Any love for Colt wheel guns?

crackerjax

crackerjax

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Feb 29, 2008
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I think im in love with the Colt DS .38spl nice little guns. I was gifted 2 of them this week both nickel plated one is a 1973 and Mint the other is a 1969 and needs a tune up and replating but fully functional as is. Anyone else here own any??
 
crackerjax said:
I think im in love with the Colt DS .38spl nice little guns. I was gifted 2 of them this week both nickel plated one is a 1973 and Mint the other is a 1969 and needs a tune up and replating but fully functional as is. Anyone else here own any??
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I have one of the newer versions. I like it alot! It's easy to conceal and easy for my wife to use too.

Now you need a Python to keep them company :D
 
The very first "serious" pistol I bought, way back around '65, was a Colt Detective Special. Nice piece... Back then, if you were in police work, you were a Colt man or a S&W man. Departments generally allowed either, but not much else.
The Python was the premier of the Colt line, while either the M27 (the large-frame) or the M19 (K-Frame) were the choices for the Smith & Wesson fans.

I decided on S&W mainly due to the somewhat-simpler lockwork. However, I never saw any problems with either.
 
I've owned a few Pythons over the years, as well as a couple Anacondas. Those Pythons are SMOOTH & very good shooters, and the Anaconda is built like a tank.
 
I don't own one myself, but I'm holding out for the right Python to come along.
 
I am not a huge .38 cal fan but a gift is a gift and its a Colt so I guess I cant go wrong... one day when I have the cash I will send the other one back to colt to get fixed up and covered in royal blue.
 
I had a mint royal blue Python. Was unfortunately stolen. It had the nicest finish of any firearm I have ever seen.
 
Don't wait too long on sending the one back to Colt.
Rebluing they'll be able to do for a while, but the day will come when they'll eventually cease offering service on those obsolete V-Spring actions.
Denis
 
6" Colt Python in nickel. Bought it back in late 70's /early 80's along the a S&W Model 29 while the Dirty Harry fad was sweeping the land. Then came the auto's and these were retired with dubious ceromonies except on special occasions. Both are great guns to own & shoot.
Be safe.
 
Maybe I should send in the other as well for a good cleaning and a check up? I was also thinking about using their historian services on both guns.. What do you all think about that. Are these little 38's worth that much to put into them?
 
In the 70s & 80s I had a .357 Colt Trooper Mk III (6" barrel). I had sent it to the Colt factory for a trigger job which made it as slick as the Python's. Had a break break shoulder rig for it and I loved the pistol. I highly regret when I sold it to a friend, but it was just after a divorce and I was funding my escape to the keys on my sailboat. Wish I had never sold her.
 
You've acquired two costly guns. Taurus they ain't. :) They were more expensive to make & to buy than their S&W counterparts, and they're more expensive now to work on.
The DS was dropped with a final relatively short run in 1994. It used the older Colt V-Spring action, which required extensive hand fitting of internal parts, and it got the deluxe blue job that S&W never achieved (or even tried to) on their .38 small-framed snubs.

The DS was considered THE top of the line snub, among any & all makers, for many years.
There are probably about half a dozen truly competent people & places left in the world that really understand that action & can be trusted to work on them.

DO NOT drop either of yours at your local gunsmith for work. If he's not on the short list, chances are about 90% you'll get it back in...let's just say less than optimal condition. If not downright severely screwed up. :)
He most likely won't know how to do the tune-up correctly, and he can't just order parts through Colt anymore. Lotta butchered V-Spring Colts out there that got that way by the "Aw hell, it's just a revolver, I can zip through it in a half hour!" school of thought. Even if the guy may be a whiz on Smiths, it doesn't mean he can do Colts.

I have three Dick Specials, including the one I bought as an off-duty piece in '81.
They are classics, and in my opinion are well worth spending some money on.

Again- Colt will not be servicing the critters indefinitely.
If you have the money, I'd strongly recommend sending both back to Colt for checkup & tuneup as needed. They are still doing it right, and the cost you quoted sounds very much in line. Re-finish or not, at least get the guts up to specs.

The Dick was never intended to be sold to the mass market that Taurus, Glock, and others cater to today. It was born in another era, when pride in work and pride of ownership were every bit as important as function, and it simply required so much effort in production that it priced itself out of the market.

Get 'em cleaned up, treat 'em right (factory says limited +P is OK, but I wouldn't), don't shoot the hell out of 'em in IPSC, and they should be good to go for many years.

Denis
 
I was going to buy myself a new shotgun soon but this thread has me thinking six shooter now. Thanks for confusing me. :)
 
I forgot, I owned one of the short-barreled Colt "Trooper" models as well. Shooting full-house .357 loads in a 2" barrel is interesting, especially at night. If you should miss your opponent at close range, there's a very good chance you'll burn him to death....
It proved too bulky for what I wanted, an off-duty revolver in .357. I used to carry the thing in an inside-the-pants rig and if I sat too long my leg would go numb...
 
Well maybe I can use some tax refund dollars and get them done. The 1975 is mint but im sure it could use a cleaning and oiling on the inners. The 69 was carried alot by the looks and the nickle is flaking off will switching it from nickle to blue kill the value any? The 69 is the one I plan on letting my wife carry day to day. Or should they both be put in the safe and I get her a smith 60-3
 
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