I have a small collection of Detective Specials. My earliest is about 1927, or so. The latest is a F serial number version.
The earlier the Colt the better built. The pistols of the 50's are still good, my early 60's Colt is still good. The internal parts of the older Colts show very few file marks. I guess that the fitter was handed a bunch of parts that were close to final fit. A couple of file strokes and everything fit. But the internal parts from the revolvers from the 70's and 80's look like they were filed from soap. The fitter must have been handed hugely oversized parts and basically filed them to fit from a block of metal. I infer from this that Colt production equipment was completely worn out.
The Colt lockworks give a smooth action, but overall they are delicate. Advertising of the era claimed an accuracy advantage due to the lockworks, but I have not seen it on paper. Instead the cylinder hand pressing against the ratchets just causes wear, and in time, the revolver is out of time. When a Colt is in tune, it is a very accurate delightful revolver that requires a Pachymr grip adapter to hold.
Colts always cost more than a Smith, and Colt was always slower to adapt changes. Colt has been the absolute last in the industry to respond to new ideas. This shows me that the management of the company is detached from the customer base.
I believe the decline of Colt pistols is directly related to the lack investment for better machines, better products, new products. The company has been run into the ground. Colt chased after profitable Government contracts and neglected its civilian customer base. They are still chasing after Government contracts but they no longer have a monopoly on the M16 design. And they do not have a product for the next generation of infantry rifles. They make overpriced M1911’s that are not as well built as the competition. A local high volume gun dealer told me he does not carry Colt M1911’s as he is embarrassed to try to sell them at list. Cowboy action shooters buy hideously expensive single actions, but that may be a fad, and they really prefer old Colts anyway. I really doubt they make much of anything in their factory, as I have heard, they purchase most everything from subcontractors, stamp their name on the product, and people pay for the name.
I starting disliking Colt executives the first year I went to the National Matches in 1996. Colt had a table on Commerical row. They had HBAR's all over the table. I asked them what the barrel twists were. I was informed by a Colt executive that they were 1:9 twist. I asked him if they had any 1:8 twist. You see the 1:9 twist barrel won't stablize the heavier bullets needed to shoot competitively at 600 yards. I was told no, they only had 1:9 twist barrels. I asked why they did not make some 1:8 twist barrels. I was then lectured about how they were selling some ungodly amount of rifles in 1:9 and basically anyone who wanted a different barrel twist was not worth bothering with, and was probably a stupid git to begin with.
I have always wondered why these brilliant executives came to Camp Perry to sell rifles that could not be used by competitors in the Matches. But then, I never saw them again.