Colt Official Police accquisition.

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JC111

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Couple days ago I picked up a post - war (WW 2) Colt Official Police. This one has a six inch barrel. Serial number gives it a DOB in 1947. It was priced at $500.00 (before taxes) and I did not hesitate.

For a few years after the war (actually it started during the war when Colt was making the Commando revolver) Colt put plastic grips on their handguns which they euphemistically called "Colt Wood". It appears that the one on mine are actually wartime plastic grips. People hated the grips and threw them away by the ton. As a result they aren't very easy to find anymore. I've taken them off because plastic gets brittle, but I am keeping them. So I now have three Official Police models (the 5" model is actually chambered for 38-200) and a pre-war Officer Model with 6" heavy barrel. I feel like I should be in a Bogart movie.

For those who are wondering yes I do take them to the range and shoot them occasionally, but not all the time. I actually like to collect older handguns, but I don't see the need to run 15,000 rounds a year through them. I have a couple newer GP-100 revolvers and a Glock 19 for that type of shooting. Well anyway here is my newest addition and a look at my modest OP and OM collection.

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JC111

Very nice collection of Colt revolvers! I had to pass on very nice Colt Commando (it was very reasonably priced too), a number of years ago only because I didn't have the money at the time. As usual, when I did get the money it was already gone.
 
That is a really nice collection you have there, and the Colt Official Police is a great revolver. I have never thought about collecting varieties (such as different barrel lengths) of a specific revolver, but you are off to a really good start. Wonder what other varieties of OP revolvers are out there?
 
That is a really nice collection you have there, and the Colt Official Police is a great revolver. I have never thought about collecting varieties (such as different barrel lengths) of a specific revolver, but you are off to a really good start. Wonder what other varieties of OP revolvers are out there?
Many variants. Many.
 
I used to get quote a few pf those through my shop and always thought they would make good 41 Special guns. Shorten 41 mag cases, rechamber and rebore etc. Of course they were fine in 38 spcl too.
 
No kidding there are a lot of variants! Wikipedia shows five calibers and three barrel lengths:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Official_Police
The 5" model that I own is in 38-200. Colt made that variant on contract with the British government in 1940-1941. That model was never made for commercial sale. Also Colt made a small number of OP snubbies, but they're hard to find. Not to be confused with the Marshal snubbie. Of course the Marshal was just an OP with a round grip and a different name roll stamped on the barrel. So it could be argued that the Marshal (approximately 2,500 made in the mid-50's) is also a variant. It can really become a black hole.
 
I used to have a Colt Official Police in 38 Special with a 5-inch barrel. It was a good gun, very pleasant to shoot. Oddly, it shot best with the old 38 Special 200 grain loads, which were still around (slightly) back then. It had the older "half moon" front sight.

IIRC, the Official Police grip frame and the Colt Python grip frame are either identical or very similar, so you can put grips made for the Python on your OP. I hope someone will correct me if I am wrong.
 
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