Colt Jr. - 1960s "Pocket Protector"

Status
Not open for further replies.
P

Plan2Live

Member
Joined
May 17, 2011
Messages
2,183
Location
Columbia, SC
Colt Junior Holstered.jpeg Colt Junior Holstered.jpeg Colt Junior Holstered.jpeg Colt Jr.jpeg Colt Jr vs LCP.jpeg
A co-worker lost his dad two weeks ago and inherited this Colt Junior as a result of his loss. While many were chambered in .25acp, this one is chambered in .22 short. Yes, .22 short. Based on the limited information I found on this pistol it was made by Astra in Spain for Colt. It was imported into the US between 1958 and 1968. I is a single action design so it was intended to be carried cocked & locked. The manual safety is where you would expect the magazine release to be.

When the Gun Control Act of 1968 was passed, it prevented law abiding citizens against being attacked with lethal weapons like this Colt Jr. by banning their importation. So the Colt Jr. faded off into forgotten history.

All joking aside, it definitely highlights a different mindset in the 60s vs today. And yes I acknowledge that people were carrying .357s and other large calibers in those days too. But this pistol is too small to be a range toy so surely it must have been marketed as a bona fide self defense weapon. And while I wouldn’t voluntarily allow someone to shoot me with it, I’m fairly certain unless you had perfect shot placement and a great deal of luck on your side, shooting someone with a .22 short out of a short barrel would probably result in a substantial butt whoopin’. We all know the story about filing the front sights off little guns like this so it hurts less when the person you shot takes it from you and …….well we all know that story.

I hope you enjoy the picks as much as I enjoyed looking Junior over and doing some research for my friend. The other pistol in the photos is a Ruger LCP Custom. Enjoy!
 
I apologize for the redundant photos but the new system isn't as intuitive as the old system. I intended for the pics to go under the body of the post. Ooops!
 
Plan2Live

I had an Astra Cub in .22 Short and it was one neat little pistol. I was always amazed at the design and craftsmanship that went into making something that small actually work.
 
If you shoot it you may change your mind about accuracy. I have 3 Astra Cubs and 1 Colt Jr. and all are surprisingly accurate for their size and barrel length. Some have said (on the internet so it must be true right?) that the little 22 short performs as well as the 22LR would from that short barrel. Don't think I would every carry one for defense but they do draw a lot of attention at the range.
 
I am quite a fan of .Star pistols and have several of the small .25's and .22LR pistols as well as a Colt 1908 .25, all of these pistols can be deadly accurate if use fairly close in to the target and of course you are not limited to a single shot with them making them a bit more deadly if needed. The Astra and Star factories combined just before their demise, too little to late. The Cub and Colt knock off are nice little pistols made in the two calibers mentioned, .22 Short and .25 ACP.
 
Nice looking little Spanish Colt! I had a .25 acp one years ago and traded it away. Wish I still had it. If so, it could share Bear Hunting stories with my 1908 model Colt .25.

381416353.jpg


413091591.jpg
 
Plan2Live said:
A co-worker lost his dad two weeks ago and inherited this Colt Junior as a result of his loss. While many were chambered in .25acp, this one is chambered in .22 short. Yes, .22 short. Based on the limited information I found on this pistol it was made by Astra in Spain for Colt. It was imported into the US between 1958 and 1968. I is a single action design so it was intended to be carried cocked & locked. The manual safety is where you would expect the magazine release to be.
Click to expand...

That's a very neat little pistola.
 
Plan2Live said:
while I wouldn’t voluntarily allow someone to shoot me with it, I’m fairly certain unless you had perfect shot placement and a great deal of luck on your side, shooting someone with a .22 short out of a short barrel would probably result in a substantial butt whoopin’
Click to expand...
Sometimes I think folks tend to discount .22's damage potential as something akin to a bee sting. This little fella took one .22lr out of a Ruger pistol to his computer this morning in the rain....and went down immediately.
IMG_0438.JPG
 
You know, looking back at that old bear photo and the pistol on it's head for scale, that pistola sure looks huge. Perhaps that bear just walked right up to the shooter lookin' for some grub?

Although, that little pistola sure looks airbrushed in* and the scale might be off.

*Photoshop in the olden days.
 
Last edited:
chicharrones said:
You know, looking back at that old bear photo and the pistol on it's head for scale, that pistola sure looks huge. Perhaps that bear just walked right up to the shooter lookin' for some grub?

Although, that little pistola sure looks airbrushed in* and the scale might be off.

*Photoshop in the olden days.
Click to expand...
I was thinking that the bear might not be so big. As far as the pistol looking airbrushed- in books from that period, they did something to enhance pictures, not sure of the technique. You notice it in a lot of old gun books and sometimes car part manuals. It's like they painted over the picture to make it "pop" more.
 
Kookla said:
I was thinking that the bear might not be so big. As far as the pistol looking airbrushed- in books from that period, they did something to enhance pictures, not sure of the technique. You notice it in a lot of old gun books and sometimes car part manuals. It's like they painted over the picture to make it "pop" more.
Click to expand...

Yep. Many photos in old publications had contrast, outlining, shading, etc. added to the main object in that printed photo. Usually the term used was retouched or airbrushed, as in unaltered printed photos sometimes had the claim of not retouched. I don't know at what stage the retouching was done to. Probably to the positive made from a negative, before that positive was converted into a halftone screen on a printing plate.

Of course nowdays, the more common term for computer retouched photos is Photoshopped.
 
chicharrones- I'm going to sound like a moron here, but I wasn't aware airbrushing was that old. Thanks for the info:)
 
I thought the Colts were a clone of the Baby Browning, but I was not sure.

I have a Baby that I restored from a rusted mess. Took it completely apart and replaced a few parts.

But the point was this, the Baby is striker fired. The safety has nothing to do with blocking the striker. So carrying it cocked is definitely not a good idea. Once I understood how mine worked this became clear.

I did not know if the Colt had the same mechanism or if the safety actually interfered with the striker. If its like the Browning its probably not a good idea to carry it cocked!
 
baby-2-300x300.jpg


What Licen said. The colt vest pocket 1908 (not to be confused with the 1908 pocket hammerless) was JMB's offering to colt after designing the 1906 model for FN. Colt 1908 vest pocket above, baby browning below (not my pic).

The colt Jr. was a Spanish Astra Cub distributed by Colt. Great little pieces. The astra cub is on the higher end of the 60's "saturday night specials." A step up from a tanfoglio gt-27 titan, but not quite beretta 950 jetfire quality.
 
The Browning "Baby" is not one of J Browning's works even though some of his ideas are incorporated within. If memory serves me correctly John's son Val and FN developed the Baby. So we have three completely different pistols in this thread : the Colt 1908 25, Spanish Astra and copies made with Colt name and the Baby which is the last of the three tiny .25 auto.
 
Plan2live

If your pistol is drop safe perhaps it would be better to carry it with the hammer down and then thumb cock it when drawing it before firing instead of trying to work that tiny safety.

But only if it is drop safe! :what:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

P
  • Locked
colt pocket jr
Replies
3
Views
438
HisSoldier
HisSoldier
Tabequache
  • Locked
Colt 1908 Pocket Hammerless .380 ACP
Replies
10
Views
2K
Tabequache
Tabequache
G
  • Locked
Astra Cub .22 Short
Replies
6
Views
3K
Green Lantern
G
C
  • Locked
Found on Glock Talk Forum:Slide Slam on 1911
2 3 4 5
Replies
110
Views
6K
1911Tuner
1
midland man
  • Locked
i have soon coming on layaway a astra cub 22 short has anyone heard of a astra cub?
2
Replies
27
Views
2K
MedWheeler
M
Back
Top