colt army special

ginger49023

I finally got a good look at the above my freinds Father carried.

Colt Army Special
38
serian number 4529xx

I am guessing it is a 38 special adding the caliber and name togther.

Any help on year of manufacture or a web site to check?

Not sure of the value. The action is very good but I would rate it 75% blue only from carry wear. No rust, not pitting, clean bore - 90%.

Sandy thinks her Gradfather may have carried this before her Father. Both worked security.

ginger49023

I have a Colt Army Special 38, Nickel Plated, 1926 (Serial starts with a 521 I believe), MINT condition. I have searched my brains out trying to determine it's worth. Any Idea?

Thanks

ginger49023

I have Colt Army Special in .38 caliber. What .38 cartridge does this gun take? In the Fjestad book, it says Various under .38 caliber. The Special in the name refers to the Army Special, not .38 Special.

Serial is in the 500,000 range.

Any thoughts out there?

Thanks, [:)]

Art

ginger49023

What is the approximate worth of a Colt Army Special 38 with a 4" barrel, chipped checkered wood grips with Colt medallion, in about %50 condition and some pitting on the surface? Serial number is in the 500k range. The lockup is very tight and action is good. The caliber on the barrel just says 38; it doesnt' say special or s&w or ctg or anything like that. Is it more likely to be a 38 special or s&w?Roy

ginger49023

I looked at some earlier posts (3/15) regarding the Colt Army Special. I have some questions about mine. The earlier posts state different specs. The info I have is that the gun was made from 1908-1927 in 32-20, 41, 38 Colt, and 38 S&W with serial numbers up to 540,000. The barrel on mine says Colt Army Special and "38". It has the rounded cylinder release and the serial number is 543###. Could this be a transition gun for whatever the next model was? The gun is really tight, but I have not fired the gun,...yet. I loaded 38 special ammo and it fit tight in the cylinders all the way through; I tried to load 38 S&W and it did not fit, so I'm pretty sure it's not a 38 S&W. I also tried to chamber 357, it did not fit either. I did not have any 38 Colt ammo to try. I don't know the dimensins of 38 Colt ammo either.The gun is marked HPD 150 on the butt,(Houston Police Department?) and has a deliberate file mark or notch in the frame. (maybe a kill notch?)Could this gun originally be a 38 special? Is it likely to have a replacement or conversion cylinder in it? Should I close my eyes and wear a glove when I try and shoot wadcutters through it?Roy

COLT

...Manf. 1920-21. With out pics hard to value but, in the condition your describing maybe anywhere between $300-$500. A good average would be around $400, and a lot of nice examples around for that price.

...Just because the word "Special" is in the mod name of ANY gun, and the cal is .38 DON'T EVER assume the gun will handle a .38 Special round, though in this case I think it will; always check the indexing and lockup first though on a revolver as old as this....if your not sure of everything to look for safety wise, let a pistol smith check it out...[;)]

ginger49023

I compared this to my S&W model 10 in 38 special to the Cold and they are very, very similar in cylider size, barrel, etc. Looking at the two, I would be amazed if the Colt was not stout enn0ough to handle the 38 special load esppeically if made in 1920 or so.

However, a gun smith is cheap insurance.

ruger41

I was given my grandfathers Colt Army Special in .38spl years ago-5" barrel and it does shoot nice-but I baby it with only light loads--not saying it couldn't handle standard pressure loads but it is an old gun. Cowboy action loads are great for it. He had gotten it from a prison guard who worked in a AZ prison back in the 1930's. He then used it on his ranch until his death in the 1969.

Zinderbloc

IIRC the Colt Army Special is the same gun as the Colt Official Police. Solid, medium-frame revolvers with a lot of real world history.

Old-Colts

As previously mentioned, Colt Army Special is the full model name. With respect to the 38 marking this model was manufactured in 38 long and short Colt, 38 S&W Special, and 38 Special; so make sure of the actual chambering before trying to fire the pistol.