Colt 1903 Pocket Hammer trigger pull

[CruncherBlock]

Is it natural for this gun to have to pull all the way back on the trigger to get it to fire? If this is a problem, what is typically the fix? As in, is this something that can be adjusted or would it need a replacement part?

 

[TheOriginalMexicanBob]

Join the Colt Forum http://www.coltforum.com. There's many knowledgeable 1903 aficionados there that can answer your question.

 

[CruncherBlock]

Thanks

 

[somd_mustangs]

Pocket Hammerless or Hammer?
The trigger shouldn't have to travel very far for either one, maybe 1/3 to 1/2 the total available travel.
There is no mechanical adjustment short of bending something or filling in metal and reshaping.
Innards of a pocket hammer and a "hammerless" **, same basic design.
Both require driving out pins to disassemble.

Parts for a hammerless are fairly plentiful, not so much for the pocket hammer.
The internal parts are interchangeable between a Colt 1900, 1902 Sporting, 1902 Military, 1903 Pocket Hammer, and even the 1905 Military (mostly).
Nothing interchanges between the hammerless and pocket hammer as far as I know.


** it's really got a hammer, just concealed

 

[CruncherBlock]

It's the pocket hammer model with the early rounded hammer. Can you recommend any local smiths?

 

[somd_mustangs]

Nice, those are getting harder to find.
I don't have any recommendations for a gunsmith, but I would think anyone familiar with the 1911 could probably diagnose and work on it.
The design concept is very much the same (John Browning dontcha know).

This series of eBooks is very useful:
http://www.hlebooks.com/

For the 1900/1902/1903, this was a big help when work on mine, well worth the $8:
http://www.hlebooks.com/ebook/c1900load.htm

 

[CruncherBlock]

Thank you Sir! I shot it today and it works even though the trigger must be squeezed a lot further than anything else I've shot.

 

[John from MD]

Does yours have a magazine disconnect? The reason I ask is that I have a vague memory of that causing me similar issues many years ago. I still have it and it shoots fine but it did have a similar problem and dang if I remember how I fixed it. Also, make sure you are fully compressing the grip safety.

 

[somd_mustangs]

Thank you Sir! I shot it today and it works even though the trigger must be squeezed a lot further than anything else I've shot.

glad it works... still sounds whonky, the pistols in this "family" usually have nice, crisp trigger feel. The 1900 and early 1902 especially have smoooooth slide and good trigger (probably a lot more attention to detail since Colt was trying to win military contracts).

Does yours have a magazine disconnect? The reason I ask is that I have a vague memory of that causing me similar issues many years ago. I still have it and it shoots fine but it did have a similar problem and dang if I remember how I fixed it. Also, make sure you are fully compressing the grip safety.

The Pocket Hammer doesn't have a magazine safety (or a grip safety), that was only the late 1903/08 pocket hammerless (Model M)... the only safety the Pocket Hammer has is your finger and a half-cock notch

It's confusing as heck. Colt didn't market them as "1903's"... they were just the "pocket model" in .38 acp, or hammerless.

Note the statement
"Accidental discharge is absolutely impossible with the Colt automatic pistol" -
I'd say... not quite true for the Pocket Hammer !

 

[CruncherBlock]

Does yours have a magazine disconnect? The reason I ask is that I have a vague memory of that causing me similar issues many years ago. I still have it and it shoots fine but it did have a similar problem and dang if I remember how I fixed it. Also, make sure you are fully compressing the grip safety.

Thanks. If you do recall what the fix is, I'd greatly appreciate knowing.

 

[CruncherBlock]

glad it works... still sounds whonky, the pistols in this "family" usually have nice, crisp trigger feel. The 1900 and early 1902 especially have smoooooth slide and good trigger (probably a lot more attention to detail since Colt was trying to win military contracts).



The Pocket Hammer doesn't have a magazine safety (or a grip safety), that was only the late 1903/08 pocket hammerless (Model M)... the only safety the Pocket Hammer has is your finger and a half-cock notch

It's confusing as heck. Colt didn't market them as "1903's"... they were just the "pocket model" in .38 acp, or hammerless.

Note the statement
"Accidental discharge is absolutely impossible with the Colt automatic pistol" -
I'd say... not quite true for the Pocket Hammer !

Thanks again. I just got into purchasing guns in the last couple of years. After picking up a 1911 and a Browning Hi Power, I saw this design (1903 Pocket Hammer) and I recognized it from either a cartoon I saw as a child or a toy gun that I had as a child. Specifically with the rounded hammer. I am mesmerized by the aesthetics of this design. It is clean, purposeful, and free of any superfluous gadgetry. The lines are undeniably pre WWI Art Deco. Consider the open end of the slide. It's hard to believe the son of a polygamist who followed Brigham Young out of Nauvoo would come up with this. God has a funny sense of humor. My gun is likely from 1907. I really have nothing against modern double stack plastic fantastic guns. They too function with a purpose and I would expect they were designed with the utmost care by their designers but I really wonder, will anyone care in 110 years about saving a composite framed weapon. Will any value be placed on a worn out 100 year old Glock? As compared to one made of metal?