Why are Colt Officer and Police revolvers worth so little?

[ghitch75]

i gave $250 a piece for the 2 Police Positives and gave $325.00 for the Cobra.....all 3 shoot like the day they where built.......

they can be had cheap if you look hard enough....

 

[Jackal]

I picked up this 1950 Officers Special .38spl recently for $325 at a local shop. Honest holster wear, even the grip checkering is mostly worn off. Timing is perfect and lockup is strong. Those darn serrations on the trigger are sharper than hell though This just might be the most accurate handgun I've ever fired.

 

[jmorris]

Why are Corvettes valuable and Chevetts worthless?

One is sought after, the other not so much but they both will get you to the same place.

 

[SwampWolf]

QUOTE: "... This just might be the most accurate handgun I've ever fired..."

I have the same revolver; manufactured in 1951. It's every bit as accurate as a Smith Model 14 I have, which means its very accurate indeed.
The Officers Special is known by some as being the ugly brother of the Officers Match, due to how "out of proportion" the untapered barrel looks. When you compare the two, I have to admit the Special looks a little on the homely side-but I still think it's a beautiful revolver.

 

[Paul7]

This revolver didn't wear out, it was butchered! Treat any manufacturer's products this way and the results will be the same. Abuse is inexcusable.

And I'm pretty sure Colt would work on the SAA.

 

[Paul7]

Shoot.

I paid $125 for this 1968 vintage Model 10 about ten years ago. Best deal I ever got on a Smith, except for my Model 19-3, which also cost $125 brand-spanky new in 1975. But that was over 40 years ago and a dollar went further then.

A better gun that current production Model 10s.

 

[Paul7]

Didn't say they were fragile, just that if they needed work I could be in trouble. I've bought a couple of used Ruger's that seemed fine when I looked them over at the shop, but had some issues when I got to shooting them. Ruger was great in taking care of those issues- on their dime. In one case Ruger replaced the gun, and in another the shop simply told me "your gun was sick and they made it all better." The first was an old model Bearcat and the other was a super Blackhawk. If that happened to a Colt, it could be a bit tougher and costlier for me to get it fixed.

I don't know as much as I'd like to about revolvers, Colt's especially. I'd be worried I'd overlook some things that would be flags for others with a better understanding.

OK, YMMV, but I would rather take that 'risk' than use a cruder gun like a Ruger that I don't like as much. I've got a 1965 Trooper I bought for $350 a few years ago with a Python-like action you won't find on any Ruger, and super accurate. If someone can't afford to get a Colt fixed in the unlikely event it broke, then yes they shouldn't have one. My car doesn't have a warranty and might break too but I don't worry about it.

I've got a Colt Cobra for CCW that I probably won't shoot 100 times in my life.

BTW, I've had more trouble with Rugers than Colts.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

If someone can't afford to get a Colt fixed in the unlikely event it broke, then yes they shouldn't have one. My car doesn't have a warranty and might break too but I don't worry about it.

Not an apt analogy. If you need your car worked on, you can probably find a mechanic near by who can work on it. Smiths who can work on an old Colt Double Action revolver are few and far between, and are getting rarer all the time.

And I'm pretty sure Colt would work on the SAA.

Have you ever tried to get anything repaired at Colt? I have no idea how long it would take, I'm guessing it would be months. My favorite smith can repair just about anything, and he only took a couple of weeks to weld up the hammer on my SAA and recut the notch. Another time I got to sit with him while he fitted a new bolt to another Colt. Do you think Colt would let you do that?

 

[RX-79G]

So you shouldn't get a Colt because it is hard to find a smith, but if you do get a get a Colt you shouldn't use Colt for service because the ultra-rare Colt gunsmiths are fun to sit with?

 

[Old Fuff]

A larger problem with the Colt factory is that they won't accept some older models because they no longer have the necessary parts. The same is sometimes true when it comes to the relatively few qualified "Colt-smiths" that are still working.

On the other hand it's quite true that a person with the know-how" can sometimes fix the timing without having to replace any parts.

When it comes to double-action/hand ejector models it is wise to pay more if necessary to get a revolver that doesn't have problems, and then be careful to keep it that way, but as has peen pointed out if one will accept some cosmetic wear they may be able the get their cake and eat it.

The Single Action Army model is a exception to all this. It is still in production and parts are available from a number of sources. Thanks to the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) and Western Shooting Game Movement in general, gunsmiths are not hard to find.

 

[Paul7]

Not an apt analogy. If you need your car worked on, you can probably find a mechanic near by who can work on it. Smiths who can work on an old Colt Double Action revolver are few and far between, and are getting rarer all the time.



Have you ever tried to get anything repaired at Colt?

Yes, it was no longer than any other gunmaker I've dealt with.

I have no idea how long it would take, I'm guessing it would be months. My favorite smith can repair just about anything, and he only took a couple of weeks to weld up the hammer on my SAA and recut the notch. Another time I got to sit with him while he fitted a new bolt to another Colt. Do you think Colt would let you do that?

You're contradicting yourself, first you said it's hard to find a gunsmith to work on a Colt, then you said your local smith did just that.

 

[Paul7]

A larger problem with the Colt factory is that they won't accept some older models because they no longer have the necessary parts.

According to the Colt factory, if they don't have the parts they can often refer you to someone who does.

 

[Slamfire]

I purchased this 1927ish Colt Police Positive for $150 in the 1980's.



Paid about the same price for this Cop Detective Special.





P.I.P.P stands for Palisades Parkway Police Department. Cool, huh?

At the time Police Departments were turning in their 38 Specials for 9mm Auto Pistols and prices were very reasonable.

It used to be I picked up lots of 38 Special brass at the range. Not any more, it is all 9mm and 40 S&W. The 38 Special was and is a great cartridge, and at the time, it was the Police Standard Cartridge. The public was against "Magnums" and auto pistols were also not looked on favorably. Times change, Cops seldom carry revolvers, been a long time since I have seen a revolver in the holster of a Policeman. And then, the 38 Special is a revolver cartridge and not a magnum revolver cartridge.

The old Colt 38 Specials are fine pistols, they are very accurate, reliable to a point, but getting parts for old pistols, Colt or not, can be a real issue. I don't know if that is the issue, but is an issue, or the fact that these old Colts are in 38 Special not 357 Magnum. I think it is the latter.

Maybe someone can tell me if these Colt Trooper's have held their value better than the 38 Specials. I suspect they have.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

You're contradicting yourself, first you said it's hard to find a gunsmith to work on a Colt, then you said your local smith did just that.

My 'local gunsmith' is a very rare breed. He is not your typical gunsmith who simply swaps parts out. If an old part is worn to the extent that it does not function properly anymore, and if he cannot find a replacement part, he will have a local TIG welder add some metal to the working surface of a worn part, then he will file and stone it down to the proper shape to make it function properly again. His knowledge of old guns is extensive. He has repaired old Colts, Smith and Wessons, Remington and Winchesters for me. He has restored to working condition a Merwin Hulbert that nobody would have known what to do with. He has also machined up brand new cylinders from raw stock for old single action revolvers that had cylinders beyond repair and that no parts were available for. Not something your average gunsmith is capable of doing any more.

As far as being local, it is an hour and a half drive for me to visit him, there is nobody closer who can do what he can do.

Still, I would rather drive the hour and a half to bring him an old gun to work on than send it back to the factory. I know the quality of work I am going to get from him, and I know not even the factory will be able to do a better job. There was no factory to send the Merwin Hulbert to, and S&W does not work on 19th Century Top Break revolvers anymore.

 

[GBExpat]

... P.I.P.P stands for Palisades Parkway Police Department. Cool, huh? ...

P.I.P.P stands for Palisades Parkway Police Department ?

... but it is rather cool.

 

[Sergei Mosin]

It is the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police.

 

[Slamfire]

P.I.P.P stands for Palisades Parkway Police Department ?

Arg!

It is the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police.

Yippie!

 

[Old Fuff]

According to the Colt factory, if they don't have the parts they can often refer you to someone who does.

They do try to be helpful, but again success largely depends on which model and when it was made. Over the years minor changes were made.

Also most parts that are available come from salvaged guns. Those that were previously fitted to a particular revolver may not interchange into another one. Colt didn't go to (somewhat) drop-in lockwork until around the early 1970's.

Driftwood Johnson is very fortunate in that he has found a true jewel among the plain rocks, but such gunsmiths are becoming less available and their services tend to be justifiably expensive. The subject of this thread is how to find reasonably priced revolvers, and by the time one gets done trying to get a lemon repaired it may no longer be relatively inexpensive.

My purpose is not to discourage people from buying these exceptionally fine shooters, but how to do it and not get stung.

It is not by coincidence that prior to World War Two, and shortly thereafter our top champion Bullseye target shooters picked Colt's by a wide margin over all others.

 

[Gun Master]

OP Posting # 1

Because they're 2nd best to S&W (back in those days) is the short answer.
I didn't say they are no good. Only second best.
I have about as many S&Ws as I do Colts. I like my Colts.
But, I like my S&Ws better.
Although I abhor the Smiths of today (as opposed to the past), Colt has continued their downward spiral of the past.
Just my $.02.

 

[Sergei Mosin]

Having traveled through that area frequently when I was younger, I knew it was the Palisades Interstate Parkway, but I didn't know until now that it had its own police force. Nice to see a proper stamping; so many later police guns are sloppily electropenciled if they're marked at all.

 

[Paul7]

Colt didn't go to (somewhat) drop-in lockwork until around the early 1970's.

When Colt revolvers started going downhill.

It is not by coincidence that prior to World War Two, and shortly thereafter our top champion Bullseye target shooters picked Colt's by a wide margin over all others.

Agreed.

 

[Paul7]

Although I abhor the Smiths of today (as opposed to the past), Colt has continued their downward spiral of the past.
Just my $.02.

I strongly disagree, with the new CNC machining, Colt is putting out a better gun than they have in a long time. The new Gold Cups are better, IMHO, than the 70 Series GCs. The new .380 Mustang is a great gun. There was a point in the '80s and '90s when Colt was subpar, but not today. If only S&W could say that.