Question about a colt 1903

[tdstout]

Me and a friend were talkin about the colt 1903 pocket hammerless pistol and we were wondering if you could swap the barrel and magazine from a 32 acp to a 380 acp. Can y'all tell me if this is true or not?

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

I think you can utilize a .32 barrel and mag in a .380 1908 pistol, but not the other way around, due to the size of the .380 case head. The .380 slide has a bigger breech face, and possibly the mag well would be too tight on a .32, also, to accomodate the .380 mag.

 

[golden]

Skeeter did it

Many, many years ago, legendary gun writer Skeeter SKELTON did a project to convert the COLT 1903 .32ACP to .380ACP. The result worked, but if I remember write, it was not worth the effort. You could find a .380ACP 1908 model for less effort.

I see .380ACP models around on a regular basis, so I would just look into trading a 1903 for it.

If you just want a shooter, the .32ACP really shoots well in the 1903. The only real drawback are the sights (too small) and the safety is too small.

Jim