Colt Police Positive Special Columbian with Pics & Questions

[il_10]

I just bought a Colt's Police Positive Special in .38 special at a gun show. It was advertised as a 1926, but I'm having a hard time referencing that. Serial number is 430### and "No. 1138" on the butt.

The chrome (nickel??) has seen better days, but the timing's on, lockup is bank-vault; it checked out mechanically so I jumped on it. Paid $200 out the door. What's different about this one is that it was apparently made on contract for the Colombian police. The barrel is marked "Republica de colombia / policia nacional." The cylinder release is checkered, as is the trigger. Would that have been factory?

Does anyone have any information on these guns? Is $200 a decent buy? I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do with it yet. If there's not much collector value, I may just butcher it for carry, park it, maybe turn it into a fitz special (probably leave the trigger guard intact though...) if it's not too much of a sin.
If the collector appeal is there, I'll probably shoot and carry in its current condition until I have the expendable cash to get Colt to refinish the chrome (nickel??), then stash it away somewhere.










Also, which grips do I need for this if I want to replace them? I know there's a lot of difference in the PPS models through the years, but I'm not too clear on what those differences are exactly.

Thanks!

 

[SaxonPig]

If I am reading the book right it is 1934. I believe this is the D frame but there may be variations over the years. In my experience Colt stocks do not swap as readily as do S&Ws. This was made for the Colombian police and the number on the back was added by them.

No idea as to original finish. At $200 I would clean it up as best as possible and shoot it.

 

[il_10]

http://proofhouse.com/colt/left.htm reads 1934, but I was under the impression that they had rounded the grip frame by then?

 

[Old Fuff]

1934 is the correct date of manufacturer, and the checkered cylinder release thumb piece and trigger are correct for the period. Colt didn't round the butt on Police Positive Special's until after World War two. The stocks are not original, but Colt did make some in black plastic after the war, as did (and still do) some aftermarket makers. The stocks that came on it were checkered walnut, and are hard to find in decent shape - and usually expensive when you do. Unlike the Police Positive, the frame's handle were not changed until after the war on the "Special" version.

A great finish doesn't help a gun shoot any better. If the lockwork timing is good, and the bore and chambers are bright, you got a reasonable deal. The same revolver with a 2" barrel (Detective Special) would likely go for $50 to $100 more. The PPS is a much more practical gun for most users.

 

[rmfnla]

And if it's the original finish it's nickel.

 

[Seamore2001]

That's a nice little shooter there, and probably of interest to collectors of police-owned guns. Don't refinish it or you'll destroy any value to a collector - assuming that its current finish is original, that is.

You may find the grip on it to be a little uncomfortable, in which case you could spend $35 and get a Tyler T-grip adapter - [edit - it takes a #7 T-grip, not a #5 like I said earlier].

I think the price you paid is fine - if I'd seen it for that price I would have scooped it up.

One other thing - since it's probably nickel finish, don't use Hoppes or any other gun cleaner that has ammonia in it. If the ammonia gets under the nickel, it'll eat away at the copper undercoating.

 

[il_10]

Hey, thanks for the heads up Seamore! I had read that before, but didn't think anything of it because I didn't have anything in nickel. I was going to clean it with some hoppes in a couple hours, so you just saved me some finish!

I've looked at the t-grips, I'll probably be picking one up. I've also seen some fat grips on numrich that are listed for the pps with the square butt for about the same price. Dunno who makes 'em, but they look good, too. Anybody tried these?