Colt Jr. - 1960s "Pocket Protector"

[Ibmikey]

Jelly jar, That is a nice pistol to play with even if a bit dated technology, i do not know if they incorporated a shorter pin but carrying it in my pocket with the hammer cocked and safety on is a little unnerving. There are so many better CC firearms available today than in the sixties it does not make sense to carry a Cub.

 

[Plan2Live]

If your pistol is drop safe perhaps it would be better to carry it with the hammer down and then thumb cock it when drawing it before firing instead of trying to work that tiny safety.

Go back and ready my original post.
1. It's not my pistol.
2. I would never carry a .22 short for self defense.
3. It's not my pistol.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Plan2Live...Thanks for posting pictures of your coworkers "pocket Protector"

I was checking out a local pawn shop today and they had one under the glass for sale...$457 + 7% tax

 

[eazyrider]

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A co-worker lost his dad two weeks ago and inherited this Colt Junior as a result of his loss. While many were chambered in .25acp, this one is chambered in .22 short. Yes, .22 short. Based on the limited information I found on this pistol it was made by Astra in Spain for Colt. It was imported into the US between 1958 and 1968. I is a single action design so it was intended to be carried cocked & locked. The manual safety is where you would expect the magazine release to be.

When the Gun Control Act of 1968 was passed, it prevented law abiding citizens against being attacked with lethal weapons like this Colt Jr. by banning their importation. So the Colt Jr. faded off into forgotten history.

All joking aside, it definitely highlights a different mindset in the 60s vs today. And yes I acknowledge that people were carrying .357s and other large calibers in those days too. But this pistol is too small to be a range toy so surely it must have been marketed as a bona fide self defense weapon. And while I wouldn’t voluntarily allow someone to shoot me with it, I’m fairly certain unless you had perfect shot placement and a great deal of luck on your side, shooting someone with a .22 short out of a short barrel would probably result in a substantial butt whoopin’. We all know the story about filing the front sights off little guns like this so it hurts less when the person you shot takes it from you and …….well we all know that story.

I hope you enjoy the picks as much as I enjoyed looking Junior over and doing some research for my friend. The other pistol in the photos is a Ruger LCP Custom. Enjoy!

Do you move the safety down to fire or does it slide forward?