mawkie
C&R Whisperer
-As somd_mustangs can attest to I've been on the search for a Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless 2nd Type for ages. Colt only built this type for about 3 yrs and produced roughly 33k between SNs 72,000 and 105,051, making it hard to find. They sported the original high polish finish with fire-blue on small parts and early style hard rubber grips. The fragile finish makes them hard to find in good, original condition. I was determined to find an original finish example for sub $1k.
-I found an example in a Philly auction and after getting somd_mustangs to kindly put a second set of eyes on it (I so trust his experience with early Colt autos) I put in an absentee bid. Got it for a price I'm too embarrassed to put up here. Suffice to say I spent well under my $1k budget!
-The auction description stated that the magazine was a replacement so I scrounged a correct example from Evil Pay for a stupid cheap $55. All good so far!
-She arrived today and the first thing I noticed was that they were wrong. It's an original magazine. The floor plates on early mags were unmarked and they predate the heat treating of the magazine lips that give them the two tone finish.
-Finish is original and stunning. The only blemish is a spot on the right front of the slide, near the muzzle. Otherwise it's bang on. Grips are totally intact, no chips or cracks, and sharp. Someone loved this Colt for a very long time.
-SN puts it in the last month or two of Type II production. Shortly thereafter Colt dropped the barrel bushing used on the Type I (4" barrel) and Type II (3.75" barrel). Barrel bushing, safety lever, extractor, trigger, magazine release and screws all have the original beautiful fire-blued finish.
-My photos don't come close to doing this finish justice. Just so hard to photograph without professional lighting.
-I found an example in a Philly auction and after getting somd_mustangs to kindly put a second set of eyes on it (I so trust his experience with early Colt autos) I put in an absentee bid. Got it for a price I'm too embarrassed to put up here. Suffice to say I spent well under my $1k budget!
-The auction description stated that the magazine was a replacement so I scrounged a correct example from Evil Pay for a stupid cheap $55. All good so far!
-She arrived today and the first thing I noticed was that they were wrong. It's an original magazine. The floor plates on early mags were unmarked and they predate the heat treating of the magazine lips that give them the two tone finish.
-Finish is original and stunning. The only blemish is a spot on the right front of the slide, near the muzzle. Otherwise it's bang on. Grips are totally intact, no chips or cracks, and sharp. Someone loved this Colt for a very long time.
-SN puts it in the last month or two of Type II production. Shortly thereafter Colt dropped the barrel bushing used on the Type I (4" barrel) and Type II (3.75" barrel). Barrel bushing, safety lever, extractor, trigger, magazine release and screws all have the original beautiful fire-blued finish.
-My photos don't come close to doing this finish justice. Just so hard to photograph without professional lighting.
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