Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Colt .38 Special primer

As in "See Dick run, see Jane run" primer.

The setup:

- Seems like my centerfire handgun shooting for the foreseeable future is going to be about 90-95% .38 Specials with maybe a few mid-level .357 loads tossed in just to use my existing brass.
- Currently have three S&W .38's, two K-frames and a J-frame. Always on the lookout for the next toy but since I've been a Smith fan since forever every S&W for sale at even a remotely not insane price is something that would duplicate what I have or I already had one or three of the same model.

I've never had a Colt .38 Spl and thought, hmm, one of those might be interesting to look for and play with but my knowledge of those is relatively slim compared to the Smiths.

Would prefer a more vintage piece from the 70's or any time before and it needs to be chambered specifically for .38 Spl since I have enough .357's to last me. Looking at gunbroker either a Police Positive or Officer's Model Match/Target/Special/what have you might be relatively affordable and available. A Diamondback would be super but I'd have to mortgage the house and would prefer not to do that.

So...who wants to give me a basic education on those two? I believe one or both has the same lockwork as the Python but don't know for a fact. Anything specific to look for or gotchas to avoid? Any other model besides those two to look at?

I believe Pythons were made in 38 only early on. Just in case you run across one cheap some widow is selling at a garage sale.

Not related but you should keep an eye out for an S&W 38/44. I have one each Heavy Duty and Outdoorsman and they’re a hoot to shoot. One sold in the classifieds here not long ago for reasonable money.

You might keep your eyes open for an older Trooper, too. They have adjustable sights, and also came in .357. In fact, they had the same gun, with a nicer finish, called the Three Five Seven, and it was sort of the basis for the Python.
However, most of them were in .38 Special. I had one about 30 years ago, and it was a wonderful shooter. I loaded a lot of Sierra 110 Blitz bullets in mine, and did a lot of frogging with it. I shot it mostly DA, as I was trying to work on my DA shooting back then. Those old Troopers were almost matte-finished, it was a pretty dull blue on them, but it sure didn't effect the way they shot. BTW, a Colt will use a 1-14 twist barrel, which should make it good for heavier bullets, but the cylinder is pretty short, so it makes it more difficult to load those heavier bullets. I was having so much fun with those Sierras I didn't even care.

Those older Troopers, and the Official Police/Officers Model Match models, were all based on the exact same frames as the Pythons, same actions, everything except the barrel profiles and exterior finishes.

Try an older Colt. These guys did pretty well with them.





L.W.

Didn't Barney Fife carry an Official Police? IIRC, it had a five-inch barrel, too. Maybe Barney DID have his act together after all.................

The Official Police is a great service revolver. They are strong enough that Colt advertised them as suitable for 38-44 cartridges.

Those guys are nuckin' FUTS. As good as I used to be, I wouldn't have attempted that at ANY distance, period. Nor would I have stood there and let them shoot at cigars in my hands or mouth. Nope, no way, no how.

Officer's Model Match, postwar.

The Pre-war Officer Model Targets are good shooters too and were often very highly polishes\d/finished guns with a bit of glare to them.

Python was a .357 mag from day one, but they did make some that were .38 Special for export, and for agencies that wanted a Python but required .38 Special only.

I didn’t think I was crazy. A friend had a 6” blue 38, I didn’t know before he came up with it that they existed.

Pre-Mk III guns are on the Colt E/I frame, which is the Python frame/internals.

About the E/I frame in general. There are early and late variations with some changes (same can be said about most any S&W). The change from the Army Special to Official Police is where you see the most up to date version of that action that includes a hammer block internal safety. Pre-War double actions are pretty darned stiff as Colt put a premium on single action shooting, and fast lock time. Prior to WW2 the focus was on ultimate accuracy rather than speed shooting. The old saying in motor racing "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday" held true for revolvers back then. Since Colt held most of the bullseye records, the single action accuracy was highly emphasized. Eventually, the market woudl change and Colt reacted a bit slow, allowing S&W to just zip right past them and never look back.

E/I frames are VERY stout, VERY strong medium frame revolvers, more akin to a S&W L frame than a S&W K frame. Ergonomics are very different from S&W's and that's a deal breaker for people who grew up on S&W's. The reach to the trigger is noticeably longer, which works well for me personally, but not everyone. In fact, it was a bit of an adjustment at first for me, but after I got used to it, I found I actually shoot my Colts better than I shoot my S&W's; which was a BIG surprise to me.

Official Police is a VERY heavy duty .38 Special and quite capable of handling even .38-44 High Speed level pressures. In short, good luck trying to wear one out. They are a fixed sight service type revolver. Pre-war versions are most often found with a 6" barrel, with 4.5" as the next most common. But they were made in most any barrel length the customer wanted. Post-War guns are typically 4" & 5".

Officers is Colt's premier target revolver, and let me tell you, they are freaking wicked accurate. These were hand assembled, and if one ever came back to the factory for repair, the man who assembled the revolver has to fix it on his own time after hours...so they tend to be really good. The Officers has set more bullseye records than most any other DA revolver made, with the .38 Special New Service a close second. Pre-War guns are very sexy to my eye, but many find the adjustable sights (rear adjustable for windage, front for elevation) a little annoying. Mine is a target gun, not a field gun. Personally I think the Pre-War Officers have a much nicer sight picture than the Post-War. Post-War Colt added heavy barrels and a fully adjustable rear sight. They are easier to work with, but the really heavy barrel guns are Gawd-Awful ugly...but they shoot like nothing else.

Trooper (pre-Mk III) is the "deluxe" version of the Official Police, most often found in .357 magnum, but can also be found in .38 special. These are just fantastic .357's, extremely durable, very accurate, but DA's are still a touch stiff. Most often it just takes spring adjustments to bring the DA pull down, as you rarely need to actually take a stone to the inside of a E/I frame Colt.

Python of course is Colt's flagship revolver. The new ones are better than the old ones, but the old ones are very good, and aesthetically much better finished.

ALL of Colt's E/I frames are absolute tack drivers, and its the rare shooter who can actually out-shoot his Colt DA revolver.

I currently own a 1979 Python, and 1937 Officers Model Target. I also have an Official Police/Commando that I'm building from a box of parts I picked up at a gun show, so I'll have 3 E/I frame Colts soon.

Thanks for the overview, it helps a lot and adds to the other research I've been doing. I had a 6" Trooper Mk III .357 back in the late 70's but it was stolen in a burglary in 1981. It was indeed a stout revolver, much more so than my K frame Smiths.

It looks like a later Officer's Model Match (50's to 60's) would best suit what I'm looking for which is strictly a bullseye and steel target shooter. The longer reach to the trigger should be okay as I have fairly large hands. Always gravitated to grips on the Smiths that add length behind the backstrap, otherwise I have to pull my finger out of the guard a ways to get my pad properly on the trigger.

Watching three of the OMM on gunbroker right now to see how high they go. Looked at some sold ones last night but was looking at a mix of Police Positives, Official Police and Officer's Models in various guises so I didn't get a good idea of the current going prices for the Match model alone.

If anyone has any guidance on what prices would fall into the steal vs deal vs ripoff categories - assuming very good or better condition - I'm all ears. It looks like the Officer's Model Match or Target revolvers don't have quite the collector premium as the snake guns.

Jim, looks like these fine gents have given you good info. Personally I am a pre war Colt DA freak. Only thing I have to add would be the bores on the 38s between say 1920 and the war might be snug. Talking a possible .355 like my Official Police and my Officer Model. All I shoot are fairly soft wad cutters at 141gr and 140gr swc. I also powder coat. There are several pre war OMs out there. Finding one at 90%+ like the 38 and 22lr I have is not impossible. Fine machines indeed. That said I am quite smitten by the Official Police I have. Carried and handled much but shot little. Made in 35. Both OMs were made in 37.

They made an 8 inch Python Target 38, stateside, about 3800 of them... Had a chance to buy a nickle one.

Nothing about any export 38 Pythons. Smith 586s, yes.

My thoughts mirror GunGeek's. I'll only add that, to me, the Police Positives in .38 Special should be avoided if stiff loads are in the offing. Later ones will certainly handle them but overall you'll be less comfy shooting it a lot than you will an Officers Model, New Army, or an Official Police. If contemplating a New Army (predecessor of the Official Police) make sure it was made post-1920 as Colt changed their metallurgy at that point thus making them a fair bit stronger. (Serial number charts are out there on the internet.)

Well, I am now the owner of a mid-1960's Officers Model Match. Found one on gunbroker with no bids on it so I put in the starting bid, no one else bid against it so I got it. I was really amazed at the price on this, hundreds less than what folks are asking for most any Smith of that era and thousands less than any snake gun.

I appreciate everybody's input, it really helped me narrow down what would best fit my needs.

This is a pic from the auction of the one I got. It comes with the original box and an extra set of target grips. I'm left handed and can't use those so will probably be selling them off.

Great snag Jim! You are gonna love that.

That is a great pickup. I'll be looking for something like that this fall, once all the house jobs get finished.

Sure Scott.

Another coward heard from.