wanderinwalker
Member
I've been meaning to post some pictures of this old Colt for a while. I've wanted a Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless in .32 ACP for a long time, and to be honest this was the first one I've ever seen "in the wild". Naturally there was no way I could let it get away.
It's a 1928-vintage 1903, Type IV. From what I can tell it's all original and surprisingly unmolested. When I removed the grips to clean up some verdigris on the bushings and screws, I got the impression they have never been removed. The pictures show it being very clean, and it is. There's some hints of freckling on the finish, along with some hints of finish wear around the muzzle. Basically it's exactly what I had in mind: a decent example that dresses up nicely, while not being so clean to cause fear of putting it in a holster or putting rounds through it.
And yes, I've put a box and a half of .32 ACP through it. Since it isn't intended for anything other than to make my shooting friends go "oh" and "ah", it's only going to get fed whatever ball ammo I can put my hands on. It hasn't malfunctioned or given any hint that it will do anything but feed, fire, extract, eject and repeat as long as I'm willing to buy .32 ACP ammo. The sights aren't even really good enough to rate "abysmal" for most uses, but on a good bright day they're usable. Helpful hint to those not in the know: .32 ACP doesn't impress reactive steel targets. That plate rack you clean with your 9mm might not even flinch from a fair hit from the mighty .32. (Hits like a brick through a plate glass window? Only in Ian Fleming's imagination... )
The one thing that I keep noting about the Model M is truly how slim it is. The grip is fairly short front to back as well, and the whole thing is just petite and "neat". I can see why it was such a popular carry piece back in its hay day. This little gem would be significantly easier to carry day to day than most of the modern plastic pistols I've owned.
It's a 1928-vintage 1903, Type IV. From what I can tell it's all original and surprisingly unmolested. When I removed the grips to clean up some verdigris on the bushings and screws, I got the impression they have never been removed. The pictures show it being very clean, and it is. There's some hints of freckling on the finish, along with some hints of finish wear around the muzzle. Basically it's exactly what I had in mind: a decent example that dresses up nicely, while not being so clean to cause fear of putting it in a holster or putting rounds through it.
And yes, I've put a box and a half of .32 ACP through it. Since it isn't intended for anything other than to make my shooting friends go "oh" and "ah", it's only going to get fed whatever ball ammo I can put my hands on. It hasn't malfunctioned or given any hint that it will do anything but feed, fire, extract, eject and repeat as long as I'm willing to buy .32 ACP ammo. The sights aren't even really good enough to rate "abysmal" for most uses, but on a good bright day they're usable. Helpful hint to those not in the know: .32 ACP doesn't impress reactive steel targets. That plate rack you clean with your 9mm might not even flinch from a fair hit from the mighty .32. (Hits like a brick through a plate glass window? Only in Ian Fleming's imagination... )
The one thing that I keep noting about the Model M is truly how slim it is. The grip is fairly short front to back as well, and the whole thing is just petite and "neat". I can see why it was such a popular carry piece back in its hay day. This little gem would be significantly easier to carry day to day than most of the modern plastic pistols I've owned.