Tell me about a Colt Trooper .22Mag

Status
Not open for further replies.
V

vanfunk

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2003
Messages
1,304
Location
The widening gyre
Hello All:

My recent thread about the Colt Diamondback vs. S&W Model 17 got me thinking about another Colt I've been offered for a good price, a 95% Colt Trooper .22 Magnum 4" in "Coltguard" nickel finish. Can anyone tell me about this revolver, i.e. production stats, overall quality, accuracy, etc?

Much Thanks!

vanfunk
 
It's a Mark III made between 1969 and 1983. The 22 Magnum version is very hard to find. If I were you I'd be running over and getting it right now!
 
Really? What do these go for? Are they good shooters? I have never owned a .22 Magnum. I suspect that the round loses much oompf in the shorter barrel.

Thanks!

vanfunk
 
I love my .357 Trooper Mk III's. A 4" Mk III in .22 Mag at a good price would be [strike]near[/strike] impossible to pass up.

I have a OMM .22 LR that was re-chambered to .22 Mag. It's a ton of fun. A Mk III in .22 Mag to keep it company woud be awesome.
 
Thanks!

vanfunk
Click to expand...

Wait, you're still here? I thought we told you to buy that Colt!

Really? What do these go for? Are they good shooters? I have never owned a .22 Magnum. I suspect that the round loses much oompf in the shorter barrel.
Click to expand...
Okay, okay. I am not sure how much the .22 Mag version goes for as they don't come up for sale too often. The Fjestad Blue Book gives a 50% premium for that chambering. The values in that book are generally low, but $600-$1000 would be in the ballpark.
 
The Electroless nickel is the least common finish of the Trooper Mark III's. I hope you have purchased it by the time of this post if the price is in the ball park. If it is a true 95%, I'd have to say it is probably worth in the $650-$750 range. Price goes up a couple hundred for NIB (at least, depending on finish and barrel length).

Diamondbacks made in the electoless nickel finish are most uncommon and sell for "thousands".
 
Last edited:
For a collection piece, you can't beat it. The gun itself is a bit heavy and no, you won't lose the oooomph! from a 6-inch barrel. The electroless nickel is a beautiful finish, and if you want to shoot the .22WRM, you can't go wrong. Ammo is expensive, but still plenty affordable. Just buy vast amounts of it, though. Prices on all ammo will soon be going up again, and next time it may be worse than last as the government will be printing it to pay for our enormous debt. (Ever try buying ammo during horrendous inflation?)

It's a great gun, though, and I remember them well.
 
I have a 4" blue and it is one sweet handling gun . DO NOT EVER DRY FIRE IT. Other than that go for it! A 4" .22 mag reliably slaughters any animal and is therefore the first pick of people who do that freelance for a living.
 
The Trooper Mark III model was made from 1969> 1983 as Shear Stress indicatated, but is misleading as the rimfire versions were only made for a few years (approx late 1979 > 1983) and the 22 WMR version was only made for a couple years within that period. Production figures are unknown. If you are a collector, you have to go down to the detail level (barrel length, finish, caliber) to appreciate the Trooper Mark III as a potential collectable. The Trooper Mark III was discontinued in favor of the Mark V, but it was never brought out in 22 in the Mark V version even though it was cataloged one year. The Trooper Mark III just didn't sell well in 22 rf; probably due to the fact that the Diamondback was still in production until 1986. There was talk of the Diamondback being discontinued completely even as Colt brought out the 6" version about the same time as the Trooper Mark III was introduced in 22 rimfire. The 4" Diamondback (most popular size with highest production figures) was actually discontinued for about a year until the Colt buyers stomped their feet and Colt brought that barrel length back out. Both the Diamondback and Trooper Mark III models were a bit on the expensive side for what many felt a "22" should cost, as well as the larger frame size of the Trooper Mark III most likely affected sales as well. It is a fairly heavy revolver in 22.

This was a difficult time for Colt and Smith & Wesson due to the high inflationary period in the mid 70's to early 80's dramatically caused prices to be increased. Price increases happened at least two or three times a year then. At that time, those that wanted Colts bought NOW instead of later because the prices were going up so quickly. Colt went bankrupt a few years later (and eventually was sold) and I believe Smith & Wesson was sold as well. You top that off with the country generally moving away from revolvers toward the "wonder nines" and it makes for a terrible time to be in the revolver business.

If you are seeking information on the Trooper Mark III in general, you have to search the catalogs of that period as well as the less reliable info presented in magazine articles written by the gun writers of the day, and info sources like Gun Digest and Shooters Bible. Even the catalog info is not perfect as Colt did un-cataloged things in an attempt to spur sales. There is no reliable info organized in book form on the Trooper Mark III that I am aware of. Good stuff.
 
Last edited:
Thank you all so much:

I am still on the fence about this one. I do like the looks of the Trooper; I suppose I am still questioning the utility of a fairly large revolver, in a fairly delicate finish, chambered in a fairly "intermediate" handgun round. But, there's no denying my attraction!

I'll post back if I pick it up, with pics of course.

Thanks again,

vanfunk
 
I've got a Trooper MKlll in .22 LR, 6" barrel. It is heavy for a .22 but extremely accurate. The action is exceptionally smooth, smoother than the Python I used to have. Don't know if it had been worked on or not. I paid $160 for mine back in the early 90s.
 
I bought the mag. in the 80's, after reading a magazine article about them. In that article, Colt didn't say they had made them in .22 mag. (At that time Colt mentioned they would also make the Python in .22. I understand only one was made and Colt still has it). So when I saw three Troopers at my lgs, I checked them out. Two were marked .22lr & the third marked as .22 mag. All three had both cylinders. I bought the .22 mag mark all had 6" bbls. I bought a 4" marked .22lr in 99, but it only had the lr cyl.
They're fun shooters. Nice triggers and hardly move when when it goes bang. I've used them to teach newbees how to shoot.
 
I have never seen a Trooper Mark III with multiple cylinders fitted to the same gun.

As far as a 22 Mag revolver, I doubt you will find one finer than the Trooper Mark III.
 
Before seeing the one that you posted, I had never seen one with both cylinders either. Never even heard it mentioned before.
I wonder if that's factory ?
 
The cylinders were in the boxes. I've lost the box in a move and don't remember what was on the label. I have a letter to colt to verify it. I don't know that I'll get an answer because they get $75 for a gun history. I did see on the Colt forum that one of their members said he knew they were factory shipped with both cylinders. We'll see what answer I get from colt.
 
Last edited:
Couple of FYIs.
-Colt wrote back and if I pay the $75 they'll tell me what I want to know. I expected that. They did send me a list of reference books and a catalog.

-From one of the Colt Forum members who seems to really know Colt history. I didn't use his forum name because I didn't ask his permission. But if you chose to view go here http://www.coltforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12753&page=2;

"Colt did ship double cylinder Trooper Mark III's but these are rare.
Colt made the Mark III in 22LR and in .22 Magnum versions.
It was simple for Colt to simply fit an extra cylinder for a convertible gun.
I "think" (note the qualifier) that these two cylinder guns were a limited production item, not a special order by an individual.

I've seen these in two forms. One is simply a loose cylinder in the box.
In order to install it, you have to unscrew the ejector rod and slip the cylinder off, then install the other cylinder and install the rod.

I've also seen a couple of guns that had a complete extra cylinder AND crane assembly.
All you had to do there was remove the cylinder retention screw and plunger and slip the entire unit off and the other unit on.
This is the way most companies made special order double cylinder guns, because it was easier to make the switch and less chance of damaging the cylinder assembly than having to disassemble it."

-I got this from SAAMI. http://www.saami.org/specifications_.../publications/
.22 short to .22LR bullet dia. = .2255; case dia. = .226
.22 wmr bullet dia = .2245; case dia. = .242

This, except for case dia., is opposite to what every one has been saying. I must be missing something.:confused:
 
I got a 6" Blued Trooper in 22 mag way back when I worked for a gun shop as a second job.
I still have it NIB and a 6" 22LR Diamondback blued again NIB.
Neither has ever been taken out of the box after looking them over before I bought them.

THEY ARE NICE GUNS. Sorry these are not for sale.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

H
  • Locked
Trooper MkIII Questions
Replies
6
Views
499
SeanSw
S
Mr. Mosin
  • Locked
Colt Mk. III Trooper
2
Replies
38
Views
4K
Heir Kommt Die Sonne
Heir Kommt Die Sonne
Huntolive
  • Locked
Colt Trooper Mark 3 357
2
Replies
25
Views
2K
Another old Jarhead
A
earlthegoat2
  • Locked
Colt Trooper MKIII Satin Nickel
Replies
8
Views
1K
bannockburn
bannockburn
P
  • Locked
Colt Trooper
Replies
3
Views
2K
22-rimfire
2
Back
Top