Colt Frontier Scout Model '62 .22LR

[mike101]

Good morning all.

I recently inherited one of these from my dad. My mom bought it for him for Christmas in 1962. Serial # 1134P. It has a blued barrel and cylinder. The frame is finished in some kind of black material (often referred to as "blued"), but I'm not sure what it is. It had imitation stag grips, originally.

I'm sending it to Fords (www.fordsguns.com) to be nickel-plated, and I need to know what the frame is made of, as the price of the work depends on it. I am seeing conflicting info on the web. Some, like the Utah Gun Collectors Assoc., say that this is the steel "heavy frame". Others have stated that it is a Zamac alloy frame.

Anybody got one of these? Any and all help will be much appreciated.

Thanks
Mike

 

[usp_fan]

Is the finished damaged? Refinishing an old colt can be risky as their values are rising all the time.

I'm sorry I can't help with the frame material question.

 

[mike101]

Yes, the finish is rather beat up. The gun only has about 50 rounds through it, though. Mechanically, it's in fine shape.

These are not worth all that much. Usually about $450-500 new in box. This one is hardly that. I've seen NIB for as much as $750, but I'll bet it's a tough sell at that price.

I'm not really concerned about collector value anyway. I'm going to be shooting it.

 

[gggman]

My brother has one that used to belong to my grandfather, and I'm pretty sure the frame is aluminum.

 

[rcmodel]

If a magnet will stick to it, it is steel.

If it won't, it isn't!


rcmodel

 

[mike101]

Now why didn't I think of that. Magnet does not stick. This must be the Zamac alloy. They only made the aluminum in '57 and '58.

I did a little more digging. They didn't make the steel frame until the '70s. The Zamac frame was considered the "heavy frame" because it weighed 6 oz. more than the aluminum.

Thanks guys.