colt police positive 60's era, any reason not to?

[lobo9er]

About to spend about 500 including shipping and tranfer fee. Any reason I shouldn't? Its a colt police positive 38 spl from the 60"s looks in nice shape bore and chamber clean. Should be safe to shoot with regular 38 spl ammo right? But should not shoot +p stuff too right? Any Info would help out thanks in advance

 

[Steve C]

These revolvers where steel frame and police issue. They will stand up to commercial +P without any problem. For normal target shooting there's really no need to run +P which by nature is harder on any pistol. If you want to keep it loaded with +p for defense and practice with a few boxes a year you should have no problems.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Get it

 

[PRM]

Colt PPS 1967 Vintage

1967 vintage. Elephant ivory grips by Jerry Meacham

Never regretted buying mine.

A few rounds of +P might not hurt it ~ but, not while I own it. Its a classic and not made anymore. There are plenty of standard velocity .38 out there to shoot.

 

[MMCSRET]

I have one from 1973, just before they came out with the ejector rod shroud. Mine is a 5" and is really a great belt gun and a fantastic shooter. I use 158 gr. hand cast SWC over 4.2 gr. of A#2. It gets about 200 rounds a month. Had to have the hand stretched recently, it was starting to loose time and not throw the cylinder quite far enough to lock.
Really great guns.

 

[Guillermo]

the price seems a bit high but the gun sounds wonderful

 

[Sport45]

Do you know anything about how it locks up? I understand it's a little harder to find pistolsmiths who are competent with working on Colt lockworks and getting work done is more expensive. If I was really wanting a Colt I might pay $500 if it passed Jim March's revolver checkout above. I'd pass if it didn't

 

[RON in PA]

I would not buy any Colt revolver with that type SA/DA action unless I could check it out personally first to make sure the timing was ok. Colts are notorious for going out of time. Also the number of trained pistol smiths able to work on Colts decreases each year.

Also IMHO the price is way too high.

 

[Guillermo]

it is a LOT harder to find a Colt gunsmith. The parts have to be hand fitted and it is a skill that few care enough (or think that there is a market for) to learn. That said, the "delicate nature of Colt lockwork is overstated to the point of fiction.

To check out your gun do the following. Make sure that it is unloaded. Check again.

Pull the hammer back and then while holding the hammer pull the trigger. Gently let the hammer down (actually you can just dry fire it, this is my particular peculiarity...or one of them anyway) While HOLDING THE TRIGGER to the rear there should be no, as in zero, zilch rotational movement.

Check the gun again as you are going to look down the barrel. Do this procedure again using your thumb on the trigger. Shine a pen light down the barrel. Due to reflection this is not as easy as it sounds. I find that a piece of paper slid in at the back of the cylinder helps.

Another thing to look at is every screw on the gun. Scratches and buggered up screws are warning signs.

Hope this helps

 

[PRM]

Can't say that I have found Colts that delicate or troublesome. Some parts require fitting, some drop in. I changed out a hammer in a Detective Special this past spring and it was a drop-in perfect fit.

I been carrying and shooting them for over 30 years now. In fact when I became an LEO in the late 70s, we furnished our own weapons. The guidelines we had were a 4 inch, .38 or .357, Colt or S&W ~ period.

Lack of gunsmiths? I have always sent mine back to Colt when I needed a gunsmith. Not only will they fix and repair them, but are great as far a having a vintage gun refinished. The Colt Custom Shop is also fast on turn around and very reasonable in price.

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[The Lone Haranguer]

... any reason not to?

In good condition - especially the cylinder timing/lockup - none at all.

 

[lobo9er]

..........

 

[Sport45]

He mentioned the price included shipping. I take that to mean he won't be able to check the lockwork until after he's forked over the cash and waited for it to arrive at his friendly neighborhood FFL.

 

[barneyrw]

Price is on the high side, either that or I got a super deal. Last October I paid $256.75 which included shipping and transfer fee on Gunbroker.com. Colt Police Positive (4" barrel) made in 1966 in very good condition with original wood grips.

 

[lobo9er]

20 rounds shot through total, original owner, pearl grips. didn't look hardly carried at all by pictures. Its all how honest the seller is, if he is the price doesn't really bother me and by most accounts so far they are pretty reliable guns. I will post pics when I can figure out how.