Colt Trooper help

[spazzymcgee]

(This is also on the Colt Forum). I just bought a Colt Trooper made in 1958, and had a few questions. The Colt emblem looked a little washed out, so I wanted to know if anyone could tell if it was refinished. Let me know if you want any more pictures. My camera isn't very good, but I suppose I could try. Is the hammer supposed to be blued or case hardened? Mine seems blued, along with the trigger. Also, the front sight is painted reddish orange. I can't imagine Colt did that? Last thing: The Pachmayr grips have Colt logos on them. Does that mean anything? Really anything you guys could tell me about this gun would be appreciated, because I'd like to learn more. I googled this stuff, but couldn't find much. Thank you guys for the help.

 

[Jim K]

You're kidding, right? Refinished? That gun has been hacked on, buffed and ground the heck out of, then badly reblued. The hammer should be bright on each side. Further, it looks like the front sight has been moved back, suggesting that the barrel has been cut down.

I don't know how, or if, it works, but I would not buy a gun like that unless it was close to a gift, and would be dubious even then.

Jim

 

[rcmodel]

It looks refinished to me.

A washed out Colt prancing pony is pretty normal due to a light stamp.

But the light stamp should still have very sharp edges on it.

Yours looks rounded and buffed.

But it could just be the picture.

rc

 

[natman]

It's been refinished and looks like it's ready to have it done again, this time by somebody who knows what they are doing. I'd consider bead blasting and Duracoating or similar.

 

[788Ham]

Sorry, you've been taken! I've got a Trooper made in 1962, it looks brand new compared to yours. The barrel has been shortened, it appears, my front sight is right at the muzzle, the prancing stallion is bright stamped, clearly, yours has been buffed to hell. Hope you didn't pay more than a couple hundred. Caveat Emptor.

 

[Ron James]

But at least the grips seem correct.

 

[spazzymcgee]

Thanks, guys. I don't think the barrel has been cut though. The sight is slightly back on every single picture of troopers I can find. The picture also makes the finish look bad. Other than the over-buffing, the finish is actually nice.

 

[JT-AR-MG42]

It does not look cut from the one photo to me either.
Simple to check for a cut barrel though Spazz.

Measure it.
The barrel on my 1961 .38 Trooper comes in right at 4" from the cylinder face to the end of the square cut (no easily discernible crown) muzzle.
I also checked a 50s Model 357 and a mid 60s.357 Trooper. They both measure 3-15/16".
All three measure 1/8'' from the muzzle to the forward face of the sight ramp. There are some ballpark numbers to work with.

I sort of thought it had been re-blued from your previous post a while back.
Will make a fine shooter if it is locking six for six and if the mainspring has not had a pencil shoved in it.
I would personally re-polish the hammer sides bright following the advice on the Colt forum (leaving the sear notches and the firing pin alone). The pistol will look better for it.
The sideplate screw head under the grips at the rear of the frame will tell you what grips came on it originally. Rounded screw = service stocks - flat screw = target stocks.
Can't recommend spending the dollar amount for original stocks for this one though. Just an FYI if you run across a set cheap.

Pick up a copy of Kuhnhausen's manual on the Colt DA if you've never had one apart.
A proper fitting screwdriver, a wooden hammer handle, an old toothbrush plastic handle, and a very small screwdriver (for the bolt spring) are all I use to perform a complete frame strip.

Since it sounds like you bought it (rather than inherited it with the associated memories), just enjoy it after giving it a good once over with some 0000 and oil on the rough areas.
Set the re-finish money aside towards another Colt after learning what to look out for.

A few of us have been there at some point.

JT

 

[spazzymcgee]

Thanks, JT. That post was very helpful. All of my measurements seem to match yours. The bore is very nice, with very strong rifling. The action is very nice, and the timing seems superb on all chambers. It's a great shooter, so I plan to just keep it forever if I can. Mine seems to have been shipped with service stocks, so if I find a deal, I'll get some. I've been researching how to tell if grips are genuine, and it should be easy for me to differentiate now.