Birthday Colt

I used to go to Moab and ride dirt bikes on my birthday.

Being self employed, it's tough to find the time to disappear into the desert for a few days.

So I bought a gun.

I have been looking for a 4 inch .357 since I purchased a 6 inch GP100 about 20 years ago.

This was posted this for sale on a local site yesterday so I figured it was fate. Or a weak will on my part.

Regardless, I now own a 1974 Trooper MK III.

It has been refinished with black titanium nitride. It looks good, functions well, although I am concerned about the cylinder endplay at .007, measured by a dial indicator with the gun in a vice.

It's not going to be a daily carry or anything like that. It's just a cool old gun that will be fun to shoot fire out of and it fills the 4 inch hole in my... collection.

At $650, I don't think I paid too much. I have spent a lot more on much more frivolous nonsense than this thing.

I don't look at is as a reckless or impulsive purchase.

I finally got a pony for my birthday!

BigBlue 94 said:

Idk, Moab is a beautiful place. Hard to beat that. Ive been there once in my Bronco (yeah, i know, bike guys dont like us 4x4'ers).

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There is room for all users. The last time I was there it was in my FJ cruiser.

I have been a multi-use advocate for many years, a supporter of COHVCO and BlueRibbon Coalition. In fact, the charity on my Amazon Prime account is the BRC.

Thanks to all for the kind words.

bannockburn said:

eddiememphis

Happy Birthday Eddie!

A Colt Trooper Mk.III was my first .357 revolver. Built like the proverbial tank, it was a great gun to have in the beginning as I was learning how to shoot double action guns.

One thing you might want to do (if it hasn't been done already) is to replace the roll pin that holds the Accro rear sight in place, with a solid pin (I used a cut down drill bit). Had my pin break in half and the rear sight came loose in the process. Other than that the gun worked perfectly and never had any problems with it. Some years later I had a couple of Mk.Vs and they were great guns too!

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The rear sight is kinda dicked up.

The blade is dented and the left side is higher than the right. I am not sure how or if I am going to fix it.

And yes, I know it's filthy. I haven't had time to give the gun a thorough cleaning yet.

Southerner up North said:

Happy birthday and nice present you bought yourself. I need a side discussion with you and @BigBlue 94 about Moab. Intend to go within a couple years and do not want to miss the best parts.
Enjoy the colt

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Any time. I've been going there once or twice a year for 20 years. It's only 6 /12 hours from Denver, literally 5 turns from my driveway to Main Street, Moab.

Got it out. Looks pretty rough. I think a previous owner couldn't figure out how to remove it and tried to pry it out.

Bent it straight, sanded it smooth and reblued it. Not perfect but much better.

I took the side plate off and it was bone dry. I oiled the moving parts and put it back together.

Those are home made snap caps in the cylinder.

Now I just need to make some ammo for it and it's ready to shoot.

Southerner up North said:

I appreciate the information you provided
Nice job on the sight.
That would be awesome to live that close or it

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It is, although there are a lot of interesting places between here and there. Too many to see in only one lifetime.

Riomouse911 said:

Nice way to celebrate your birthday, congratulations!

When I was a kid my parents had 2.5 acres in Panguitch. I spent a lot of holiday weekends walking Mammoth creek with my Dad… he catching trout and me snagging rocks, sticks and everything other than fish. We didn’t do much of Eastern Utah-Moab, but Bryce, Zion and Cedar Breaks were regular stops.

Amazing country indeed .

Stay safe.

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I watched the Rockies beat the Diamondbacks in game 2 of the 2007 NLCS while in a motel room in Panguitch.

That is another area of good riding, being just south of the 275 mile long Paiute ATV Trail. It is a huge loop through the Fishlake National Forest.