My new GAT, ROD, HEATER...

[finfanatic]

I stopped at a small town gun store yesterday on a work trip, and lo and behold, they had this very reasonably priced compared to some of the re-finished beat up, dinged high priced Colt Detective Specials I have seen at gunshows...

Original finish, locked up tight, trigger was good, Colt grips, it had been fired some but not too much it looked like to me.

It had been handled alot though and had minor rust freckles that I think might polish out.

Serial No, is 861XXX which proofhouse.com says means 1965 manufacture?

For $325 OTD I think I got a good deal, but will know for sure after a trip to the range.

 

[Chesster]

Sounds like a great deal these days. Congrats.

 

[WC145]

Nice roscoe! Definitely worth $325, good buy. Let us know how it shoots.

 

[greco]

Yaz done good. Nice gat.

 

[Glenn Dee]

Real good deal

I looked at a 70% specimin yesterday in a local pawn/gun store.. $600.+

IMO a great price for a nice piece of history.

 

[Standing Wolf]

At that price, I'd have to say you stole it.

 

[stevieboy]

Neat gun. Please give us a range report as soon as you try her out!

 

[madcratebuilder]

I'm not a Colt DA guy but I would have grabbed that in a heart beat. Great score!

 

[olyinaz]

Outstanding find! That baby wouldn't last ten minutes in any case in any gun shop in Tucson at that price.

Oly

 

[bob.a]

You ripped off that roscoe. Oughtta be ashamed. Whn the guilts start keeping you up at night I'll take it off your hands.

 

[shafter]

I'd have grabbed it in a minute at that price especially since I'm in the market. Nice looking gun!

 

[SilentHitz]

I'll give ya $350 for that ugly thang LOL Nice pistol, and a great price.

 

[jaybirdjtski]

I keep telling my wife that good guns are better investments than you can get from some stockbroker. You just scored on that one! I'd suspect the grips alone would fetch 1/2 of what you paid.

 

[s&wfan]

help

well i know i have a s&w 32 long pistol it came in to my family in 1988 it was won in a poker game of all places and yes weve had it all checked out its not stolen but long story short i would like to know around what year it was made im gussing late 40s early 50s but thats just a guess the number on the butt of the gun is 194xxx i would be greatfull for any help

 

[publius]

That would be my new carry piece. Very cool.

 

[finfanatic]

Range Trip Results

Took my new Colt to the range today. Set up the target at a shade over 7 yards. I mean, this thing has a barrel but not much of one, so I was not expecting much. Needless to say I was astounded.

Single action is deadly. Once I figured out the front sight, I actually hit a few bullseyes!!

Double action at as rapid as I could fire, the bullets went up and to the right, even with the anemic WWB .38 special range rounds.

But single action was a big surprise to me.

I shot the varmint target as fast as I could thumb back the hammer.

Needless to say, I am VERY HAPPY with this new purchase. I have already turned down an offer of $400 for it. Do all the Colt DS's shoot this well??

I was planning on backing the target up to 15 yards but the range got crowded and I had other stuff to do. I will head back to the range with some snappier loads and see what happens.

 

[SilentHitz]

Poor little ground hog LOL Looks like ya got a keeper for sure.

 

[BillCA]

finfanatic,

Try shooting standard pressure .38 Special 158gr ammo. Both Colt and S&W regulated their sights using that load. That should be the most accurate. And yes, the D.S. snubbie can be quite accurate out to 15 yards - even 25 yards - if you practice with it. When I used to shoot in PPC matches, on a lark, a friend of mine used his DS, including the 50 yard line. He still scored a 560/600 (93.3%) with it. But then he knew how to shoot it well too.

s&wfan,

... i have a s&w 32 long pistol it came in to my family in 1988... i would like to know around what year it was made im gussing late 40s early 50s but thats just a guess the number on the butt of the gun is 194xxx ...

Your estimate is a little bit off. The S&W book says that serial number range was produced between 1910 and 1917, making yours .32 Hand Ejector Model of 1903 - 5th change. It should be a DA .32 Long revolver with a six shot fluted cylinder, built on the round-butt 5-screw I-Frame. Barrel lengths were 3¼, 4¼ or 6-inches. Most were stamped with a small S&W logo on the left frame, though a few were stamped on the sideplate.