New/ Old Colt- Good news/Bad News

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NIGHTLORD40K

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So, a guy at work has fallen on hard times and is selling his Dad's guns. I told him I would give them a good home and he showed me a couple grainy pictures of a pair of vintage Colt revolvers. The pictures made them look pretty rough, so I made him what I thought was a fair offer and they showed up today.

The first is a 1969 Detective Special. The good news? The condition of this one is fantastic!
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Easily 95% original finish with only a few speckles on the hammer tip.
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Check out that reflection on the frame......:)
Clearly, never carried and only shot a bit.

The bad news? I assumed (and the seller didnt know) that it was a .38 Special. Nope- .32 New Police (.32 S&W Long).
I did manage to find a couple boxes of newish Lapua at the LGS for $55/50. Not cheap, but at least its available online too. :confused:

The cartridge probably would have been a deal breaker if this gun wasnt SO gorgeous.

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I will definitely be looking to reload for this eventually as I think its a keeper. :D

Now, the other one I bought is, well......different in every sense of the word. Itll be a few days before Im not too embarrassed to show it off, lol!
 
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I did tell the dude that if he ever changes his mind, I would sell them back for what I paid. He didnt seem super broke up about it, though. Maybe he didnt like his Dad that much.....o_O
Detective Special is sooooo much nicer in.32NP. You’re lucky. I’ve been trying to get one for a long time. I have three in.38Spl and a Police Positive in.32. Also have a Pocket Positive in.32 and it’s just more fun than should be legal.
Use 95gr LWFN and just past the Lymans starting load (I use 3.5gr Unique) to replicate the old Colt Police load. :thumbup:
 
Nice revolver! Those in .32 are pretty much thr only colts im interested in lol.
I think i gave away the dies, but ive still got some 312 jhps if you want them.

As to selling stuff that belonged to deceased family, i dont have any major compunction with selling items for which i dont feel a conction to the person.
The only stuff i kept from my mom are her photos, and will preserve those. I kept a few pieces of jewelry she commissioned, that ill give to my daughter.
When my dad passes im keeping his kitchen knives (my grandfathers), medals, and pictures. Everything else is getting sold, including the guns and poles since hes not a gun guy (and likes different stuff than I), and im not a fishing guy.

If the guns have the least connection felt those should go first imo.
 
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Detective Special is sooooo much nicer in.32NP. You’re lucky. I’ve been trying to get one for a long time. I have three in.38Spl and a Police Positive in.32. Also have a Pocket Positive in.32 and it’s just more fun than should be legal.
Use 95gr LWFN and just past the Lymans starting load (I use 3.5gr Unique) to replicate the old Colt Police load. :thumbup:

Nice revolver! Those in .32 are pretty much thr only colts im interested in lol.
I think i gave away the dies, but ive still got some 312 jhps if you want them.

As to selling stuff that belonged to deceased family, i dont have any major compunction with selling items, for which i dont feel a conction to the person.
The only stuff i kept from my mom are her photos, and will preserve those. I kept a few pieces of jewelry she commissioned, that ill give to my daughter.
When my dad passes im keeping his kitchen knives (my grandfathers), medals, and pictures. Everything else is getting sold, including the guns and poles since hes not a gun guy (and likes different stuff than I), and im not a fishing guy.

If the guns have the least connection felt those should go first imo.
Ya, now that Wallyworld is no longer a convenient source of any ammo, really, and I pretty much mail order everything anyway, Im a little more open to stocking the more obscure cartridges again. The price is still daunting- but hell, everything is expensive now.

On the upside, I got a good deal, and, considering the chambering, I think he would have had a hard time finding another buyer outside of Gunbroker, which he didnt seem interested in.

Ive fired DS Colts in .38spl before and didnt think they were too bad- way better than a J-frame, thats for sure! I have no doubt the .32 will be a pussycat, and they have legendary accuracy- although I dont know how much of that I might realize with a 2" barrel, lol!

I have a handful of .32acp rolling around here too. Itll be interesting to see if there is a noticeable accuracy difference. At least the DS is plenty strong for the slightly higher pressures.

Thanks, Loon, Ill PM you about the bullets.
 
Be careful with that .32 DS!
Or ANY .32! Especially if you reload...

I was given an old S&W Hand Ejector in .32swl. 80yrold friend thought it was broken. I fitted a new bolt and corrected the hand. FIXED. AT 30ft with my reloads it’s a tack driver. Friend later gave me some old ammo he found. His Dad (original owner circa 1903-08), had been shooting.32acp in it!

Be careful because they MULTIPLY! I now have two hand ejectors, a Keltec P32, a Beretta Mod81, a Ruger Single 7, a Ruger BH in .30Carbine; and as of Last Friday a Taurus Mod 76 in .32H&Rmag.., And to top it off, my Saginaw S.G. .30carbine thinks the Lee 93gr RN over #2400 are candy! Powder coated, they look like it, too.
Thankgoodness, the Lee mold is a 6-cav...
 
Be careful with that .32 DS!
Or ANY .32! Especially if you reload...

I was given an old S&W Hand Ejector in .32swl. 80yrold friend thought it was broken. I fitted a new bolt and corrected the hand. FIXED. AT 30ft with my reloads it’s a tack driver. Friend later gave me some old ammo he found. His Dad (original owner circa 1903-08), had been shooting.32acp in it!

Be careful because they MULTIPLY! I now have two hand ejectors, a Keltec P32, a Beretta Mod81, a Ruger Single 7, a Ruger BH in .30Carbine; and as of Last Friday a Taurus Mod 76 in .32H&Rmag.., And to top it off, my Saginaw S.G. .30carbine thinks the Lee 93gr RN over #2400 are candy! Powder coated, they look like it, too.
Thankgoodness, the Lee mold is a 6-cav...
Ya know, its funny that my buddy at a local pawn shop just recently offered me a mint S&W M32- and I turned him down because of the cartridge!

So, now that Im investing in it anyway, I may call him Monday and see if he still has it. Im not a fan of .38 J-frames, but in .32 they should be fun.:)
 
Always got a kick out of the DS grips, just about complete checkering over the entire grip, as opposed to the S&W Chief grips with the small checkered panel.

Wonder what the percentages were between the different calibers on that era DS?

Very nice gun, good luck with it!
 
The finish on your new to you Colt looks great. That’s a gorgeous revolver. :thumbup:

I don’t own any .32s but if someone put a good looking .32 like that in my hand at a decent price I might change my mind pretty quick.

I love the way those older Detective Specials look with the tapered barrels and the grips. Very cool. :cool:
 
Nice pick up I as others has ever mentioned will be standing by to see pics of the other. Before and after pics. I don’t own anything.32 caliber. Something I might venture into when components normalize. I always wanted a .32 since seeing the original Death Wish with Charles Bronson
 
Could be worse, could get home and find you bought a 32 Long Colt thinking it was the colt equivalent of the 32 S&W Long.

Yeah, I did that. Challenge accepted as regards reloading.
 
Alright, let's see the embarrassment colt. Been a suitable amount of time and this one is neat enough to grant a lot of leeway towards exhibit B... :)

Nice pick up I as others has ever mentioned will be standing by to see pics of the other. Before and after pics. I don’t own anything.32 caliber. Something I might venture into when components normalize. I always wanted a .32 since seeing the original Death Wish with Charles Bronson
Ok, heres the odd one-
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Its a, ummm........custom.......1949 Official Police. When I got it, it was coated in some sort of foul-smelling, tar-like substance. I removed the remarkablely well-preserved Coltwood grips and soaked the whole thing in a bucket of gas overnight- then blasted it with brake cleaner and shop air. Finally, I buffed with oiled steel wool. It actually cleaned up OK.

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Sorry for the poor-quality pictures, but if you look closely behind the cylinder latch, there is the faint outline of a Venezuelan national crest. I found some references to the effect that their National Police ordered a number of Colts in the late '40s, so that would jive with the serial number.

Then the story really gets going-

At some point in the '70s, my coworker's Dad wound up with it somehow- he doesnt know if the customizations were already present or if the gentleman added them himself. When his Dad passed in the early '80s, his Mom moved from her house in rural Georgia to an apartment outside Atlanta- and the gun disappeared during the move. They reported it stolen and that was that-
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Until, four years later, they got a call- from the NYPD! The gun had been recovered in an Organized Crime sting operation, but it would be two more years until the case was disposed of and the gun returned. It has a number electro-pencilled on the bottom of the trigger guard which I assume to be an evidence property number. Its possible the "modifications" were done during its stint as a Mob gun, lol!

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The top rib is fairly nicely blended into the frame, but the shroud is a lttle more crude. Its screwed at the front and there is a bit of silver solder showing in the gaps.

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The top strap has a standard Smith and Wesson adjustable sight base inletted into it. The blade and windage screw parts are missing, but ten minutes on Fleabay and $35 have those parts on the way. They also welded a trigger shoe to it, of which Im not a fan- but it doesnt actually feel too bad.

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The timing, bore, and lockup are all perfect, however- and considering I spent less than the going rate for two boxes of 9mm ammo, I feel pretty good about it.:D
 
Somebody made themselves a poor mans python and probably spent more doing it than a real python cost at the time. It doesn’t look too bad really. If you ever get to selling it you’re guaranteed to make a profit on it. Let us know howzit shoot. :)
 
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