Colt Trooper 38 Special

[bodeen82]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the forum and a new gun owner. My father in law gave me this gun to use for personal protection. He said I needed one the way things are going now. It is a Colt Trooper 38 Special, serial #929288. Can anyone tell me some imformation about this gun and what type of ammunition I should use? I plan on getting my concealed handgun permit shortly and would like to know the best ammo to shoot in this gun for my test. Also, would like to know how to clean the gun and keep it in great condition since it is a old pistol.

 

[Ala Dan]

Greeting's My Friend-

And a big ole' hearty welcome to The High Road~!

The Colt Trooper is a very strongly built firearm; designed much
like the Colt Python, but without all the "bells and whistles" so
too speak. A large majority of them were chambered for the
.357 magnum cartridge; in which the frame could certainly with
stand. With the thick barrel of the Trooper, I would probably
carry the 125 grain +P JHP's from one of the leading bullet
manufactuer's. Your serial number born on date can be found
here: www.Proofhouse.com

Just scroll thru the different models until you come upon the
Trooper, then look for your S/N prefix. Hope this helps a bit~?

BTW, it looks like your weapon was manufactuered between
1961-1962; if I read the chart corectly~?

 

[22-rimfire]

That would be the original Colt Trooper which was in 38spl and 22LR. Your gun was made in 1961 per my list. It is a very good handgun and you should have no problem shooting any of the 38spl rounds in it. +P loads didn't exist then, but I can't imagine it not handling them just fine as it is a very strong revolver.

The revolver was introduced in 1952/1953 and continued to be made until the Trooper Mark III was introduced in 1969. The 22 version is somewhat sought after by collectors. Just about all Colt revolvers are collectable however. They stopped production of the 22 version in 1962. Back in the day, Colt had the 357 model which was a more refined Trooper model. Around 1962, Colt stopped making the 357 model and rolled the 357 caliber offering into the Trooper line. The gun was origninally intended for law enforcemnt.

Shoot it and enjoy it. I think it would make a fine home defense gun. Welcome to the forum.