Colt DA Revolvers

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volgunner

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I'm relatively new to handguns. I purchased my first revolver, a S&W 686+ 4", two years ago, and a S&W 642 last year, both new.

I'm thinking about branching out and acquiring a Colt revolver, possibly a Detective Special.

Two questions:

First, what attributes of the Colt line do you like over comparable S&W revolvers?

Second, since Colts are no longer manufactured, how difficult is it to find parts and/or service if something goes wrong?

As always, thanks for your sharing your insight.

Regards,
Russell
 
Some Colts are in demand for their unique attributes, like the ones Eustachius mentions above.

Others are bought because they say, "Colt" on them.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with gun collecting.

I'm just saying that you can't really ask that question about "Colts" across the board. The answer depends, in part, on the gun in question.
 
About time you see the end in the tunnel. Going to move up. Well Colt's are well made first of all. Yes, Diamondbacks, and Pythons are all the craze. Will appreciate more than any other revolvers. Yes, there are different choices, depending on you needs. as for parts, well i got a 1959 and a 1966 Colt Officers Match 6". I have never had the need for parts. Well made. But if you do, Jack First Gunshop is your option. If they don't have a part, they can make it. Good luck!
 
Given the specific case of a Detective Special...

The lockwork is the older type and is a double edged sword.
The advantage is that it's hand fitted.
The disadvantage is that it's hand fitted: depending on the part, you can't just "drop it in" - it'll have to be fitted just like when it was first made.

I've discovered that local 'smiths claiming expertise in Colt lockworks may suffer from a lack of self-appraisal skills and ruin your firearm.

Colt's will still work on many but there's a cut-off of some sort based on age and I believe the Detective Special spans the cut-off. Some they'll work on, some they won't.

Grant Cunningham does great work on them but his waiting list only blinks open momentarily once a year. Cylinder & Slide has a great reputation and there's likely others as well.

In general, you'll be looking at expensive air freight getting the thing out of town for work and a long wait before coughing up return air freight.

Almost any double action Colt thread will eventually get a link to Grant Cunningham's article on "delicate":
http://grantcunningham.com/blog_files/colt_python_delicate.html

Essentially, they're not delicate but, like Ferraris, require maintenance which is getting next to impossible to get. It was probably a good analogy when first written but it's strained in today's climate: one can get a Ferrari competently serviced in any major metropolitan area - the same is no longer true of the hand-fitted Colts.

While true that the Colt's don't have locks, it's rather of a bogus comparison - I don't believe any revolver had locks at the time Colt went out of the business. If Colt's was still in the business of making double action revolvers they might well have batteries, biometrics and a reboot button. It'd make the lock look positively benign.
 
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First, what attributes of the Colt line do you like over comparable S&W revolvers?
Click to expand...

1. compared to the J-frame (your 642) the DS holds 6 rounds
2. it takes the same speedloader as the S&W K-frame
3. it is powered by a leaf spring and it's longer hammer stroke makes it easier to shoot than the J-frame
4. it's bolt cuts in the cylinder are off-set from the chambers, making it a stronger system of lockup
5. the DS action locks up tighter than the S&W
6. the rifling contributes to more accuracy with med-weight bullets
7. the action can be tuned beyond anything a J-frame can approuch
 
I own Colts, and in some ways I like them. But I really have to ask the Colt fans one question: If they were so damned good, how come Colt couldn't sell enough of them to keep making them? Colt's "new" guns, to some extent imitation S&W's, never got off the ground, it was too little, too late.

They cost too much (you paid like hell for that vaunted "hand fitting"); they were/are bears to work on; they never had a good double action, even with that "hand fitting"; they got out of time very easily.

But they shot, very, very well. And the small frames had that sixth shot, which seemed to mean so much to people who never really expected to confront even two bad guys, let alone six.

Jim
 
When it comes to revolvers...

I'm much more of a S&W fan, but I do have a Detective Special that I'm very fond of. My other Colt is a 1911. Pony guns are fine weapons.
 
The Colt is a good choice. I have mostly Smiths, but really like my 6" Trooper MKIII. It's reliable and accurate and I don't plan on ever selling it off.
 
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They cost too much (you paid like hell for that vaunted "hand fitting"); they were/are bears to work on; they never had a good double action, even with that "hand fitting"; they got out of time very easily.
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i am amazed at how much Colt was able to get for them. i have 3 Pythons and never paid over $400 for any of them...granted only one was bought new and the other two are working guns and look like it.

i was lucky in having a local real Python master-smith who worked the action until they feel like glass and i carried that one as a duty gun before i screwed on a longer barrel so i could shoot it in PPC. it wasn't as tight after all the years, but i don't think it's out of time yet...maybe it was just so accurate that i haven't noticed yet.

i also have a .22lr Diamondback that was tuned by the same smith, that i almost sold my 6" S&W M-17
 
Thanks for the replies, guys. Sounds like a mixed bag, but I'm inclined to go take a closer look at the Detective Special currently at the pawn shop.

Regards,
Russell
 
Colt

I have carried both S&W and Colt revolvers over the past 32 years as an LEO. I still carry a Detective Special regularly, and also own a Smith & Wesson Model 60 that my wife has claimed as hers.

Thoughts and experiences on Colt:

1. They are excellent guns, Colt quality and reliability have been recognized in professional circles for well into its 2nd century. Other makes are also good - so it's personal preference.

2. Colt DA revolvers are not currently being made so they have a unique appeal. You can still find them new or like new on just about all of the auction sites at fairly reasonable prices. Some models command premium prices, such as the Diamondback and the Python. Others like the Police Positive Special, and Detective Special are well within the price range of most shooters and collectors.

3. Parts are still easy to obtain. Also, Colt Industries will still repair and refinish their products. I currently have a 2nd issue Detective Special that required some mechanical work as well as rebluing when I bought it. When I received the gun back from Colt, it was as close to a new gun as you could find both in appearance and function. I believe the final polish prior to the reblue was done by hand. There were no rounding of any sharp edges from aggressive buffing, and all the lettering was still clear and crisp.

4. There are still gunsmiths other than at Colt that can take care of any problem you might have. You may not find them at the corner sporting goods - but they are out there. David Chicoine, at www.oldwestgunsmith.com is one of the best. He can even custom build guns to the customers specs. I have posted several pics of a Colt Bisley he built for me.

If someone wanted a Colt - no reason not to buy one. Their great shooters and also a piece of American Firearms History.
 
I like Colts and Smiths and Taurus and Rossi and Ruger. I have more Colt DA revolvers from the 20's to the 50's than all other brands combined, as for hard to work on, not so bad with quality parts and the Kuhnhausen Guide books. Jack First has quality parts. Just don't get in a hurry when fitting parts, its like assembling a custom machined and printed engine, close tolerances and very satisfying.
 
"But I really have to ask the Colt fans one question: If they were so damned good, how come Colt couldn't sell enough of them to keep making them?"

I'm not privvy to Colt's business models and decisions, but I am privvy to the one Colt I own.

And it's "damned good" enough for me to stake my life on it.

If and when I have to choose between my SW M36 and my DS, I choose the Dick everytime.

My M36 gets carried when, for one reason or another, I can't carry my Colt.
 
I just love the fact that not every shooter appreciates Colt DA's, that keeps demand down and makes it possible for me to keep looking and possibly "overspending" by buying them.
:evil:

There are several makers of true high quality revolvers, each maker has a masterpiece or a few to crow about. Not including Colt and it's MANY masterpieces of the DA revolver world in any discussion of the best available is an example of;

1. ignorance or lack of specific experience (no shame in that)
2. lunacy (still not your fault)
3. jealousy or misguided brand loyalty (here, try to get a grip)

Colt cannot be everything to everyone any more than anyone else can. If you truly identify the characteristics of what you want or need you can effectively decide if a specific Colt is for you. The Detective Special belongs in any discussion of the very best of it's type ever produced.
 
I just love the fact that not every shooter appreciates Colt DA's, that keeps demand down and makes it possible for me to keep looking and possibly "overspending" by buying them.
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Oh, I don't know. Even those of us that have had Pythons ruined by local 'smiths and point out the challenges of getting service will still snag DA Colts when a good deal is spotted. Gotta do our part to keep the prices up. ;)

The ones that needed service were used product that needed it when I got them. This says more about the quality of prior ownership than it does about Colt generally. It's also cured me of buying the things over the internet though I'm now making regular exceptions for other product that's easier to fix.

If it was working right when I got it, it's still working right. I haven't yet gotten one to where it needed help just by shooting it. I am gentle in that regard though.

There's a pantload of Colt DAs that don't suffer / benefit from being hand fitted. The Anaconda is one that I rather like. I've heard that breaking a firing pin will send it back to CT but that's rare enough I'm more worried about the Earth's magnetic field reversing while I'm at lunch.

I've even got a DS but ever since I noticed it has no turn line to speak of I've been extraordinarily gentle. Even without box and paper it's doing stuff my "J" frames don't do - appreciate like the dickens. If it keeps it up, that one DS will make trade bait against a 57 or 27 some one of these days.

Not all Colts are as high-strung as Pythons or as difficult to get worked on. And Pythons that work tend to keep working. Even us curmudgeons would admit such if we're pressed. For some reason, Detective Specials just don't seem wound up as tight as Pythons even though they're both the earlier lockwork - or maybe that's just me.
 
I have the following Colts:

Colt M1849 original cap-and-ball
Colt SAA (2nd generation) .357
Colt M357 (precursor to the Python)
Colt Detective Special
Colt New Service (in .45 Colt)
Argentine M1927 (made in Argentina, on Colt machinery, under Colt supervision.)
Colt Service Ace .22 Conversion kit -- presently mounted on the M1927
Colt Officer's Model Target (.22 LR)
Colt The Woodsman (First edition.)

I have zero S&Ws.
 
There are still some old timers who can work on those Colt DA's (I'm one, but don't do any work any more), but they are getting thin on the ground. There is little doubt in my mind that more of those guns have been ruined by incompetent smiths, usually doing unnecessary work, than were ever worn out or broken.

If you have one, use it and enjoy. If you think it is out of time, or doesn't lock up right, look at the fired rounds. As long as the firing pin strike is in the middle of the primer, THERE IS NOTHING WRONG, DON'T TRY TO FIX IT!

The greatest enemy of those guns is the "gun guru" who gets people all worried about timing, advising them to take the gun to a "gunsmith", who then really hacks it up.

Jim
 
If you have one, use it and enjoy. If you think it is out of time, or doesn't lock up right, look at the fired rounds. As long as the firing pin strike is in the middle of the primer, THERE IS NOTHING WRONG, DON'T TRY TO FIX IT!
Click to expand...

The best advice you can give anyone with questions about an old Colt (and many another old gun) is "ask the gun!"

Does it function correctly?
Does it shoot accurately?

Then leave it alone!!
 
Most of the pre-1970's Colt revolvers that I've examined and found to be out of time, were that was because of abuse, not normal use. One common cause is a sprung crane because of someone flipping the cylinder in and out. That's relatively easy to correct.

The older Colt's that I have are not out of time, even after considerable use. But then, they were never abused. :cool:
 
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