Colt lawman Mark III

[gubowner]

Colt lawman price

New to revolvers. Was at LGS today and the owner asked if I knew anything about colt revolvers.I know very little so I looked up you guys. It is a Lawman serial # J91745, 1976 I think. It has some minor surface rust from just sitting but no pitting that i can see. It was carried by a police officer here in Las Vegas pre Metro. days(mob). It has a 4 inch bull barrel. The grips have some dings but not to bad. The bluing still looks good, but it needs a good cleaning. The bore looks good and the lock up feels tight. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I can only hope it is way to expensive so I won't get addicted to Colt wheel guns like I am to other revolvers. (Name withheld due to respect)

 

[silicosys4]

They are good guns, I have a few. Very robust. Simple and strong lockwork, but... Do not dry fire.
Price for a used one showing rust would be <$400, >$300 to me, depending on condition and bluing left.

 

[bannockburn]

gubowner

The Colt Mk.III series revolvers (Trooper, Lawman, Metropolitan, and Official Police), were well designed and sturdily built guns. I think it's safe to say most if not all of Colts revolvers are still highly sought after by collectors and shooters alike. The DA trigger was typically not as smooth or light as that found on the Colt Python (or most S&Ws as well), but was still very serviceable and reliable. Without seeing the one you described I would price it somewhere around $450 and up, depending on its overall appearance and condition.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

It would be $300 shooter to me.

 

[evan price]

I paid $360 for a lawman mkiii snub recently. it was a detective carry gun, pd traded. Cosmetically a bit worn but not shot much. Colt values keep going up.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Good price and I still regret trading my Trooper III.

 

[highpower]

Here in Northern Nevada, I haven't seen any Colt revolver for under $400 for a long time. One in somewhat cosmetically challenged condition would be perfect for a woods/desert gun or a backup hunting rig.

 

[smkummer]

Its a fixed sight duty revolver that is starting to get some respect simply because its a Colt. Colt was boasting its laser sighting technique to align the sights so it should shoot to the sights. I prefer the trooper MKIII with the adjustable sights though and traded mine. If I recall, it shot to the sights with both the .357 158 SWC and the 38 special 158.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I paid $360 for a lawman mkiii snub recently. it was a detective carry gun, pd traded. Cosmetically a bit worn but not shot much. Colt values keep going up.

A snub Lawman will bring more money than a 4".

 

[Dframe]

I have it's brother the short chambered Metropolitan. They are brute strong revolvers and reliable as a hammer. They've never gotten the respect they deserve because the mark III action isn't like "the way they used to be". With their heavy barrels they frequently outshoot far more expensive guns. Mine is just as accurate if not more so than my Python. $400 would be a gift in my neck of the woods.

 

[OilyPablo]

I have the 6" Trooper brother. Finish is great, so I would say rust should knock off a fair bit of the price IMHO.

I actually dissected mine, cleaned, relubed and replaced the trigger and hammer springs. What a fine range gun this is. Perfect trigger, but a bit light for carry or HD with the lighter springs, well at least in SA it is. Very accurate.

 

[bannockburn]

Count me among those who foolishly sold or traded several Colts (one Trooper Mk.III and two Mk.Vs), years ago. The 4" barreled Mk.V in particular had the sweetest DA/SA trigger, was very accurate, and had the best factory grips that I have ever encountered on a Colt revolver.

 

[gubowner]

Thanks guys. I'm working the deal this week. The owner said he would hold as long as it takes for us to agree on a number. Not ready for a Python(yet) but I will start picking so called lesser Colts before the prices go to high.

 

[788Ham]

I picked up a Colt Trooper a couple of years ago, made in 62', 4", original stocks and box. Picked it up from a pawn for $325.00. It had a touch of holster wear on the LFT side of cylinder and LFT side of barrel at muzzle. My gunsmith said it looked as though carried a bunch, hardly shot. This Colt shoots lights out, very accurate with light 38 loads.

 

[kcofohio]

So, there is this Colt Trooper, pre-60s, I believe the tag said. Non MKIII. It's in the gun case at my LGS. At first glance, it looks original. 4" barrel. Didn't handle it. They're asking $385 for it.
Does that sound like something that would be worth taking a closer look at?

 

[dfariswheel]

Yes, depending on the condition.

It will probably be a .38 Special since the original Trooper wasn't offered in .357 until 1961.
You could be lucky and it might turn out to be a rare .22LR model made only in the 1950's.

The original Trooper has the same frame and action design as the super-premium Python.

Check whether it has the narrow Service hammer and grips or the Target hammer and grips.
Original fully checkered First Type Colt Target grips are themselves worth over $250 alone.

 

[kcofohio]

Thanks for the info. I must have misread the tag. It said 357, so maybe it said early 60s. The co-owner was a bit busy and I was short on time. I'll stop tomorrow for a closer look. If it is still there.

I noticed the grips looked beefy and wooden. Don't know about checkering, but it wasn't a smooth finished wood. Its' bluing looked good from what I saw.

Some of the threads like this one on THR made a bell go off in my head when I saw that revolver. Thanks again!

 

[BSA1]

Colt revolvers are in low demand in my area. A rust pitted one will likely sit in the dealers gun case for a while.

One word of warning. Colt gunsmiths are few and it is not always possible to detect problems before you buy. My wife's P.P.S. locked up fine double & single action when dry firing but would completely skip one chamber when loaded. Kudos to Frank Glenn for repairing it.

 

[kcofohio]

Stopped in for a better look today at the Trooper. After handling it, here is what I saw:

Cylinder lock-up is tight. Top strap shows no sign of flame cutting, though, slight discoloration. Breech face has only slight marking. Barrel rifling is crisp. Forcing cone looks great. Bluing looks good. Pitting just forward, and to the right of the front sight, though it could be covered by a pencil eraser. Adjustable rear sights. They figured it to be a 1964 production.

The embarrassing part of it is, yesterday I said it has wooden grips. Today I realized it was the gun next to it that did. The Colt has Pachmayr grips.

The only other negative is it has no box or papers.

This Colt seems very sound, and I'd venture to say very few rounds through it.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

400 bucks tops

 

[kcofohio]

CPE, thanks!