Uncle Bill's antique .38 -- pix but no deal.

Bill Martino

Bill Martino

Joined
Mar 5, 1999
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Since I mention my antique .38 on a regular basis I though it was time to get a pix up. This is is. A few scratches here and there, a little rust, holster wear as you can probably see but it'll still shoot -- I think! Last victim: a skunk in Mamou, LA, about 20 years ago give or take.

Bought this from a retired cop in Peoria, IL in 1958. Motivation for purchase: Somebody tried to break into my apartment in the middle of the night and the only weapon I could come up with was a 2 dollar kitchen knife that had a hard time slicing butter. The cop had carried this gun for 20 or 30 years so it has to be pre WWII vintage. I paid $50 for it. It, like my 72 El Camino with 402cid big block will go with me to the end.

Next pix.
 

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The notch.

When I bought the gun this notch was already on the gun. I did not ask but thought the old cop might have taken somebody down with this gun. Peoria was once the playground of the Chicago mob.
 

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Bet Rusty knows what Colt that is. Is it the same as a Police Positve?
Thanks for showing it. I've wondered.

munk
 
SWEET!!!!!!:D You should pop of a few rounds to clean her out!
Now all you have to do is post a picture of your El Camino of at least the engion!:D
 
Kind of a refreshing change from Hi-capacity clip-fed pea shooters of the modern day. Lotta character.


Keith
En Ferro Veritas
 
Nice to put a face with a name:D;)

Heard about that gun so many times I had actually formed a mental picture of it--a wrong one, but a picture nonetheless:D

That gun looks so unlike guns of today that I'm not sure a burglar (a young one) would think it was real! However, I don't think most people would want to gamble on that:eek:

I should add my .02$ here:

Antique .38 pistol=good defense
Antique .38 ammo= death wish. It might work, it might not, and if he has a gun and yours goes poof or click, you die.

Buy some new regular .38's--silvertip hollowpoints or something like that and you'll be sure they'll go off and do the job.
 
On the barrel it says, "official police 38". There's a little pix of the rearing colt near the handle. I can't find the serial number. Where do they hide it? I think the number would put a date of manufacture on the gun.
 
Maybe on the butt, under the the grips. S&W is on the inside open the cylinder. Great revovlers Colt. y ex took my police positive, and Python. Some scum bag got my cobra in Miami Fl. All the best.:)
Sam
 
Uncle:Open the cylinder;the serial number is on the frame under the cylinder crane. The half moon sight makes me think it's a prewar gun as the later ones have a more ramped type.O.P.s are nice guns.My local shop has one for $400.

WoodOwl
 
Same 41 frame as was later used to make the original Colt "357", later named "Trooper", and the Python. The later Trooper Mk. __ models were on a new frame to require less hand fitting.

I believe the Official Police was a later version of the Colt "Army" but am not positive. The same frame was also used to make the Officer's model match guns with adjustable sights. I believe the late George Nonte mated Python barrels onto the Officer's frame and then welded up the frame fronts to match the barrels, thus making them into Pythons that never came off the factory line.

If I can remember, I'll bring up a duplicate set of the plastic stag grips next time I'm up.

In my opinion a well timed Police Positive, Official Police ( Colt ) or K or N frame ( Smith ) is a treasure to be cherished. A pinnacle of achievement. Like the Thompson, that they don't make them that way anymore doesn't mean they make them better.
 
A few years ago, I went in to a cop shop west of Evanston,IL, and saw in the "used" section of the counter...20 + S&W MP model 10s, bull barrels. All had been traded in by small community police forces for some variant of nine MMs. The were selling for $139.00 each. Some holster wear, minimum rounds fired. Two came home with me.

Helps to keep in touch with spots like this. They need to move inventory just as much as your local Wal-Mart.

AND, in a rural, owner-operated, by-gawd sporting goods store in Wisconsin which I frequent...there are often guns brought in by widows whose husbands had stashed them in a drawer or closet for decades. These range from astonishing to eccentric, but there is no predicting what will show up, or when.


Kis
:rolleyes:
 
Uncle,
According to the table in R.L. Wilson's Colt: An American Legend your Official Police .38 was manufactured in 1929. Get some new ammo, but don't use +P loads. A few more tidbits from Jim Serven's Colt Firearms 1836-1968: The "Official Police" model is merely a re-christened "Army Special", first introduced in 1908,with improved sights, locking and finish. NYPD adopted the 4" barrel Army Special in 1926; soon many police departments were using this model, so in 1928 it was renamed the Official Police.
Compared to yours, the 1936 Detective Special on my nightstand is a youngster. :)
Berk
P.S. But I'll run my '74 BMW 2002 against your El Camino on a road course any day!;)
 
The gun's older than me!!!! Many thanks for info, Berk. I was going to use the +P load but a pal warned me that the gun might explode in my hand so I'm still using the antique ammo I bought 25 years ago.

The El Camino is like me -- too many miles and getting a little slow. I think it could use some bypass surgery, too. I think I'd lose the race against the BMW at high end but I notice I can blow away about 95% of the cars when the light turns green. I've got a Holley double pumper installed that eats gas so fast that you can see the guage move down when you hit it at the stop light.
 
Originally posted by Bill Martino
55XXXX
Click to expand...

Bill I sure wouldn't leave this posted where the whole world can see it!!!!!!!
You can at least substitute some X's for the last 4 numbers anyway.
 
I've filled out enough 4473's that I can't hide, can't run. I envy the guy who can worry about one serial number. A large percentage of firearms do not stay with the owner but like a khukuri, sometimes wander before finding a home. There is a class of people in this country who if they'd kept every firearm they'd ever owned would have a premier, vintage, museum quality collection. I'm thinking some of you here in this forum might fit that description.

I doubt plus p's would blow the gun up. I doubt that very much. I sure wouldn't take a chance on it. Most likely it would simply rattle the gun apart in short order.

I would check out some of Federal's Nyclad 38 ammo, as high velocities are reached without the pressure due to the jacket with less friction. Someone told me once Federal designed it for short barreled 38's like the Chiefs Special. Sounds right.

munk
 
Do I go to jail if somebody says they killed a cop with serial number xxxxxx? I figured if there were some legal consideration Berk would have mentioned it but I stick to the safe side these days. My gangster pals of years gone by said the gun was a throw away but I'm not sure what that means and I wouldn't sell it to them anyway.

I have never registered the gun or got a permit to carry but it's been with me all these years and has travelled from Pacific to Atlantic in various vehicles I've owned along the way.
 
GO TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR KHUKS BILL, THAT LOOKS SUSPICUSLY LIKE A KHUKURI CUT ??????? YOU HAVENT BEEN SUPPIN TO MANY OF THOSE HIENEKENS HAVE YOU. HE HE
 
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