Colt Trooper questions

[Chisos]

It's my understanding, and I could be wrong, that the recessed cylinders were only made for less than 1 year.

If I remember correctly, it was in the 73xx or 76xx range. Been too long ago, but I've been looking for one for quite a while.

 

[dfariswheel]

The Colt Mark III was Colt's first centerfire revolver to have recessed chambers.
Since they really serve no useful purpose and just ran up the cost, Colt discontinued the recessing after about a year or so and went to a "fenced" cylinder that has a ring around the outer part of the cylinder.
The ring serves much the same purpose as recessed chambers.

The Colt "fenced" cylinder. Note the ring around the cylinder:

 

[Paul7]

There is only one problem with the Troopers,,,
If they do need maintenance parts are somewhat scarce,,,
And finding a qualified gunsmith who knows Colts is getting more difficult.

I own a 4" Trooper Mk-III in .357 magnum,,,
It's a wonderful shooting handgun.

I also own a 6" Trooper Mk-III in .22 LR,,,
It too is a wonderful shooting handgun.

There isn't any appreciable increase in performance,,,
Over my comparable S&W revolvers.

The action of my S&W 686,,,
Is every bit as nice as the .357 Trooper.

The action of my S&W 18,,,
Is actually much better than the .22 Trooper.

If only for the availability of parts,,,
I would not buy a Colt as my only revolver.

Other than that,,,
Troopers are fine firearms.

Aarond

.

Your S&W 686 probably doesn't shoot as well as a pre-Mark III Colt. And Colt does work on their revolvers, and they have parts and can refer you to others who have parts.

 

[aarondhgraham]

Your S&W 686 probably doesn't shoot as well as a pre-Mark III Colt.

That's a point that would take some proving,,,
Just how we would prove it one way or another I don't know.

I will tell you that two revolver competitors have tried to buy mine from me.

And Colt does work on their revolvers, and they have parts and can refer you to others who have parts.

Yes they do work on their revolvers,,,
They have some parts but for how much longer.

I have a friend who sent his Officers Target to Colt,,,
They returned it because they didn't have the part it needed.

I can still get parts for my 1960 Chevy pickup,,,
But again, for how much longer.

All I was doing was pointing out that buying an older Colt as your first firearm could lead to problems should it ever need repair.

I'm not ragging on the Colt Troopers,,,
Remember, I own two and shoot them quite often.

The OP stated:

I've looked at several companies, S&W, Ruger, etc, but started looking at some of the classic Colts, I decided if I can only have one revolver, I'd like it to be a Colt.

If he wants a classic Colt that is what he should get,,,
I just wanted to point out that one problem with the older Colt revolvers.

Aarond

.

 

[4v50 Gary]

I have the earlier E frame Pyhon type action Trooper mentioned by Dfariswheel. It's a good piece.

I was warned about the very early MK III and them having MIM parts. The first MIM parts were garbage but this was ironed out in later ones.

 

[SwampWolf]

Thanks for providing the informative link to the "coltfever" site, rswartsell. I was able to get a little more information on my MKIII revolver. It is a Buckeye State Sheriff 50th Anniversary commemorative edition (1 of 200-mine is blued) and came in a walnut presentation case. It was willed to me following the death of one of my best friends, a fellow leo (he was a Captain in the sheriff's department).
It's only one of two "safe queens" that I own (though I may still shoot it someday as I am a strong advocate of keeping only firearms that I'm willing to use/shoot). Though I would never sell it due to its history with me, I'm curious as to how much the gun is worth today (and I realize that most so-called commemoratives don't fetch, if any, more money in the collector's market unless they commemorate an organization like the Texas Rangers, the FBI or some such). But it is as new, never having been fired.

 

[welldoya]

I own a 6" MKIII in .22 LR. I bought it used in about 1992 for $160.
I don't know if it's been worked on or what but the action is quite a bit smoother than the Python I owned.

 

[Thompson9494]

Thanks for all y'all's replies so far! They've been very helpful thus far and have provided plenty of helpful information on the Trooper!

 

[rswartsell]

BTW,

There is a difference in current MIM technology and the 1969 vintage Colt sintered steel parts. I am the wrong man to explain the technological differences, the general concept is the same but Colt execution of these parts in this vintage entailed a bit more cost and as I understand it a few advantages over sheer mass production modern MIM.

It may well be a moot point, but it worth mentioning in the sense that for a very long time, Colt was a worldwide leader in industrial process and metallurgy. It was in the management offices and boardroom that in-competencies reigned.

 

[Jim K]

If you want a Colt (for whatever reason) the above is excellent advice.

IMHO, if you want a using gun, go with the x86 S&W. If you don't want the "infamous lock", there are plenty of 586's an 686's around without it, not to mention Model 27's and 28's and Model 19's in .357. They rarely go wrong and no one suggests a trip to the factory every few months. If anything does fail, parts are available, and plenty of gunsmiths can work on them.

Jim

 

[RainDodger]

I don't have a complicated story at all... I bought a brand new Trooper III in about... oh... 1979. It was a good gun. Large, heavy, decent action, and it would handle ANY .357 load all day long. It worked for years, but when I got the bug for a 1911 (and I had no money back then!), I traded it off.

Like about every gun I've ever traded or sold off, I wish I still had it. Nothing wrong with it, and it always worked as advertised.

Any of the revolvers you're considering will be a good gun for you.