Merry Christmas and a puzzle from Santa!

[paranoidmother21]

DH, in his Santa guise, gifted me with a pristine 1920 Colt Police Positive (per the serial number stamped on the crane). It appears to be all original, and matches the description on the Colt site as being a first version.

Based on measurements of the cylinders and barrel, as well as the info stamped on the barrel, this takes a .38 S&W caliber. However, while it's waaayyy too large for a .32 (the other caliber this was made for), it's a bit tight, like 1/1000 for the bullet diameter I can find online (poor Santa: he thought he had found me a .38 special to go with my DS and OP!).

Anybody else have one that they shoot occasionally? If so, is current .38 S&W what I'm actually looking for? And how about the Prvi ammo? Any good?

Thanks for any help - even if it turns out to be a safe queen, I love it!

Rebecca

 

[Vern Humphrey]

If what you have is a .38 S&W, it will shoot current .38 S&W ammo. A quick check is, will it chamber a .38 S&W round? If so, that's what it's cut for.

 

[Normandy]

I had a S&W Victory in .38 S&W, and took it to the range a couple of times. It's a fairly decent round, but considered anemic when compared to .38 Spl., 9mm, etc. If it's not your home protection gun, it'll deliver what you ask of it at the range, I'm sure.

Soft shooting, but still fun to punch paper with.

 

[Jim K]

If the Colt is marked only "Police Positive 38", it is chambered for the .38 Colt New Police, aka the .38 S&W.* The .38 Special will not fully chamber. If the gun is marked "Police Positive 38 Special", it is chambered for .38 Special.

Note that Colt catalogs and some other sources are confusing in that they list those guns as chambering .38 Long and Short Colt. That is true because all guns made for .38 Special will chamber the .38 Colt rounds; some folks think this means that there are some guns that will accept the .38 Colt rounds ONLY, and not .38 Special.

*By 1905, none of those guns were made for the old .38 Short and Long Colt cartridges.

Jim