Colt 1903 or FN 1910/1922

[Tallball]

People keep asking me to teach them to shoot. My family and close friends know that I like to hunt and go shooting. I have been a public schoolteacher for a long time. Once people get to know me, they find me to be helpful and not at all "scary", so every once in a while someone will ask me to teach them to shoot. I don't mind, it can be kind of fun.

I am more of a revolver guy and have revolvers in all of the common calibers. I start people with a 22, let them shoot it til they are a little bored, then move up to 32 S&W, then maybe 32 H&R if they want to, then keep going as far as they want to go: with 38, 44, 45, whatever they want to try and feel comfortable with.

I do the same with semi-autos, but I have a gap there. My 22 autos are nice, and I have a Beretta 380 (model 84) that is fairly gentle, but nothing all that suitable in between. My 32 acp's are smallish and a bit "snappy" for their caliber. So I am looking for a larger heavier 32acp that will have gentle recoil and pretty much fill the same spot that 32 S&W does with my revolvers.

I don't have a lot of money to spend (public schoolteacher), and like old-fashioned things. Every once in a while I will run across a Colt 1903 or FN 1910/1922 that looks a bit worse for wear, but is described as mechanically sound and is in my price range.

Is there anyone here who has experience with both and could offer some advice?

 

[Vodoun da Vinci]

My Wife and I belong to a CCL Group...a support group basically started by myself as we had a lot of local folks coming to my Wife and I at the range and asking for advice. We discovered a large number of people (mostly women) who either had their CCL or were taking classes and training and simply were not getting along with the weapons selected for them by their teachers and significant others.

It started with two women who approached my Wife at the range while watching her hammer targets with one of our Colt Pocket Hammerless pistols while we were searching for her preferred CCL pistol which ended up being a Glock 42. These women had their CCL but would not carry because they were simply afraid of the guns they had taken the class with and could not manage them to the degree they felt comfortable carrying them.

We had a discussion at the range, we invited them to go to lunch and we discussed things and ideas, and then we returned to the range and they shot the old Colts and I/we have them pointers until they got the gist. Then we met with them and others they invited a couple times a month and formed a group of folks who share training, guns, skills, training, and philosophy and it has been very good for all of us.



Long story short, we backed them up to a gun they could handle and then when they were comfortable they moved ahead with more tools in the box and more perspective to find guns they could manage instead of carrying/shooting the guns they were told were the minimum or best for them.

We have done this a lot now and find the Colts to be a perfect mid way gun and stepping stone between a .22 and larger more powerful pistols. A hot .32 has a big enough bang to challenge the newbie but does not beat them senseless nor is it teeny tiny and hard to run. I think the modern market could benefit greatly from a compact or mid size .32/.380 but all we seem to find now are toys that can be finicky or are harsh or stuff that is too big to really get the flavor from....the older Colt Pocket Hammerless is perfect for this role. I think other guns might fill that niche'/role but I don't own any of them. I have owned and shot Beretta .32's and .380's and shot a lot of other smaller .32's like the Brownings and FN's and I think they might work for this role as well. My personal opinion is that the Colt 1903 design is big enough and "normal" enough to a full size 1911 and fits the hand of many shooters and does not seem to intimidate or confuse newbies as it looks normal except for the lack of a hammer and the fact that the mag release is under the mag. But the old Colts make a good training gun.

I do have 4 Pocket Hammerless pistols and they get shot weekly by us or friends as we loan them freely and even supply them with hand loaded .32 to run the guns. The results have been astounding even if it has angered some local trainers and husbands/boyfriends. Some folks get bent when you show their girl or another such folk that bigger and more powerful reaches a limit when it scares and limits the shooter and makes them not wanna shoot anymore. :banghead:

VooDoo

 

[Normandy]

My Colt 1903 is as accurate as any handgun I've ever shot, an 100% reliable. The only negative about it is the tiny sights. Otherwise, totally awesome.

Finding a decent one for $500 or less is a challenge. Consider that the magazine in good working order is worth more than $100.

No experience with the other pistol you mention.

 

[Old Fuff]

Be aware that the FN Browning 1910/1922 pistols have a firing pin with a long nose that doubles as an ejector. This poses no problems when it's ejecting fired cases, but if you a clearing a loaded cartridge the firing pin will hit the live primer when the round is pulled part way out of the chamber.

If great care is used in pulling back the slide nothing bad should happen, but the possibility is there.

For this reason I would more highly recommend the Colt Pocket model, which is a different design, for you're intended purpose.

The only other issue I can think of is the very small sights on some Colt's that are hard to see and align, except under the best lighting conditions.

Beretta, as well as a number of European makers have (and still do) offer versions of their .32/.380 pocket pistols in .22LR - that might be kinder to your pocket book, depending on who is buying the ammunition, and they sometimes can be had with adjustable rear sights.

 

[Tallball]

Thanks for the good advice. I have read some of your excellent posts on the subject in the past V, and they are what pointed me in this direction. And besides, I don't have a Colt (yet).

Now I just need to unleash my cheapskate super powers!

 

[Vodoun da Vinci]

As already observed, decent examples and even some poor examples of these guns are not cheap. Right at this time they seem to be at a lower point than they were 6 months ago judging by the prices I'm seeing.

If there was a modern equivalent I'd buy one....a full sized pistol in .32 acp, locked breech (I realize the originals are blowback), and maybe polymer frame and stainless barrel and slide. A pistol with a 3 3/4" - 4" barrel ...basically a modern Pocket Hammerless. We'll never see that it's a dream.

They are dandy newbie pistols and I have yet to meet anyone who does not smile when they shoot them. With mine, I have seen folks go from reluctant shooter and recoil sensitive flinching newbie to smiling, target hammering, confident intermediate in about 200 rounds and a few hours with one of our Pocket Hammerless. I enjoy watching that transformation and dropping $600 on a pistol that can do that is money well spent for me.

VooDoo

 

[Old Fuff]

I don't have a Colt (yet).

Understand that the .32 version of Colt's Pocket Pistol that was made from 1903 to 1946 (with a handful later) is not a rare bird, as they made some 572,000 + of them. Many remain in excellent shape mechanically with various degrees of finish wear, running from none to 25% remaining. So far as shooting is concerning cosmetics make absolutely no difference. Prices for shooter-grade guns run around $250 to $400. Those that have their original finish to at least 80% will be found in the $375 to $1,000 depending.

A seldom watched source is estate auctions that sometimes don't draw bidders interested in any .32 pistol or revolvers. Check out the following link for examples.

www.proxibid.com

 

[Jim Watson]

There was one Lady coach doing a women's class.
She settled on the Colt Gov't .380 (still in production at the time) for something handy for the small statured shooter, with enough bang and recoil for them to feel like they were shooting a Real Gun, but not enough to beat them up and start flinching.

I have one and locked breech .380 is about like blowback .32.