Colt Trooper MKIII 22lr VS Smith 17/18

[YodaVader]

I have been wanting to add a nice older blued 22lr revolver to my collection for some time now. I was pretty much set on a Smith 17 or 18. They are not common in the shops in my area.

Today at the show I see a 22lr Colt Trooper MKIII (# Y1307). The revolver appeared to be in excellent condition with a 4" barrel. He wanted $400 out the door. There was no box/papers. Good price? I have seen Smiths priced higher in lesser condition.

Anyone have any idea how this Colt compares to the Smiths? Any idea when the revolver was produced? Thanks for any info!

 

[thatguy]

All Colt revolvers have soared in price recently. I think $400 is a lot for such a gun but that may be what they bring. The 4" isn't seen much.

I had a Mk III in .22 and it was all right but very big and heavy for a .22. Personally, and I like both Colts and S&Ws, I think Smith does a better job in this case and a 17 or 18 would be my choice.

But you might love the Trooper once you try it. I say buy the one available now and you can always add a Smith later.

 

[absolute0]

I was pondering the same question earlier this year, except I was considering a colt officers model match vs a smith model 17.

I ended up buying a smith 17-4 in excellent condition for $400. I might have overpaid a bit, but once you shoot one a few times the cost is long forgotten and only the satisfaction of owning such a superb revolver remains.

A colt woulda been nice too but they're typically even pricier than the smiths from what I've seen. At $400 the trooper may be just as good, but I guarantee you if you get a good older smith you WILL NOT be sorry

 

[Ala Dan]

Find yourself a nice used (but not abused) Smith model 18~!
You won't regret it one bit~.

 

[YodaVader]

Ala Dan - those K-Frame 22s are hard to come by in my area! One shop not too far from here has a 6" Model 17 that is in pretty good shape - has it priced at $465 and that is without box/papers. That seems kind of steep to me. He has had it for a while now.

He had an 18 earlier this year that $450 if memory serves me.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Get hold of an old Colt and shoot it a while and see what you think.

My favorite is a Colt Officers Model Target made in the 1930s. This revolver will easily outshoot my Ruger MKII automatic, and that's saying a lot.

 

[thatguy]

I see them going for $350-$400 on AuctionArms.com and GunBroker.com but you have to add shipping and transfer fees.

 

[Gordon]

I have all the guns mentioned above AND shoot/shot them enough to say that the Model 17, P&R (of course!) is the best bet it you only get one

 

[Ala Dan]

The last S&W model 18 in my area (near Birmingham) sold for $509; but it
was a 98 per center, with box and doc's. BTW, it sold within two weeks
of going on display~!

 

[cortez kid]

I've been real lucky finding 22 S&W's in my area. Picked up an 18, 17 and just picked up a k22 all in the last 4 mo's.. All had no boxes, reasonably excellent shape and all $350. Go figure!
kid

 

[Standing Wolf]

I think the Colt Trooper Mark III in .22 caliber was something of an after-thought on Colt's part. I have a hunch the company didn't want to compete with the Diamondback line.

The only reason I'd hesitate before buying another Mark III would be the problem of finding good stocks. To the best of my knowledge, only Herrett's still makes stocks for these grand revolvers: http://www.herrett-stocks.com

 

[Moonclip]

As mentioned, most Colt revolvers seem to be going for a premium and so are K frame S&W 22lr revolvers and I rarely see them for sale either.

If you can pick up such a S&W though do so. They are among the best and are probably my most used and appreciated firearms.

 

[Majic]

Anyone have any idea how this Colt compares to the Smiths? Any idea when the revolver was produced?

The Trooper MkIII was made from 1969 to 1983.
The S&W M17 is made as their target revolver. The M18 is just a short barreled version of the M17 (there are examples of both having the same same barrel lengths). The Colt Trooper series is made as a service revolver. Colt's target revolvers in .22lr would one of the Officers Model series. While the MkIII is accurate it's generally not as accurate as the M17/18.

 

[YodaVader]

Accuracy and a great trigger are at the top of my list. It appears that most here seem to favor the Smiths over the Colt Trooper MKIIIs. I have owned more Smith revolvers than any other make but have limited experience with their rimfire revolvers. A friend of mine has, I believe , a Model 18. I will try to convince him to bring it to the range next time I am down for a visit.

 

[Majic]

Now pass by the Trooper MkIII and find a Colt Officers Model Target and then the K22 will fall into the shadows, but the price will go up considerably.