Michael Tinker Pearce
Member
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2016
- Messages
- 1,575
The other day I stopped into Pinto's to introduce my friend Kevin to the wonder and glory of that particular shop. Naturally I had to have a look in the case and spotted a near-pristine Colt Junior .25 auto for $300- a pretty good price for one in that condition. I would have seriously thought about it if I hadn't noticed nearby a Colt Detective Special with a hammer-shroud in .32 Colt New Police (.32 S&W Long.) Odd enough to see this, but the price floored me- also $300! According to the tag it had a 'timing issue.' I looked anyway, and was a bit baffled at first, but then I was told to manually cock it very slowly. When I did the cylinder failed to lock by about 1/32". Double action and normal thumb-cocking could not reproduce this effect.
The gun is in excellent condition, showing only mild holster-wear to what I believe is the original finish; the stamped pony on the sideplate has slightly raised edges which would not be present on a refinished gun. The double action trigger is worthy of awe, and the factory-installed Colt hammer-shroud could perhaps be sold for more than the price of the gun! I asked them to set it aside while I consulted Linda. Cash is tight, but I thought we could at least put it on layaway. Linda approved this plan, but for some time she has been hinting that I should perhaps consider disposing of the guns I wasn't much interested in, and there were a couple of suitable candidates. A bit of horse-trading later and we walked out with the Colt and Linda- lord she has a good eye- put the Colt Junior on layaway! At the end of things we weren't out-of pocket so much as a dollar.
On arriving home I checked the serial number- the gun was produced in 1949. I may actually have this gun lettered by Colt- it's that good. Plus the factory-installed hammer-shroud may actually be worth more than I paid for the gun. This is one gun that I am absolutely not going to molest! OK, I might add a T-grip, but that's 100% reversible so it doesn't really count.
The tiny amount I need to stretch the hand to bring it into time should be no problem, but I am in no hurry; the problem does not happen in normal operation; you pretty much have to provoke it deliberately. I'm going to head out to the shop and load some ammo- I can hardly wait to get this thing to the range!
Here's the pics-
Yes, the grips are ugly as hell, but they are staying; they are just part of the gun somehow.
The gun is in excellent condition, showing only mild holster-wear to what I believe is the original finish; the stamped pony on the sideplate has slightly raised edges which would not be present on a refinished gun. The double action trigger is worthy of awe, and the factory-installed Colt hammer-shroud could perhaps be sold for more than the price of the gun! I asked them to set it aside while I consulted Linda. Cash is tight, but I thought we could at least put it on layaway. Linda approved this plan, but for some time she has been hinting that I should perhaps consider disposing of the guns I wasn't much interested in, and there were a couple of suitable candidates. A bit of horse-trading later and we walked out with the Colt and Linda- lord she has a good eye- put the Colt Junior on layaway! At the end of things we weren't out-of pocket so much as a dollar.
On arriving home I checked the serial number- the gun was produced in 1949. I may actually have this gun lettered by Colt- it's that good. Plus the factory-installed hammer-shroud may actually be worth more than I paid for the gun. This is one gun that I am absolutely not going to molest! OK, I might add a T-grip, but that's 100% reversible so it doesn't really count.
The tiny amount I need to stretch the hand to bring it into time should be no problem, but I am in no hurry; the problem does not happen in normal operation; you pretty much have to provoke it deliberately. I'm going to head out to the shop and load some ammo- I can hardly wait to get this thing to the range!
Here's the pics-
Yes, the grips are ugly as hell, but they are staying; they are just part of the gun somehow.
