I thought I'd share a pair of very different Colt's 1903 Pocket Hammerless pistols with you guys. One is the beginning of an exercise in bringing the 1903 into at least the latter half of the 20th century, the other is a classic and not for tinkering.
Both pistols were made within a year of each other. The 'Tactical' version was made in 1911, the engraved item in 1910, making these some of the earliest Type III models with integrated bushings. The engraved one actually sneaks inside the serial number range posted on the Wiki for these.
The tactical version came to me totally stripped of any finish. I found the slide on an auction site, cut for novaks and decided to go from there; the previous owner hadn't removed enough material for the hammer to clear, so likely sold because he couldn't get his project working. I silver soldered the extended safety on today, made from a piece of 1095 steel I had for knife making, filed tongue-in-groove with the existing safety for extra strength. It'll be refinished completely as soon as i decide what I want to do.
The engraved model came to me as it is in a screaming flea market deal, but with factory black rubber grips. There was minor rust and pitting under the grips. I cleaned it up as best as I could, and dropped these bonded ivory grips on. I'd be interested to know when it was engraved; I suspect it's not factory due to the rollmarks and the finish quality. If anyone has insight into that, I'd be very appreciative, I may have it lettered at some point as well. It's very hard to photograph due to the high polish on it, and my camera doesn't do it justice.
The engraving is fairly extensive, nice touches on the grip, trigger guard, dust shied, back of the slide and frame, etc.
As pretty as the engraved one is, the updated item makes a much better shooter. I've swapped the hammer and firing pin to the modern design based on Old Fuff's advise on THR many moons ago, and carry it fairly often.
I'll keep you all updated on the modernized version as I continue with that project
Both pistols were made within a year of each other. The 'Tactical' version was made in 1911, the engraved item in 1910, making these some of the earliest Type III models with integrated bushings. The engraved one actually sneaks inside the serial number range posted on the Wiki for these.
The tactical version came to me totally stripped of any finish. I found the slide on an auction site, cut for novaks and decided to go from there; the previous owner hadn't removed enough material for the hammer to clear, so likely sold because he couldn't get his project working. I silver soldered the extended safety on today, made from a piece of 1095 steel I had for knife making, filed tongue-in-groove with the existing safety for extra strength. It'll be refinished completely as soon as i decide what I want to do.
The engraved model came to me as it is in a screaming flea market deal, but with factory black rubber grips. There was minor rust and pitting under the grips. I cleaned it up as best as I could, and dropped these bonded ivory grips on. I'd be interested to know when it was engraved; I suspect it's not factory due to the rollmarks and the finish quality. If anyone has insight into that, I'd be very appreciative, I may have it lettered at some point as well. It's very hard to photograph due to the high polish on it, and my camera doesn't do it justice.
The engraving is fairly extensive, nice touches on the grip, trigger guard, dust shied, back of the slide and frame, etc.
As pretty as the engraved one is, the updated item makes a much better shooter. I've swapped the hammer and firing pin to the modern design based on Old Fuff's advise on THR many moons ago, and carry it fairly often.
I'll keep you all updated on the modernized version as I continue with that project
