Colt Police Positive, how'd I do?

[ken792]

I got this today at Nation's with my C&R license. It's a 1926 manufacture Police Positive .38 Special according to the Colt website. The lockup is nice and tight on all cylinder notches. Timing is spot on. The crane is nice and tight. The only downside is the spots of pitting on the gun. The grip checkering is nice and sharp with no signs of wear from carry. The trigger pull is amazing, on both DA and SA.

I paid $325 for it, which seems a little better than average than what I see on Gunbroker.

Edit: It appears that the .38 Special one was technically called the Police Positive Special, so the serial number actually places at 1926, not 1930 as I initially thought (the identical serial number in 1930 went to a Police Positive in .38 S&W).

 

[Kman]

I'd say you did well.

Good looking revolver. I would love to have it and let it keep my old Model 10's company.

 

[Docster]

Outstanding acquisition. I don't know about the price but suspect you're correct. IMO, any shootable Colt .38 Spl. you can get for around $300 is a very good deal. I'm jealous

 

[yellowsled]

Seems like a excellent find!

 

[Marylandfisherman]

This kind of thing is the sole reason that I am getting my C&R license...

 

[jmiles1960]

Nice! I have one also, but it's 38 S&W caliber. Wish it was a 38 Special. I found a website somewhere that will give you actual manufacture date from the serial number. Will post it here if I can find it again.

 

[ken792]

Thanks guys. I love my C&R license, haha. The seller actually just bought it off someone else hours before he sold it to me. I was looking at someone else's Police Positive, which turned out to be a .38 S&W and he told me that the guy two tables down had this for sale. His asking price was $450, but I haggled it down to $325. Afterwards, he said he picked it up for only $300.

Nice! I have one also, but it's 38 S&W caliber. Wish it was a 38 Special. I found a website somewhere that will give you actual manufacture date from the serial number. Will post it here if I can find it again.

Here it is.
http://www.coltsmfg.com/CustomerServices/SerialNumberLookup.aspx

When I first asked the guy if it was C&R, he said no. Then my friend pulled out his smart phone (I don't have one, haha) and looked it up and placed it at 1926.

My guess for this gun is that it was purchased and kept at home, never carried due to the lack of wear from a holster or flopping around in a glove compartment. The pattern of pitting would suggest that it was simply neglected and a little rust formed. There is a little discolored bluing on the left side over the pony that matches exactly with my thumb when I grip it, so I'm guessing that's where it came from.

 

[BUFF7MM]

Nice find. I picked up a Colt official police last year, it is nice to have the C&R.

 

[ken792]

Here are the auctions I watched to judge price.

Bid up to $301, but not meeting reserve, and is relisted.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=384476741

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=384478890

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=380640793

 

[Machodoc]

Looks good to me!

 

[kazan182]

Nice revolver. Good find for sure.

 

[Boom Boom]

$325 is a great price. Freckling is common. Just keep the metal oiled to stop it from getting worse. Ballistol or mineral oil might remove much of the raised areas of freckling and make it less apparent. Even so, the gun is almost 90 years old. Freckling is non-issue for what you paid.

 

[ken792]

I've cleaned it really well, oiled the metal with mineral oil, and gave the grips a coat of BLO.

Anyone have suggestions for handloading .38 Special? I bought 100 rounds of the Georgia Arms Cowboy 158 grain stuff at the show, but that obviously won't last. I'm thinking I'll start with Bullseye or Red Dot under a Berry's plated bullet (I see 125 and 158 grain at Grafs). Am I better off with Berry's plated bullets or MO cast bullets?

 

[aquashooter]

I had a 1961 Official Police Colt issued to me in 1973. We ended up using +P+ 38 spl (Secret Service round) in our dept weapons before turning them in for Glocks. We had no problem with the high energy ammo.

 

[Doctor_M]

Well done!!

 

[ken792]

I had a 1961 Official Police Colt issued to me in 1973. We ended up using +P+ 38 spl (Secret Service round) in our dept weapons before turning them in for Glocks. We had no problem with the high energy ammo.

When I was shopping around on Gunbroker for revolvers a few weeks ago, I was going to go for a Official Police. Since they are built on the .41 LC frame, they are slightly larger and beefier. Colt marketed them as being able to handle the more powerful loads that the S&W M&P could not.

 

[Biggfoot44]

"Back in the Day" , the Police Positive Spl was the third most popular LE revolver behind the M&P and Ofc Police.The OP was a half step larger than the M&P , and the PPSpl a half step smaller ( same basic frame size as Det Spl ). Some old timer LEO ( long since retired ) told me that as long as they were limited to the issued ammo , they prefered the PPspl for better concealment.

Personal preference between plated and quality cast, both are capable of good accuraccy.

Unless the front sight has been altered by prev owner/ prev Dept Armorer , the fixed sights will have been regulated for 158gr std vel.

 

[jimbobborg]

I've cleaned it really well, oiled the metal with mineral oil, and gave the grips a coat of BLO.

Anyone have suggestions for handloading .38 Special? I bought 100 rounds of the Georgia Arms Cowboy 158 grain stuff at the show, but that obviously won't last. I'm thinking I'll start with Bullseye or Red Dot under a Berry's plated bullet (I see 125 and 158 grain at Grafs). Am I better off with Berry's plated bullets or MO cast bullets?

Out of my GP100, I'm running Unique, recoil is light and not a big boom so it's great for my use (IDPA).

 

[Biggfoot44]

.38Spl is an extremely versatile/ easy ctg to load for. There are published loads for virtually every powder from very fast to medium slow. For your pistol , you will want to do the bulk of your loads with modern "non-Plus P" data.

You will get a number of responses praising 231 / Unique / Clays/ TiteGroup/ Red Dot/ Green Dot / etc , and even Trail Boss. In today's situation the most popular powders are most likely to be sold out. Go to LGS / Gun Show , and get any that I listed above that is physically in front of you. There are even more powders that are less widely distributed that are also suittable , but after a point , data is harder to find.

 

[aquashooter]

I mentioned that I had an issue OP. Most of the dept. were still issued S&W Mod 10s. Those also accepted the +P+. The guys that carried air weight Mod 37s as an off duty were no longer authorized due to the increased pressure. 36s, 60s, and Colt DS were still good to go.