The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - how similar/different are the 1903 colt and 1922 fn?

James K · August 14, 2012, 08:53 PM

There are three major differences. The Colt has its recoil spring underneath the barrel, the FN guns have it around the barrel. The Colt is hammer fired, while the FN guns are striker fired. The striker on the FN guns acts as the ejector while the Colt has a separate ejector.

Magazines are not interchangeable.

The Model 1922 is fairly common in this country as the Germans used a lot of them and they came back as GI souvenirs. But up to the 1950's Colt and FN had an agreement not to sell in the others' backyard, so FN guns never were imported commercially until Colt dropped production of the 1903 after WWII. It was only from around 1960 to 1968, when GCA '68 banned import of the 1910 that that gun was regularly imported.

The 1922's on the market are almost all military guns, many of which have seen much use or were made under German occupation and are of dubious quality. IMHO, I would save my pennies and wait until I could find a good Colt.

Jim

August 14, 2012, 08:53 PM	#2
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	There are three major differences. The Colt has its recoil spring underneath the barrel, the FN guns have it around the barrel. The Colt is hammer fired, while the FN guns are striker fired. The striker on the FN guns acts as the ejector while the Colt has a separate ejector. Magazines are not interchangeable. The Model 1922 is fairly common in this country as the Germans used a lot of them and they came back as GI souvenirs. But up to the 1950's Colt and FN had an agreement not to sell in the others' backyard, so FN guns never were imported commercially until Colt dropped production of the 1903 after WWII. It was only from around 1960 to 1968, when GCA '68 banned import of the 1910 that that gun was regularly imported. The 1922's on the market are almost all military guns, many of which have seen much use or were made under German occupation and are of dubious quality. IMHO, I would save my pennies and wait until I could find a good Colt. Jim