Colt Trooper Mk III .22 LR.

beantownshootah

With two threads already open on Colt Trooper .22 revolvers, I figured I'd open another one.

So here's a Colt Trooper Mk III, .22LR.

Gun has Pachmayr presentation grips with gold colored Colt medallions. Number Y4432X is inscribed in the frame under the yoke (I assume that's the serial).

The gun has a few light scratches around the muzzle, and a few dings on the sighting rib. There is also a scratch right next to the Colt Horse logo on the left side of the frame [V]. Forgive the less than publication-quality images; they were quick and dirty with a cheap cam on my desk.

So, questions:

a. Can anyone give me year of production?

b. Is there any chance these are the original factory grips, or did these guns only ship out with the checkered walnut ones?

c. Anyone care to estimate value? (My guesstimate is about $550 give or take $50).

d. Anyone want to estimate a "percentage" of finish?

Any other comments are welcome.

No, its not for sale. [:p]

mrs102

My reference says DOM about 1990 or slightly later (Y29685=1990). Pachmyar with Colt medallion is probably correct for this DOM. Finish arguable, but 95% (give or take). I wouldn't argue with your suggested value.

wpage

Agree with prior post. Price sound about right for retail.

Condition may be discretionary.

Zinderbloc

I disagree with the Pachmayrs and the stated DOM. MKIII revolvers were made until around 1983 (R.Sapp) and none came with factory Pachmayrs.

I agree on the value, and possibly a bit more when you find a pair of factory stocks to make the gun whole. MKIII's in .22LR are not all that common.

Knifecollector

I agree with Zinderbloc, 1983 was the last year for the MK III. I'm seeing 1982 as the year of production.
Grips should be checkered wood.
$500 would be a very good price for the buyer.

chumchum

HI, I paid $450 shipped for mine about a year ago with the wood grip and the Pachmayr. Condition a tade nicer and I reached the auction long and hard to find one for that. $500 not a bad price, but if you want to put the time in deals can always be found.

rsnyder55

Colt was putting Pachmyers with the Colt emblem on revolvers in 1981. Colt Python Hunter comes to mind. But I don't recall ever seeing a Trooper sporting them.

mark christian

I am not a Colt guy so I can't say one way of the other (where is JudgeColt when we need him?) but I also have a .22 Trooper Mk III, serial number Y43464, which is very close to beantown's and it has Pachmyer stocks:
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I did not purchase this gun new nor did it come with it's box; I took it in trade many years ago and have no idea if it left Colt wearing those stocks.

JudgeColt

Mr. Christian, I wondered why my ears were burning! I am not by here much anymore, but try to scan posts now and then to see if there is anything in my areas of interest. Perhaps it was the Gun God directing me to this post.....

I can relate what Colt officially cataloged, but I cannot guarantee that Colt never deviated from what was cataloged. (Over the years, Colt has cataloged guns it never made, and has made guns it never cataloged, but whether the rubber Pachmayr stocks were original equipment on blue Mark III revolvers does not seem to fit in either category.)

The Mark III was introduced in 1969 and was no longer cataloged as of 1983 since the Mark V was introduced in the middle of 1982. Wood stocks were standard factory equipment on every Mark III of every chambering and finish, EXCEPT those with the ColtGuard finish introduced in 1982. ("ColtGuard" is Colt's name for a factory electroless nickel finish.) Standard factory stocks on all ColtGuard Mark III revolvers were Pachmayr rubber stocks with a silver Colt medallion.

Since Colt also sold the Pachmayr stocks as factory accessories, it is common to see them on Colts on which they were not original equipment. Except for those Mark III revolvers with a factory ColtGuard finish, I do not believe that any other Mark III revolvers of any chambering or finish were factory-equipped with Pachmayr stocks. Therefore, I do not believe that the blue Mark III revolvers pictured were factory-equipped with Pachmayr stocks. They should have wood stocks of the style in use when the particular guns were made.

Hope this helps.

beantownshootah

quote:Originally posted by JudgeColt
Therefore, I do not believe that the blue Mark III revolvers pictured were factory-equipped with Pachmayr stocks. They should have wood stocks of the style in use when the particular guns were made.

Hope this helps.

Yes, that did help, thank you.

As a related question, were the wood grips serialized to the individual guns?

SP45

Interesting Just did a search about Trooper Grips. Rating condition is subjective and some are harder than others. From the photos I would say 97% +/- 1%. Hard to tell without holding it in your hand. Value I think would be a little higher in the 600 to 650 range especially if you find origional grips (people like the 22's). I am posting one right now on the auction side.