An Old Pony has a new barn

[Riomouse911]

I had my appointment to pick up the Colt revolver that I bought a couple of weeks ago. After standing in line for about 15 minutes outside the store, I was let inside to finalize the paperwork and pay the balance.

It’s a Colt Officers Model Heavy Barrel. .38 Spl. It has a 6” barrel and aftermarket target grips. The sights threw me off, I first thought it was a Match model, but instead it looks like the previous owner had a Kings adjustable rear and an undercut blade front sight attached (The front may be factory?).

The lockup is very tight. The hammer has a wide, checkered spur and the trigger has a shoe attached. I tested the DA pull on my Lyman gauge and it averaged 5 lb 12 oz for 6 pulls. In SA it averaged 1 lb 14 oz for 6. The chambers are spotless and the rifling looks very good for an older gun. Serial number is 6188##.

I know zilch about these Colts, my only other pony in the stable is a new model Cobra .38. Any help or shared knowledge will be appreciated before I grab some wadcutters and shoot some SA bullseye with it.



Thanks!

Stay safe.

 

[Armored farmer]

Nice!
I like the shoe! .....havent seen one of those in the wild for a day or two!

 

[DocRock]

I had my appointment to pick up the Colt revolver that I bought a couple of weeks ago. After standing in line for about 15 minutes outside the store, I was let inside to finalize the paperwork and pay the balance.

It’s a Colt Officers Model Heavy Barrel. .38 Spl. It has a 6” barrel and aftermarket target grips. The sights threw me off, I first thought it was a Match model, but instead it looks like the previous owner had a Kings adjustable rear and an undercut blade front sight attached (The front may be factory?).

The lockup is very tight. The hammer has a wide, checkered spur and the trigger has a shoe attached. I tested the DA pull on my Lyman gauge and it averaged 5 lb 12 oz for 6 pulls. In SA it averaged 1 lb 14 oz for 6. The chambers are spotless and the rifling looks very good for an older gun. Serial number is 6188##.

I know zilch about these Colts, my only other pony in the stable is a new model Cobra .38. Any help or shared knowledge will be appreciated before I grab some wadcutters and shoot some SA bullseye with it.

View attachment 922377 View attachment 922378 View attachment 922379 View attachment 922380 View attachment 922381 View attachment 922382 View attachment 922383 View attachment 922384 View attachment 922385 View attachment 922386

Thanks!

Stay safe.

So clean and unmolested. Congratulations!

 

[Riomouse911]

Thanks guys! I went in on a lark to buy some rimfire ammo and as I walked past this gun called to me from the cabinet like a siren calls sailors to the rocks.

Ive never fired a true bullseye gun, this one will be fun.

I spied a 32 Winchester S&W k-frame 5” in there today that I made an offer on... dunno if the seller will take it but it never hurts to try. It was another siren calling my credit card to the rocks!

Stay safe.

 

[Kookla]

Gorgeous!

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I can't tell you much about the rear sight, but it appears to me that somebody modified the front sight.

This is a Colt Officer's Model 22 Long Rifle. Yes, yours is a 38, and no I am not an expert on these revolvers.

It appears to me that somebody made a new blade for the front sight on your revolver and installed it on a factory base.






Notice there is a screw both in front of and on the side of the sight base.






The stock rear sight on my revolver is only adjustable for windage, not elevation. The screw on top locks it in position, there is a screw on the side (hidden in this view) that moves the sight left or right for elevation, then the top screw snugs it in position.






Elevation is adjusted with the front sight. The blade is spring loaded and is free to rotate slightly up or down when the screws are loosened. Then you snug the screws down to hold the blade in place.






It appears to me somebody made a new front sight blade with a different profile and installed it on the factory base on your revolver. Again, not an expert, but that is my guess.

This was a fairly common sighting arrangement on these revolvers, I have a Police Positive 22 Target that has the same arrangement.

 

[Riomouse911]

That’s a pretty gun! Well taken care of for sure. Thanks for the info!

I read this about King, apparently back in the early-mid 1900’s his shop was one of the places to send your Colt for bullseye customization.

It’s clear the rear was added aftermarket, and the job was well done at that. It’s fully adjustable so the front blade may be fixed, even though it has screws On the side and front for elevation adjustment. The front sight screw is a bit buggered, so it has been used to shift POI at some point.

The hammer was welded, widened and checkered. This work is also pretty much flawless.

I’m now wanting a change in grips to more match that 1930’s classic feel, I will keep my eyes peeled for some that match the style of the era.

I’m thinking the someone who owned this gun really liked shooting bullseye, back then these mods were all done by hand and were not inexpensive.
https://www.thefreelibrary.com/A+pa...+and+a+bit+of+mystery+keep+the...-a0119780239

Stay safe.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

I spied a 32 Winchester S&W k-frame 5” in there today that I made an offer on... dunno if the seller will take it but it never hurts to try. It was another siren calling my credit card to the rocks!

I have a Smith 32WCF Hand Ejector with a six inch barrel.

Real nice gun. It left the factory in 1916.

 

[Riomouse911]

That’s a pretty one, too!

From what I saw the gun I looked at was also very clean, with some minor bluing wear on the back strap about the only sign of use.

The only thing that makes me want to not get it is the scarcity and cost of .32/20 factory ammo and the additional steps needed for reloading bottleneck cartridges.... plus I’ll have to buy everything to load for it.

If the seller takes my offer it’ll be worth the extra costs associated with an entirely new caliber to reload.

Stay safe.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

To tell you the truth, even though I load bottleneck cartridges such as 44-40 and 38-40 all the time, I have never reloaded any 32-20. I have two revolvers and a Winchester Model 1892 chambered for the cartridge, and I have everything I need to load 32-20, brass, dies, and bullets, I just have been able to find enough factory ammo that I haven't loaded any. I even went so far as to set up my dies and load some dummy rounds, just haven't loaded any live ammo.

 

[bannockburn]

Riomouse911

A very handsome looking Colt! Now i know why you were so eager to wait in line to get it! Well done!

 

[CajunBass]

Not bad....not bad a'tall.

 

[JT-AR-MG42]

Nice pistol, the Bullseye/HBWC load should do well in it.
The King sights look fine to me as well. The undercut blade should help with glare.
The hammer looks like a 50's target hammer to me (not cockeyed),so if they indeed welded it up they did a great job.
But has it been lightened by means of milling it?
That process was a Kings specialty as well.
The photos seem to hint at what looks like a hollow spot below the spur.
I've never seen one on a Colt DA, just single actions.

Happy shooting, JT

 

[Jesse Heywood]

If, for any reason, you don't like that gun, PM me...