Three Little Spoons......

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

This is a picture of my three Colt Target model revolvers. The top one is an Officer's Model Target in .22 rimfire w/aftermarket target grips. The middle one is an Officer's Model Target in .38 Special with custom carved grips. The bottom one is a Colt Police Positive Target in .22 rimfire. All are from the 1930s. Notice how petite the Police Positive is compared to the Officer models! Of the three, the Officer's Model in .38 Special has the best trigger. It has pretty obviously been worked over by a gunsmith that really knew Colts. The Police Positive (bottom) is still wearing it's original Colt walnut checkered grips. The fit, finish and functioning of prewar Colts is nothing short of amazing!

KFC911 · 05-18-2011, 01:21 AM

I'll give ya a hundred bucks for all three...that's my final offer, so take it or leave it! Nice spoons...

Mr.Puff · 05-18-2011, 01:31 AM

Three little spoons all in a row

...

targa911S · 05-18-2011, 04:14 AM

bottom right for me please.

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

Very nice and I don't eve like revolvers. The old ones are very cool, though!

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

Colt made about 750,000 Police Positive revolvers (not counting the Police Positve Special models). Out of that number, only about 4% were done in the Target style. Most of the Target models were done in .32 Colt chambering and/or .22 WRF leaving the smaller remainder in .22 rimfire. The Target models came with a flat top frame, adjustable sights (front for elevation, rear for windage) and target trigger and hammer. The rear of the frame (between the grip panels) was also checkered.

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

Ok, only I want that in the form of two U.S. $50 gold coins. Let me know where to send the Colts.

targa911S · 05-18-2011, 05:12 AM

I saw a .22 LR model PP at a gun show this past weekend with a 6" barrel. $359.00

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

The Police Positive (not Target) model in .22 rf were made in much larger quantities and thus are less rare. However, a nice clean Police Positive in .22 rf would be a very good deal at $359.00! The main thing to watch out for in the older Colt revolvers is the timing and lockup. The Colt mechanism was very complex and sophisticated and not many gunsmiths are still around that know how to properly repair them and the small parts (hand, bolt, springs, etc.) are starting to dry up.

tabs · 05-18-2011, 12:35 PM

I have been an aficionado of fine Colt spoons for over 30 years and have yet to see a 32 caliber Police Positve Target. They are fairly common in 22 and a little less so in 22 WRF.

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

Tabs,

I, too have been chasing Colt handguns for about 30 years or so. For some reason, Colt serialed the .22 LR PPTs in a separate serial number range. All of the other PPT calibers (.32, 22 WRF, etc.) were included in the serial numbers with the regular Police Positives. One of the Wilson books that I have has a good synopsis of serial numbers by model by year that is very helpful. Maybe it's the part of the country where we live, but I have run across many more .32 and .22WRF PPTs than I have .22LR versions. I have also seen a couple of guns with barrels marked as PPTs that had the flat top frame and adjustable rear sight, but did not have the adjustable front sights. I guess the reality is that in the 20s and 30s Colt made up pretty much what ever they wanted to produce. Of course, they may have been using up available parts trying to clear out a stock of old parts.

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

I took the Police Positve Target revolver to the range today. It is a real shooter! The sights are right on both for elevation and windage and, as I suspected, the grip provides a natural angle for easy target acquisition. The first 6 shots at 50 ft. were all inside the 10 ring except for one that cut the ring. One thing that I have noticed about both this one and the Officer's Model Target in .22lr is that the chambers are "tight", requiring a sturdy push with the thumb to seat the unfired rounds. Once fired, the empty hulls eject easily. I don't know if the cartridge chambers are cut tight for accuracy or if there has been a slight change in cartridge dimensions over the years. Both have recessed chambers that support the cartridge heads, something that Colt started doing once the "high velocity" .22long rifle rounds became available.