The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > Hogan's Alley > Handguns: General Handgun Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old December 31, 2012, 03:57 PM   #1
spacecoast
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 14, 2009
Location: Sunshine and Keystone States
Posts: 4,461
Took a couple of 90-year olds out to the range

A couple of years ago I had a strong yearning for some finely made old Colt handguns and ran across these two, which fit the bill nicely. About once a year I get them both out for a bit of exercise and put a box of ammo through each before I clean them thoroughly, re-oil the barrels and put them away. The Pocket Hammerless .380 pistol (1921) was a Gunbroker find and the .38 special Army Special (1922) was waiting for me some time later at the LGS.

The .380 Hammerless is as slim and sexy as the day she was made, with matching serial numbers (these were hand fitted frame/slide guns) and a bright smooth finish with barely a mark visible. My mild 95 gr. LRN handloads (2.5 grains of AA#2) recoil very little and throw the brass barely a couple of feet, but she never hiccups even with these powder puff loads. She shoots a bit high (3-4" at 15 yards) but runs like the proverbial Swiss watch. She's an amazing feat of engineering from an era when fine craftsmanship was more greatly practiced and appreciated.

The Army Special has a few scuffs here and there, and isn't quite as fun to shoot as a good S&W revolver due to the stacking nature of her action and her small grips, but she gets the job done and loves my mild wadcutters. She shoots low (but consistently), which could be corrected by filing the front sight, but I would never do that to her. When I found her she had some funky target grips, but a search on the Bay yielded what I believe are original Colt grips that fit her like a glove and are correct for her year of birth.

Happy New Year to everyone, thanks for reading about a bit of fun I had the other day with these two dear old girls... they just don't make them like they used to.


Last edited by spacecoast; December 31, 2012 at 06:03 PM.
spacecoast is offline  
Old December 31, 2012, 04:07 PM   #2
9mm
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 9, 2011
Location: Land of the Free
Posts: 2,834
Thats great, I miss the old blue guns, like how Colt used to make their and S&W guns. I guess when I am 70+ and I take a Glock to the range, the top half will be old and rusty and the bottom will be plastic lol....
9mm is offline  
Old December 31, 2012, 05:58 PM   #3
shafter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 23, 2009
Posts: 1,624
Bo thats a fine looking revolver!
shafter is offline  
Old December 31, 2012, 06:04 PM   #4
tekarra
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 26, 2007
Posts: 1,164
Two fine old gentlemen indeed. I wish you would meet a couple of gents that had them when they were new!
tekarra is offline  
Old December 31, 2012, 09:09 PM   #5
spacecoast
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 14, 2009
Location: Sunshine and Keystone States
Posts: 4,461
Quote:
I wish you would meet a couple of gents that had them when they were new!
True story... my stepfather owns the same Hammerless pistol, only a bit older (1910) that he bought back in the 60s and had an aftermarket magazine. It still shoots great. I recently found the correct Colt magazine for the gun (marked Calibre .380) and had to pay more for it than he originally paid for the gun!
spacecoast is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:42 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.14175 seconds with 10 queries