Colt 1903 Hammerless - S/N odd?

[Stope Rat]

Just picked up a Colt 1903 Hammerless - more for fun and shooting than any thought of "value" or collecting.

It seems to me to be a "Type II" - separate barrel bushing, 3.75" barrel, and a slotted retaining screw for the thumb safety. The Colt factory serial number lookup shows it to be from 1911.

My question is the serial number, 108XXX, would seem to be right in the middle of the production run for the "Type III" variant. (Based on coltautos.com)

Was there enough slop in the serial number records for this to be a Type II and still have that high a serial number? Or is the serial number altered? Or something else I'm not understanding?

Any assistance greatly appreciated.

 

[Jim K]

The simplest explanation is that the slide and frame are mismatched.

Jim

 

[Jim Watson]

I wonder about the thumb safety screw. That's not in the slide and Sam says it was used in Types I, II, and earliest Type III.
So a gun from the middle of the run OUGHT not to have it.

On the other hand, looking at Sam's chart, 108000 is early in Type III, not middle.

 

[Stope Rat]

The simplest explanation is that the slide and frame are mismatched.

Jim

Thanks Jim. I suspect you are correct. Without knowing much about them, I had supposed that the change from a barrel bushing to a lug would have precluded swapping frame and slide between the variants. But after your comment, I pulled it apart and stared at it for a while - and your explanation works. So I am now the proud owner of a bastard Type 2/3 Colt 1903!

 

[Sistema1927]

And like you said, you bought for the fun and shooting. Enjoy.

 

[bannockburn]

Stope Rat

As long as everything still functions properly and you got it for a decent price, as Sistema1927 pointed out, sounds like you got the fun shooter you wanted.