Is there any interest in reviving the Colt 1903?
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JimC
Member
I voted yes and would love to have one in .380 however, if it were Colt made I doubt if I could afford one. 
As intriguing as the 1903 is, it is way to big to be considered for concealed carry in 380 or 32 acp.
The 1903 is twice as big and over 3 times the weight of a P-3AT that fires the same round.
I enjoy shooting mine every now and then, but I carry a P-3AT.
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The 1903 is twice as big and over 3 times the weight of a P-3AT that fires the same round.
I enjoy shooting mine every now and then, but I carry a P-3AT.
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The comparison between a beautifully crafted 1903 and that plastic fantastic in a non sequitur. They appeal to vastly different markets. I wouldn't be caught dead shooting, let alone owning, a polymer pistol. I would pony up for a modern 1903 in a red hot instant.
too big?..nonsense...I never liked micro-sized guns or their micro-weight...the Colt Hammerless is the same length as a Colt D.S. or Cobra but a little lighter...and with much cleaner lines...and the weight makes it pleasant to shoot...so practice won't become an un-fun drudgery...and if you must shoot someone in self-defense, why not do it with class..the Hammerless has class to spare...there is nothing outdated about it, only in the minds of trendy-minded people...those are a few of the reasons why it will become the pocket-gun I chose...
Snake Eyes
Member
Uh huh. And the 1903 is single action, with a sweet JMB trigger that no fluff-n-buff KelTec will ever match. Plus, I believe, the 1903 is thinner.
Some of us guys with clumsy, over sized hands kinda like a gun we can more than 2 fingers around.
(I guess y'all know which way I voted)
Is that a definition for people that have a different view then yours?
About the last thing I care about in a self defense sidutation, is how classy I look!
I just checked my 1903 (I guess I have a little class) against my P-3AT and although it is very thin, it is thicker in both the slide and grip than the P-3AT.
I wouldn't take the classy comment I said too seriously..I didn't, when I said it!...there is an awful lot of people who are narrow-minded enough to look at only what was produced this year and five years ago or even what is being touted in today's ads...rather than explore further back in the past...that is what trendiness is...
as the above threader said and I missed another fine point of the Colt is how thin the 1903 is...nothing produced today makes an impression that outshines the Hammerless...unlike the 1903, they are generally ugly, angular, blocky, thick-looking things & I don't think they would pull from a jacket pocket all that well either...I guess I will have to defend the 32 auto cartridge next...
as the above threader said and I missed another fine point of the Colt is how thin the 1903 is...nothing produced today makes an impression that outshines the Hammerless...unlike the 1903, they are generally ugly, angular, blocky, thick-looking things & I don't think they would pull from a jacket pocket all that well either...I guess I will have to defend the 32 auto cartridge next...
A number of companies have considered introducing a 1903/08 Pocket Model clone, and given up on the idea. For one thing, current buyers want a pistol of that size to be chambered in 9mm Luger, not "weak" cartridges like the .32 or .380 ACP. Unfortunately the straight-blowback design of the 1903 won't stand up to the more powerful cartridge, and the magazine well isn't wide enough (front to back) to take the longer cartridge.
The frame was designed to be made from a machined forging, and has very thin cross sections and walls in the handle area. This sort of thing doesn't lend itself well to investment castings or polymer technology, and if the pistol was made "the old way," you wouldn't buy it.
There are those - including me - that like the old pocket pistol, and there are enough used guns on the market to satsify the need at prices that are lower, sometimes much lower, then what a quality reoroduction would cost.
The frame was designed to be made from a machined forging, and has very thin cross sections and walls in the handle area. This sort of thing doesn't lend itself well to investment castings or polymer technology, and if the pistol was made "the old way," you wouldn't buy it.
There are those - including me - that like the old pocket pistol, and there are enough used guns on the market to satsify the need at prices that are lower, sometimes much lower, then what a quality reoroduction would cost.
aspen1964, I agree that the 1903 is without a doubt one of the best looking pistols ever and it does feel great in my hand as well.
I enjoy shooting it, but it just does not work out as a 24/7 pocket pistol, at least not for me.
If I ever have to shoot in self defense, I'm hoping the only part of the pistol the BG sees is it's muzzle flash.
By the way, there is another pistol in 9mm that comes close to the style and thinnes of the 1903.
It's the Tokarev.
If only it had a little better grip angle!
I enjoy shooting it, but it just does not work out as a 24/7 pocket pistol, at least not for me.
If I ever have to shoot in self defense, I'm hoping the only part of the pistol the BG sees is it's muzzle flash.
By the way, there is another pistol in 9mm that comes close to the style and thinnes of the 1903.
It's the Tokarev.
If only it had a little better grip angle!
..it isn't necessary for either of us to convert the other...we each choose what we choose and that is the end of it...It makes no difference to me what one man wants to carry on his person(thats his business), only what I choose to carry on my person.....and I am barely containing my anticipation of my new 1903's arrival...
..and I am barely containing my anticipation of my new 1903's arrival...
gc70
Member
The 1903 is a beauty and I would love to have a new one. In the meantime, I have my eye on a more recent Browning 1910 in .380 ACP, which was built into the 1970s.
Considering a NIB vintage Colt is well over $600... how much is too much?
I'd love to have one... heck I'd like to have a refinished one. I'd like one I can shoot, rather than a safe queen.
Recently there was a 'pocket gun' shoot-out in a big issue of the shotgun news... the Colt came in last compared to many new designs. The writer's biggest beef was the tiny sights, the hard to manipulate safety and the turn of the century ergonomics, which make a snappish feel for such a little (and compared to the others HEAVY) firearm. However you can alter the grip of the Colt with skinny or fat grip panels and overall the gun was very svelte. The trigger stands alone among its competitors.
A 1903 isn't a Kel-Tec, well I already knew that. The market for each is very different.
PS the Walther PPks also scored badly in the test.
I'd love to have one... heck I'd like to have a refinished one. I'd like one I can shoot, rather than a safe queen.
Recently there was a 'pocket gun' shoot-out in a big issue of the shotgun news... the Colt came in last compared to many new designs. The writer's biggest beef was the tiny sights, the hard to manipulate safety and the turn of the century ergonomics, which make a snappish feel for such a little (and compared to the others HEAVY) firearm. However you can alter the grip of the Colt with skinny or fat grip panels and overall the gun was very svelte. The trigger stands alone among its competitors.
A 1903 isn't a Kel-Tec, well I already knew that. The market for each is very different.
PS the Walther PPks also scored badly in the test.
Nightcrawler
Member
Instead of an exact 1903 copy, I'd like to see a pseudo-1903. It'd basically be a scaled down 1911, breech locked, a very thin single-stack 9mm. Give it better sights and better controls. Make the frame out of alloy.
It'd be like Kahr but classic looking.
It'd be like Kahr but classic looking.
M2 Carbine
member
I voted No because I already have two.
They are nice accurate pistols but for carry use a more powerful pistol could be carried for the size.
Before legal carry my Wife and I used to carry the 1903 in our cars.
I got in the middle of a attempted Quick Stop hold up and felt very undergunned with the 32.
I put bigger pistols in our cars.
My Colt.
Wife's Colt
They are nice accurate pistols but for carry use a more powerful pistol could be carried for the size.
Before legal carry my Wife and I used to carry the 1903 in our cars.
I got in the middle of a attempted Quick Stop hold up and felt very undergunned with the 32.
I put bigger pistols in our cars.
My Colt.
Wife's Colt
crucible
Member
Very nice! Notice too 1911 folks (I'm one), the external extractor.
C-
C-
Mad4Pistols
Member
Colt 1903 has my vote..!!!
I've been in love with the 1903 since I was a boy. John Dillinger was killing full grown men (Policemen) with his. Don't know how much more real it can get. This gun represents to me the romanticism of the old days. The saying goes that more men were killed with 32 and 380 then all other calibers combined. Now this is hear-say but I'm willing to look further into that claim to see if there is any truth. My Father taught me how to shoot and his addage was aim small and miss small. We were taught that a 22 would kill and that its all in the hands of the shooter as to what will stop a man or not.
Now laying my opinion aside I see what the polymer guns have going for them. They are lighter, smaller, more concealable and for the most part probably shoot more accurately. But you can't forget history. History tells us that technology doesn't always claim rule over quality. Colt 1903 has a quality that may never be seen again.
Given the choice when wearing suit and tie, I would most likely be pulling out a 1903 out of my pants to do the unthinkable to a perp...
P.S. M2 Carbine,
If you get tired of those old chunks of steel (1903) then you be sure to let me know. LOL.. I just can't get enough of these old colts...
I've been in love with the 1903 since I was a boy. John Dillinger was killing full grown men (Policemen) with his. Don't know how much more real it can get. This gun represents to me the romanticism of the old days. The saying goes that more men were killed with 32 and 380 then all other calibers combined. Now this is hear-say but I'm willing to look further into that claim to see if there is any truth. My Father taught me how to shoot and his addage was aim small and miss small. We were taught that a 22 would kill and that its all in the hands of the shooter as to what will stop a man or not.
Now laying my opinion aside I see what the polymer guns have going for them. They are lighter, smaller, more concealable and for the most part probably shoot more accurately. But you can't forget history. History tells us that technology doesn't always claim rule over quality. Colt 1903 has a quality that may never be seen again.
Given the choice when wearing suit and tie, I would most likely be pulling out a 1903 out of my pants to do the unthinkable to a perp...
P.S. M2 Carbine,
If you get tired of those old chunks of steel (1903) then you be sure to let me know. LOL.. I just can't get enough of these old colts...
All of the pistols Browning designed for Colt had external extractors except for the 1911 .45 Government Model. This was partly to seal off the extractor from fouling and dirt, and also to make it possible to remove the extractor to clean or replace it without special tools. That was a feature the Army wanted very badly, and Browning gave it to them.
Given a choice I still prefer the internal extractor on the 1911 platform, for the same reasons it was made that way in the first place. However some current clone manufacturers like the external kind because they are less expensive to make. This doesn't necessarily make them better.
I don't think Colt could do it for a price the public would be willing to pay. The guns have been out of production since 1945....they may not even having the original tooling to do it....
As said before plenty are on the used market. I passed on a nice nickeled 1903 for $350 at a gun show over the weekend. The nickle looked really good but I doubted it was original. I have a nice 1908 in .380 but it is a safe queen.
As said before plenty are on the used market. I passed on a nice nickeled 1903 for $350 at a gun show over the weekend. The nickle looked really good but I doubted it was original. I have a nice 1908 in .380 but it is a safe queen.
News Shooter
Member
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