The S&W J Frames get a lot of praise around here and rightfully so. Witness the 642 Club, etc. BUT, let us not forget that in the early days when S&W and Colt fought toe-to-toe for law enforcement dollars and civilian dollars in the compact, lightweight hideout gun market, Colt made some worthy contenders also.
Today I acquired one of those "other" hideout guns, A Colt Agent of 1972 vintage wit a factory original hammer shroud, box and instruction manual. The story I was told by the shopkeeper who sold the gun to me and who is a personal friend, is that the gun was owned by a small elderly gentleman from Georgia who carried it for quite some time. The wear patterns on the left sideplate, topstrap, backstrap and frontstrap bear that out. The tape wrapped around the lower part of the factory original grip panels also indicates that the gun was a personal companion. The face of the cylinder had no rings from firing and the bluing in that area was pristine. The gun showed no turn line and no real evidence of firing at all, but the wear on frame and cylinder bring the finish down to about 80-85 percent.
I weighed the old warhorse and found it came it at 15.5ozs with the shroud in place. Loaded with 158-gr lhp, the weight increased to 18.2ozs.
I fired about 35 shots through it tonight and the gun did not disappoint. Recoil was snappy but not too bad, and the gun was accurate and shot to poi with bullets in the 150+ weight range. It pockets very nicely and locks up very tightly as do all Colts that do not have worn ratchets.
I am so proud to have this little piece of history and I am doing to let this little gun continue on with its normal lifestyle as a carry piece. I've got a Tyler T Grip on order as my larger hands need it. When it arrives, this gun will be loaded with standard pressure ammo and will being its new life in my jacket pocket! I love it!
I am a S&W fan and have a number of fine K frames and N frames that I will not part with. I also once owned a model 36 J frame that was quite a performer also. But honestly, I don't see where the J frames have anything on the Colt Agent and Cobra guns, and the Colts provide "6 For Sure."
Today I acquired one of those "other" hideout guns, A Colt Agent of 1972 vintage wit a factory original hammer shroud, box and instruction manual. The story I was told by the shopkeeper who sold the gun to me and who is a personal friend, is that the gun was owned by a small elderly gentleman from Georgia who carried it for quite some time. The wear patterns on the left sideplate, topstrap, backstrap and frontstrap bear that out. The tape wrapped around the lower part of the factory original grip panels also indicates that the gun was a personal companion. The face of the cylinder had no rings from firing and the bluing in that area was pristine. The gun showed no turn line and no real evidence of firing at all, but the wear on frame and cylinder bring the finish down to about 80-85 percent.
I weighed the old warhorse and found it came it at 15.5ozs with the shroud in place. Loaded with 158-gr lhp, the weight increased to 18.2ozs.
I fired about 35 shots through it tonight and the gun did not disappoint. Recoil was snappy but not too bad, and the gun was accurate and shot to poi with bullets in the 150+ weight range. It pockets very nicely and locks up very tightly as do all Colts that do not have worn ratchets.
I am so proud to have this little piece of history and I am doing to let this little gun continue on with its normal lifestyle as a carry piece. I've got a Tyler T Grip on order as my larger hands need it. When it arrives, this gun will be loaded with standard pressure ammo and will being its new life in my jacket pocket! I love it!
I am a S&W fan and have a number of fine K frames and N frames that I will not part with. I also once owned a model 36 J frame that was quite a performer also. But honestly, I don't see where the J frames have anything on the Colt Agent and Cobra guns, and the Colts provide "6 For Sure."
