Art, that is really a beautiful spoon.

Today's range report...
 

I took my wife and daughter to the local range with the Remington Model 51 that David just reblued and the Colt 1903 Hammerless that I'll send to David for his "makeover" soon...

All three of us loved the Colt and it ran perfectly and was fun and accurate.

The Remington Model 51 did fine with round nose FMJ, but most of the .380 I brought was RNFP, and the flat point caused the Remington to hang up repeatedly, due to the feed ramp wanting round nose FMJ. You live, you learn...


The Colt is MUCH easier to take down, clean and reassemble, but the front pin that hold the recoil spring "block" kept working it's way out of the slide, so it will need to be replaced.

We went out for Lebanese food after and well all agreed that the Colt 1903 rocks!!! We love the way it feels, shoots and it's accurate and shot everything we put in it!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1300568176.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1300568276.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1300568360.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1300568482.jpg
Me and the Remington Model 51...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1300568559.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1300568646.jpg
Becky and the Remington Model 51...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1300568820.jpg

Thanks!
 

Paul,
Thanks! David did a great job with it. I like the "art deco" appearance and the (overly) complex engineering that went into making that gun. The recoil mechanism is unique and results in very little felt recoil.

I have to say that after shooting both guns side by side, I really prefer the Coly 1903 Hammerless and so does my wife and daughter. It's a great "family" gun that we can all shoot and enjoy. The 9mm, .45ACP, .40S&W and .357Sig that I shoot are all too much for Beth and Becky and they really liked the .32 and how well they were able to shoot it. Beth carries a ruger LCP in .380, but shooting that little gun is no fun at all, but it's meant for concealment, not target shooting.

Welcome to 03 world. Slippery slope. I do like the 51. It was a nice gun to shoot and would make a nice carry piece. The Colt..well I'm a bit partial, but it's a Colt after all. We all need to thank John Browning. A moment of silence please.

By the way you are totally right about the Colt being a simpler machine. However don't get crazy and start knocking out pins or you will be calling me for help. There are "tricks" to putting it back together.
Field strip only. You really don't need to go any further unless it's a reburb job. The little 08 .25 is a piece of cake but the 03 and 08's are tricky as there is "timing" involved. You would need a set of needle punches too in a variety of sizes, and lots of patience.

David,
No worries... as I have no intention of taking the Colt apart beyond field stripping to clean it. The Remington just about kills me every time I take it apart to clean it, then reassemble and that's just the field stripping!

BTW, the Colt is very easy to clean! That's an important factor for me as I shoot and clean my guns, especially during the winter. I've chosen specific guns based upon this factor (like the Sig) over other guns because of the ease of disassembly/cleaning/reassembly. To me, the engineering that goes into a specific gun is important and I really like it if the engineers/designers thought about the owner of the gun and what labor would be involved in maintaining it...

Art, I always check on this thread (and others concerning spoonage) one, because I know Dave and, two, because you have such a wonderful attitude: an infectious goodness.

Go Navy.

Paul,

Thank you, I feel the same about you and I'm following your Porsche "project"! This site has become very special to me because of the wonderful people I've met here. During my recent gout attack, this site gave me some much needed relief and took my mind off the pain for awhile. David and many others here have been more than kind, gracious and generous to me and I don't know how to repay their kindness and generosity. I have learned much from everyone here (even M21Sniper!) and I think our little "virtual community" is pretty special. I only wish that I could meet all of you guys in person!

We should have a big party somewhere.

I agree, but then I'm always up for a party! We should have it at M21Sniper's place!

Home on the range........
 

Sounds like you and family had a fun day at the range. Glad to hear that the new baby Colt worked properly. Even at a 100 years plus, your 1903 is still rockin' ! So what is next on the "wanted" list? If you don't have a good .22 target pistol, I would highly recommend a Colt Match Target 2nd model. That is the one with the push button mag release like a 1911. They were made from about 1948 to about 1957 or so. Or, you could go lookin' for a 1908 Colt pocket hammerless, the .380 version of the 1903. No barrel bushing and the mag carries one less round, but the same build quality as the 1903.

Fred I told him he would be looking for an 08 soon. LOL. Also, while I have you here. I have been thinking that he should send the 03 to Colt for the refinish. Yeah, I can rust it for him, but for what I would have to get for my time, for $50.00 more he could send it to Colt and get it finished in their royal blue. Plus a factory reblue will help with value in the end. WHat do you think? It's a Colt, not a whatever.

Here is a 1911 with a factory reblue in royal blue. ...stunning....just stunning.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1300670094.jpg

Wow! That's too pretty to shoot!

Colt Blue
 

A re-do in the Colt Royal blue would be nice. I have a Colt Commander in .38 super that was built in 1950 that is in about 99% condition in the Colt blue. Everyone that sees it is absoulutely amazed at the quality and beauty of the finish. Art's 1903 done back in the royal blue finish with a nice set of ivory grips would be a real treasure. After being refinished by Colt, his 1903 would probably double or triple in value. Especially if he got a Letter of Authenticity from Colt. That would also help establish the provenance of the piece.

I just read on the Colt forums that Colt has refused to restore the old 1903's recently because they don't have enough knowledgeable resources at the company to restore/refinish them. I have a feeling that if David doesn't refinish my Colt, it will stay like it is. If the gun is professionally restored and is "perfect", I won't want to shoot it and that would be a shame because we all really enjoyed shooting it on Saturday, it aims well and feels great!

I would really like the Colt to look as good as the Remington 51, so that I can pass them down to our kids at the appropriate time and they will have something from me that is functional and looks nice, too...

The family all really admired the Remington on Saturday at my father's birthday party! David did a fantastic job on it and it looks better than I ever imagined it could...

Wow, the more I get to know about this Colt 1903, the more I like it and want to keep it as is. I didn't know that Tojo shot himself at the end of WWII with one, but he failed and was properly executed by the allies.

I took some fine bronze wool and oil and rubbed the pitted spot on the trigger guard last night and it's almost gone! I need to fix the pin in the front of the slide that keeps "walking" out of the hole, but that's minor. Taking it apart, cleaning it and reassembly is so much easier than the Remington Model 51!

If I get this Colt refinished/restored, I know that I won't want to shoot it or carry it and that would be a shame! I have a Remington Rand M1911A1 from WWII that has been horribly botched up (amateur re-blue) and that gun desperately needs David's TLC if I can persuade him to work on that one instead of the Colt 1903.

I hope to buy the Colt's "bigger brother" (.380) some time this year as I'm growing to appreciate these beauties more each day!

Tojo and the "Colt"
 

The Japanese bought some of the 1903 Colts well before WWII and eventually reverse engineered it into a homegrown clone. They look just like the Colts but usually have at least some markings in Japanese, if only proofs. Not many were made and most of them went to senior officers such as Tojo. It was likely that he had one of the cloned pistols rather than an actual Colt.

Use a piece of drill rod (use the shank of an old drill) that fits snugly in the hole for a new pin. Get it so you have to tap it in but not pound it in. Cut it the same length as the old one and dress the ends. Done. You won't find that part. you will have to make it.