longstandingletdown
Member
Hello All, for my first post here, I'd like to (re)introduce those younger members to my favorite firearm and a decent last ditch survival weapon, the Colt 1903 Pocket Model. Also known as the Model M, 1903 Hammerless, and, "Seriously, that used to fit in a pocket?"
At my ripe old age of...er 24, I find this little lady to be the epitome of an easy handling, light recoiling, survival/hunting/zombie dispatching pistol, when fed the right ammunition.
Note: I have a degenerative form of muscular dystrophy, my hand strength (and in certain aspects my forearm strength) has already degraded to a level below that of my 125 lb fiancee, trust me when I say, this is a weapon that ANYONE can handle, especially in its orginally designed chambering of Cal. 32 Rimless Smokeless (later referred to as .32 ACP)
(Purists avert your eyes, I'm 24 and will never be capable of affording health insurance, let alone 'quality' gunsmithing, as such, I have to modify my weapons with more or less what I have sitting around my 'crummy' apartment.)
Enter the Colt 1903:
I paid $400 and a half a tank of gas for this specimen, took me about 4 months to save up for, but I did it. The bluing on this baby was about 20% when I bought her, so in true bubba fashion, I grill painted it, and heat treated it in the same oven I bake bread in.
Now, "Why do such a thing?" Simply put: rust protection. Here in Florida, the ambient humidity is high enough that unprotected carbon steel will rust unless constantly (and I mean constantly) oiled. This cheap solution combats exterior rust whilst also allowing for me to easily wipe down my firearm after dry fire and pointing exercises (although grill paint will smear and wear thin if oiled.)
Breakdown for field cleaning is simple, lock back the slide using the gun's only safety (other than the one in the grip), check the chamber, and drop the mag, be sure that the weapon is UNLOADED and observe all safety protocols.
Grab the front of the trigger guard with your thumb, while exerting rearward force on the slide with the index finger of your same hand:
Next, grab the barrel with your other hand, while still exerting rearward pressure on the slide, and begin to rotate the barrel. It may take a minute or two to figure out how to do it your first time, but it only goes one direction and once you figure it out you'll wonder what the issue was:
After rotation it will look like this (note: I was holding back of slide off camera, otherwise it would have sprung forward from tension of recoil spring):
At my ripe old age of...er 24, I find this little lady to be the epitome of an easy handling, light recoiling, survival/hunting/zombie dispatching pistol, when fed the right ammunition.
Note: I have a degenerative form of muscular dystrophy, my hand strength (and in certain aspects my forearm strength) has already degraded to a level below that of my 125 lb fiancee, trust me when I say, this is a weapon that ANYONE can handle, especially in its orginally designed chambering of Cal. 32 Rimless Smokeless (later referred to as .32 ACP)
(Purists avert your eyes, I'm 24 and will never be capable of affording health insurance, let alone 'quality' gunsmithing, as such, I have to modify my weapons with more or less what I have sitting around my 'crummy' apartment.)
Enter the Colt 1903:
I paid $400 and a half a tank of gas for this specimen, took me about 4 months to save up for, but I did it. The bluing on this baby was about 20% when I bought her, so in true bubba fashion, I grill painted it, and heat treated it in the same oven I bake bread in.
Now, "Why do such a thing?" Simply put: rust protection. Here in Florida, the ambient humidity is high enough that unprotected carbon steel will rust unless constantly (and I mean constantly) oiled. This cheap solution combats exterior rust whilst also allowing for me to easily wipe down my firearm after dry fire and pointing exercises (although grill paint will smear and wear thin if oiled.)
Breakdown for field cleaning is simple, lock back the slide using the gun's only safety (other than the one in the grip), check the chamber, and drop the mag, be sure that the weapon is UNLOADED and observe all safety protocols.
Grab the front of the trigger guard with your thumb, while exerting rearward force on the slide with the index finger of your same hand:
Next, grab the barrel with your other hand, while still exerting rearward pressure on the slide, and begin to rotate the barrel. It may take a minute or two to figure out how to do it your first time, but it only goes one direction and once you figure it out you'll wonder what the issue was:
After rotation it will look like this (note: I was holding back of slide off camera, otherwise it would have sprung forward from tension of recoil spring):
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