There I was at a gun store, minding my own business when BAM, a gun jumped out at me.

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Gordon said:
That is "electroless Nickel " which was quite the rage at Colt in 1973.

WARNING to owners of the Mark III : DON'T DRYFIRE THESE GUNS ! these were the first "sintered metal" MIM part guns and the frame mounted firing pins which WILL break with dry firing can only be replaced by the factory or possibly CYLINDER and SLIDE may still do it. I had a similar vintage Colt Lawman snub Mark III which eventually broke the pin 25 years ago and Colt repaired it for free + shipping costs . Today I doubt they will.
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Correct and if I am not mistaken, the trigger and hammer are also a weak points because they made of sintered metal. However these are less commonly broken parts than the firing pin….especially if it is dry fires.
 
GooseGestapo said:
My wife is from New England.
We met in college.
She had to learn the hard way that “Potty” means something entirely different in Alabama!
She meant “PARTY”!!!
“Pocking a cahh” we figured out pretty quickly.
I doubt I could carry a 4” MkIII in my drawers. I have enough trouble keeping my pants up with belt carry.
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Had a co-worker from Mitch-again. He said, "You'se guys" when he first moved down. After a few months it was, "You'se-all guys."

"Hey, you'se-all guys wanna gotada bowlin' ally, toss a few lanes?" :rofl:

Nice guy. Hated Florida. It wasn't cold enough. o_O
 
earlthegoat2 said:
Correct and if I am not mistaken, the trigger and hammer are also a weak points because they made of sintered metal. However these are less commonly broken parts than the firing pin….especially if it is dry fires.
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And those parts are pretty easily replaced as the MK III didn't require much hand fitting. Apparently the firing pin unit is pressed into the frame from the inside and requires special jigs and was never offered as a part I believe. I think C&S long ago had a replacement for that part when they were factory Authorized Colt repair station . The part pressed in was called the "recoil Plate" GunParts shows it the "Old style" was solid the "new Style" is flanged probable easier to get in and out ..
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-manufacturer/colt/revolvers-colt/trooper-mkiii
 
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That is a beautiful gun! It is one of my favorite Colt models. However, yours is not electroless nickel as that coating has a matte finish. It looks to be satin nickel and going by the round butt, it is a later model. My Mk III has the round butt and was mfg. in 1980.
 
Congrats on a most fortuitous find!

My first .357 Magnum was a blued Trooper Mk.III with a 4" barrel and it was one solid, well built revolver! I liked the feel and heft of the gun and while the trigger wasn't as light or as smooth as a comparable S&W Model 19, I thought the Colt handled full house magnum loads better than the slightly lighter weight K frame.

Only problem I had was a broken rolled pin which held the rear adjustable sight on the frame. It was easily replaced by fitting a section of a drill bit to go in place (had a Colt Gold Cup do the very same thing).
 
Piranha451
However, yours is not electroless nickel as that coating has a matte finish. It looks to be satin nickel and going by the round butt, it is a later model.
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I have to agree with Gordon on this one as it looks more like electroless nickel plating rather than the "satin" matte nickel Colt used to use on their Combat Commanders.
LUGDAHb.jpg
(Not my gun).
 
Piranha451 said:
That is a beautiful gun! It is one of my favorite Colt models. However, yours is not electroless nickel as that coating has a matte finish. It looks to be satin nickel and going by the round butt, it is a later model. My Mk III has the round butt and was mfg. in 1980.
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Thanks for the heads up. The date was on the sales tag and I just took it at face value. I'll have to do a little more research with the serial number to see if I can narrow the date down more. First Colt revolver I've owned so not sure of the nuances like I am with S&W revolvers.
 
Rockrivr1, That is a well preserved example. I bought a new MK III Trooper in about '73. Only gripe I had with mine was the very heavy DA trigger pull, compared to the S&Ws I was used to.

I had a Government model Colt with the electroless nickel finish, and a Combat Commander with the satin nickel finish. The finish on your MK III Trooper sure looks like the electroless nickel finish, at least as it appears on my monitor. The Colt satin nickel /"satin chrome" ?, finish was a much more coarse, almost sand blasted looking finish.
 
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