Colt Detective Special

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jtsteiert

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I picked up a like new detective special almost two weeks ago now. It looked to have been fired very little in its 39 years, it came with the black rubber Colt pachmeyer grips with golden medallions on it but to me it didn't look right.

I ordered a set of badger grips in rosewood and they came in today. Now it looks right to me, these grips are pretty amazing, nice fit and finish, fast service, and went right on with no additional fitting required.

I really want to get tot he range and shoot it to see how it functions, lock up is very tight, bore is clean and like new. I can tell you though I probably wont shoot it much, its been a safe queen all its life and I don't want to change that too much.

Some photos for your viewing pleasure.
ColtDSBadgerGrips1_zpsbb3ffa39.jpg

ColtDSBadgerGrips_zpscdf8ea02.jpg
 
What a beauty, mine is blue and not nearly so nice. It wears the pinky hook Pachmayr Colts. I believe you have the best .38 snubby made. Be prepared to be patient adjusting to the art of snubby revolvers if you aren't already so adjusted.

Once you have, be prepared to succeed. Before actively finding and buying mine, I heard stories of 100 yd. accuracy from Dick Specials that I chalked up to internet hype from keyboard comandos. Not anymore. I'm not the guy to do it, but eliminate operator error and use the right ammo and I can now see it being done.

I recently helped a buddy who was J frame averse find, purchase and shake down a CCW snubby. We settled on a 2" Model 10 that suits him fine, he was and is pleased. I like the 10 we found but will hang onto my DS thanks. The gun after many rounds of practice is just "right".

P.S. I am not afraid of a few rounds of modern SD +P either. I will accent the "few" due to accelerated wear and the dearth of Colt proficient gunsmiths
 
Hey jtsteiert, Very nice Colt Det Spec. I am just wondering what type of ammo you use if you use it for ccw. I only shot mine with range ammo and I have a box of +P ammo and I am not sure about using that type. I have a 1966 and I do use it for ccw.
 

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Nice grips and nice Detective Special.

For ammunition in my DS, I found some Speer Gold Dot 125 grain standard pressure. The Speer guy told me these are LE loads that sometimes have overruns and are available commercially. I practice with standard pressure metal case then load the Gold Dots as warshots. (All Gold Dots are designed to penetrate 12 inches, so I'm not seeing a real downside to using a standard pressure over +P.)
 
OHhhhh, that Colts a beauty! I can unnerstan why you might not smoke up 300 rds the first time at the range, get it all smudged up. I've got a Python 6" , a Colt Cobra 4" and a Colt Trooper 4", the Trooper gets all the rounds it wants, the others are on a pretty strict diet ! Ha Congrats !!
 
Colt says, after 1,000 (to 3,000 depending on who you believe) of modern +P, send it back to the factory, whose "tune up" MIGHT INCLUDE A NEW FRAME.

Colt no longer does repair work for DA revolvers. So... we are on our own.

A few of us old holdouts still use them. Those that do, do so with an eye toward wearing them out by the time WE wear out. An eminently reasonable propostion.

If you are positioned differently, and want the gun to outlast you "for prosperity", then asses where you are for replacement parts and Colt smiths. You may never shoot it at all. Guys like you are really necessary for the next generation to get any idea at all of what once was.
 
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Nice DS! I've been trying to find a clean 3rd series for a reasonable price but so far all the people I've dealt with have been flakes. Can't find one locally so online is my only choice.
 
Thanks for all the compliments guys... I have wanted a NICE looking quality revolver for some time now so you can imagine my excitement over finally having one!
I'm not sure if its the excitement or what but I'm a little apprehensive to shoot this one a lot, I heard that the nickel finish is soft and easy to damage so I'm nervous about handling and using it a lot.

golfshot72, I have not shot it or carried it yet, I did receive 200 rounds of various JHP and SWC ammo with it when I got it, some of it is +P some of it is standard pressure, the guy I got it from even had a box of +P+ ammo. I'm not sure what I will ever do with +P+ as I wont shoot it from the DS, I suppose I will sell it or trade for something I can use but for now I'm stuck with it.

I ordered a Tom Threepersons holster and ammo slide from Ray at Lobogunleather this week, He tells me its around 7 weeks production on my order. This is going to be a long 7 weeks.

Here is a photo of the rig I am getting.

CarvedsetcordSWK42_zps3c10559e.jpg
 
I confess to not being "big" on nickel plated revolvers, but that is one nice looking gun. I can't imagine carrying one that nice, though, knowing what can happen to a carry gun if you ever have to use it.

Jim
 
The first "real" handgun I ever bought was a Detective Special. I was in the army at the time, about 1965.
Blued, and of course with the stock grips... Even then I was planning a police career.
It was quite accurate; the only ammo we could get over in Germany at the time was the old standard Police Service load....The 158 gr. round-nosed bullet at rather modest velocity.
However, I found I could knock a paint can around steadily at 100 yards using Kieth's long-range shooting techniques.
 
Jim K- your right, i could not imagine having to give her up if I ever had to defend myself with her, but on the flip side I would gladly give up the gun over my life any-day. She will probably be a bedside gun though to reduce the chance if holster damage and all.

Bikewer- I can not imagine hitting anything at 100 yards with a gun that has a 2" or less barrel... I'm curious as to this long range technique you speak of? Where can I learn more about this?
 
I've been collecting and shooting Detectives for years. The nickel finish isn't particularly fragile, but can be damaged by hoppes 9 which can attack the underlying copper. If you use hoppes for cleaning, just be sure to remove all traces when finished. Personally I use Breakfree CLP. I have an old (1962) Detective that was carried for 32 years by a police officer. It has fired untold thousands of rounds and it's nickel finish while showing the usual wear and tear of a daily carry gun, is still sound.
 
I'm curious as to this long range technique you speak of? Where can I learn more about this?
Click to expand...
http://elmerkeithwasdeadright.blogspot.com/
Long-range handgun shooting is done from all the conventional positions, such as prone and offhand, and includes an Elmer Keith innovation called the sitting back rest, where you sit on the ground with your back braced against a tree or other vertical backing and your knees are raised to provide support for your arms while shooting. Keith also gives some unconventional advice on long-range sighting with factory iron sights. The problem is, if you just raise a conventional sight picture higher than you want to hit, you obscure the target, and aiming somewhere in the sky above your target can hardly be considered precise gunhandling. The Keith method is to hold the front sight blade up above the rear notch a certain measure. It takes a while to determine how far to raise the front sight for different ranges, but the technique can be surprisingly accurate out to about 500 yards.
Click to expand...
Try the technique explained. You will truly be surprised what you can hit with a wheelgun at longer ranges.

IIRC Keith used a thin brass bar about halfway down the front sight as an additional measurement device.
 
I've seen a lot of nickel plated Colts over the years, but almost none that nice. It will wear and it will pick up little scratches from carry and range use. So be warned! Personally I'd leave it in the safe, and I don't say that about many firearms.
 
To heck, with saving them for the next guy. Unless a gun is boxed and unfired, I use them. FWIW, I have broke out a few old NIB models and shot them, too.
 
Colt DS

Have one just like it.

Love the DS.

It was made to and should be shot.

I agree that a steady diet of 38Special will not be it's demise and recommend against +P unless for self defense.

It will outlast you.

Congratulations.:D
 
Wow, beautiful revolver. I think your choice a grips compliments the bling of the nickel plating nicely.
 
Well I did it again, I took the wife to the local gun show and guess what she found?

We all know that Colts are like potato chips, you cant have just one!

LNIB Gen 2 and we couldn't leave her behind... Now the wife has the older sister to my nickel plated one. The newest one was born in 1970, mine in 74.


DS_zps96643e59.jpg
 
jtsteiert said:
I picked up a like new detective special almost two weeks ago now. It looked to have been fired very little in its 39 years, it came with the black rubber Colt pachmeyer grips with golden medallions on it but to me it didn't look right.
Click to expand...

Looks almost exactly like the 1981 DS I purchased from a fellow member a couple months back! Same story on the grips.

Mine is at the gunsmith now getting the once over for springs and timing, although he said he doubted he could make the trigger any smoother if he tried. I didn't send it in for a while because I just liked looking at it...
 
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