Well used Colt Officer's Model has been passed down the line

Gun Watch ^ | 26 May, 2015 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

My father had a Colt officers model .38 for many years.  I first remember it being in the house about 1960 or so, but he likely had it well before that.  I recall shooting it as a child, and thinking that it was powerful, and loud.  My brother was given the pistol; I did not feel slighted, as there were plenty of guns to go around.  One of the interactions that I had with the old Colt was when it was impounded when my brother got into some legal difficulties.

The Colt was sent to the Crime Lab in Madison, Wisconsin.   I was going to graduate school in Madison at the time.   My father still owned the pistol, and he asked if there was anything I could do to check on it.    I made a visit to the Crime Lab and inquired as to what the status of the revolver was.  They asked if I was a lawyer.  I said that I had studied the law a bit (which was true).   A couple of weeks later, the pistol was back in my father's possession (about 300 miles away).

Now several decades later, the revolver has been refinished.  Perhaps it had picked up some rust, I never understood the reason for the refinish.  I recall it being in better shape, but a lot can happen in 40 years.

It has been passed on to the next generation.    I know that there are experts who can give me an idea of some of the quirks of the pistol.   I do not have a serial number.

Is the cylinder pin/ejector rod standard?   Examples that I have seen have a different end shape, that is not as broad as this one.

The cylinder latch is different than most Officer models that I have seen.  Was it a substitute, or an older version?   Maybe it was an economy measure during WWII?

While the pistol has considerable sentimental value to the younger set, the finish has been rather beat up, and the refinish job left much to be desired.

When I took the pictures, it still locked up tight, but the double action trigger was a bit stiffer than the Smith & Wesson models that I have become accustomed to.   The single action pull was delightful.

I always liked the sight adjustment system on these guns, even if the notch and bead were very fine, smaller than what I now prefer.


©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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Update: I am told that my Grandfather traded for the pistol, sometime between 1905 and 1950....  might have been in the 20's.   That would mean that the Colt has been in the family for five generations.  I also recall a very nice walnut ammuntion box that went with the gun.  It held 50 or 60 rounds in individual holes, with brass fixtures for the lid.  I do not know what happened to it. 

[Jimmy Valentine]

I have one very similar. It is a 38 double action officers model manufactured by the Rock Island Armory. It was carried in the Spanish American War

If you have a serial number off of the barrel you can work backwards and get a little more history on it

[marktwain]

Is the end of the ejector rod/cylinder pin standard, or anything like the one pictured on this revolver?

[Jimmy Valentine]

Pretty much the same, but I will look again

[jim_trent]

Colt 38DA means that it is a .38 Long Colt caliber, NOT .38 S&W Special. Guns in that caliber had 0.375” grooves in the barrels. They shot 0.375”OD heel-base bullets with external lube. The chambers were drilled straight through the cylinder without a smaller throat towards the front of the cylinder like present guns have. Later, the cartridge was changed to a hollow-base bullet that was 0.357”OD and placed entirely within the case (internally lubed).

The latch is normal for that gun up until approx. 1909. The change over to the one used more recently was made about that time along with several internal changes. The serial number would tell exactly when it was produced. There are several places that provide that information on the Internet.

I had one like this (but with fixed sights) that was made in about 1902. I also used Federal .38 Special hollow-base target wadcutters in it. This was long before CAS shooting made cartridges available again. The hollow-base expanded to fill the barrel to give reasonable accuracy and it was downloaded enough that it did not damage the gun. I have heard that sometime between 1902 and 1909, the groove diameter was reduced to 0.357”OD like what is used in the .38 S&W Special, but I have not been able to confirm that myself.

Slug the barrel and check the serial number to find out exactly what you have. That will pin down most of the information you need. Have fun shooting it. I have several of that model, but most are in .41 Long Colt.

[marktwain]

Does the ejector rod on your gun have a end similar to this one?

Thanks for your informative comments.

[jim_trent]

Not exactly. The ejector rod looks the same. The knob on the end looks a little bit different. The knobs on my guns are about twice as long as yours and they have a heavy knurl on them. The earliest ones are a little bit different from the newer ones, but they all have heavy knurling.

[marktwain]

It appears that the ejector rod in my family’s old Colt has been modified...