What The Postman Brought

[CXM]

Things have been pretty dull of late... it takes some doing to keep busy. Then our friendly Postman (I say that seriously... he really is a nice guy) stopped by today and left me something to play with...

Naturally I was pleased to get something to occupy my mind in this time of mega dull...

Here is what he handed me...





Looking inside revealed....







Now, I have one of these pistols, but it is nowhere as nice as this one... this one is a beauty... I just love the old Colt's 'fire' also called 'nitre' blue on these old guns... unfortunately my camera does not capture the rich blue very well but you can tell the pins, trigger etc. a different color from the Carbona blue on the rest of the gun...





This photo shows the color difference in the two blueing methods, but the bright blue color doesn't show.


The next photo shows the right side of the gun





And this is the left side of the gun. Note there is no slide release nor is there a thumb safety. Sort of like a Glock... But much easier on the eye than a Glock.


Here is the left sice





The Colt's 1903 Pocket Hammer model is chambered for the 38 ACP round... it is quite an old round but one that doesn't get much credit for it's decent performance because it is often compared to the 38Super round... which is a lot like comparing a 38SPL to a 357 Mag...

I used to look down on the 38 Auto as being a bit on the weak side... but if you think the 9x19 performs well, then you should like the 38 Auto, which delivers 9x19 velocities with a slightly heavier bullet.

This example was made in 1920 and is just 100 this year.

Colt's must have enjoyed decent sales with the 1903 Hammer because production continued after WWI and total production was pretty good.

ANyway, that is what the postman brought...

V/r

Chuck

[Bob Reed]

Chuck - that pistol is simply beautiful.

I always liked the Pocket Hammer and you sure found a nice one!

[HRFunk]

I always liked them too. Nice pistol!

Howard

[Mister Coffee]

That looks like an outstanding example, Chuck. Great collecting on your part.

Question: Have there always been bobbed grips on automatics, or is this one of the earliest instances?

[CXM]

I don't know... I would guess bobbed grips would have appeared first on the 1900 or 1902, but can't say for sure. I'll take a look and see what Wilson's book has to say on it.

V/r

Chuck

May 5, 2020 10:41:55 GMT -5 Mister Coffee said:

That looks like an outstanding example, Chuck. Great collecting on your part.

Question: Have there always been bobbed grips on automatics, or is this one of the earliest instances?

[gt40doc]

Chuck,

That is one dandy shooting iron.  Those old Colts had such great fit and finish........a lot of handwork by highly skilled folks. You hit a home run on that one!!

[rock185]

Wow CXM, Yours is a really nice example! Most of this model I've seen on auction sites seem to have been rode hard and put up wet. I know they're old, but even compared to guns of similar vintage offered for sale, as a group the Pocket Hammers I've seen are the roughest.

I have one, 1914 and nowhere as nice as yours, but the old thing still works reliably.

[CXM]

I expect a lot of the old 1903 Pocket Hammer pistols we see were used pretty hard way back when. At the time they were introduced I believe they were about the most powerful auto on the market and remained so until the 1905 45 Rimless Smokeless hit the market... I have not done much detailed comparison, but the 38 Auto could have been most powerful until the venerable 45 hit the market with the Colt Government model 45.

The 38 Auto is still a respectable round.

FWIw

Chuck

May 22, 2020 2:38:17 GMT -5 rock185 said:

Wow CXM, Yours is a really nice example! Most of this model I've seen on auction sites seem to have been rode hard and put up wet. I know they're old, but even compared to guns of similar vintage offered for sale, as a group the Pocket Hammers I've seen are the roughest.

I have one, 1914 and nowhere as nice as yours, but the old thing still works reliably.