, JHPs, stopping power, etc. Meanwhile, an awful lot of law was enforced and personal security afforded by small caliber guns like this one. Big bore and more powerful guns existed back then also, but a gun like this could be easily carried.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[les.b]

Kaaskop49:

You can say that again... I love these little gems. John's Smith above is an example of what we would call a full sized handgun today, although it was shooting standard velocity ammunition. Here's another full sized Colt, also from 1925 (I didn't know I had so many mid twenties guns). This one is what at that time was called the Colt Army Special. It was later renamed the Colt Official Police. This one came from an old Baltimore Police Officer who had had it customized by checkering the front and back straps, and rebuilding the hammer, and rebluing.



Unfortunately, the original grips were missing, and I added these ivories. They are not period, but I think they look good, and they are not out of place. I believe that the customization was done at Colt. The frame has the appropriate factory stamp. It has also obviously had an action job, and is exceptionally smooth.



Here is a view of the backstrap and hammer, showing what I believe to be factory modification. I could be in error on this, and have no factory letter. Also, the holster is not period for the gun, but I had it, and it's a perfect fit, so I do use it when I'm shooting the gun.

Best Regards, Les

 

[Cyrano]

The first is a Bolo Mauser from the 1920s, with a 4 inch barrel and thin grips, flat on the bottom. The second is a Model 1930, full sized. It was the next to last Mauser design; the last being the full automatic Schnellfeuer.

 

[les.b]

The first is a Bolo Mauser from the 1920s, with a 4 inch barrel and thin grips, flat on the bottom. The second is a Model 1930, full sized. It was the next to last Mauser design; the last being the full automatic Schnellfeuer.

Cyrano:

Now that's a couple of guns to make the Twenties "Roar"! Those are really neat. I saw several Mausers for sale recently at the Wheeling WV Cabela's. Really high price tags, too. You might check online to see if they have them still in stock. They were there for awhile, because they were so darn expensive. In the "Gun Library". I have always been fascinated by those guns, but have never owned one. Neat!!

Best Regards, Les

 

[les.b]

Mauser Model 1914, made in the mid-1920's

Colt 1903, made in 1929

LedFowl:

That Mauser is sweet!! I love the lines, and it has enough wear that you know that it has served someone or more than one someones, quite well. I always admired the 1914s, and the subsequent 1934s. The Colt is a sweetheart too, just a few years newer than mine. They are great little guns.

Thanks for sharing with us!!

Best Regards, Les

 

[les.b]

Walther Model 4, made about 1920

Papaw:

That's one we don't see very often!! Nice looking Walther!! Thanks for sharing with us.

Best Regards, Les

 

[Texas Star]

That era interests me, as I was a fan of, The Lost World TV show and of Dr. Roy Chapman Andrews's scientific expeditions then. I read his books and noted his guns. The TV show also had period-correct guns, for the most part.

My late uncle had a Colt .32 New Police, a Colt .32 auto, and a Savage .32 auto. I don't know why he favored .32's.

I was also a fan of the British thriller heroine Modesty Blaise. She carried some sort of "Colt .32" in the books, before switching to a Star PD .45. I always pictured her as having a Cobra or Detective Special .32 with three-inch barrel, but a Pocket Positive from an earlier era was possible. I like to picture the action as I read, and saw her sometimes with a Pocket Positive. They're neat little guns.

 

[les.b]

That era interests me, as I was a fan of, The Lost World TV show and of Dr. Roy Chapman Andrews's scientific expeditions then. I read his books and noted his guns. The TV show also had period-correct guns, for the most part.

My late uncle had a Colt .32 New Police, a Colt .32 auto, and a Savage ,32 auto. I don't know why he favored .32's.

Texas:

Good to see you!! You and I have similar tastes in film and books! I was just cleaning a few of the guns in the back of the safe today, and started thinking about how many of them were from the twenties, and what a fascinating era the twenties were especially here in the US, what with prohibition and the famous gangsters, the rise of the FBI, and also the beginnings of most of the State Police agencies, and the role of handguns in the era.

Anyway, it seems a fertile field for us to drag out some of our treasures and speculate what role they or identical guns played in that period!!!

Best Regards, Les

 

[kaaskop49]

attn les b.

Hi les, my 2nd post on your Pocket Positive. Brings to mind a little 5 year-old boy finding a .32 snub in his great grandma's mini-dresser (don't know what it's called) on the porch. Looked like a S&W breaktop hammerless snub, but my grandpa told me years later he had brought it back from Germany at the turn of the century. Probably a European knock-off. Did find a few .32 S&W cartridges after he passed.

I was terrified and closed the drawer. Looking back, it's easy to say, "Only a .32?" Maybe, but who wants to get shot by one? And my great grandma would have been the one to do it. There's a lot more to CC/SD than paper ballistics.

Thanks again and good shooting!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103