Would you Colt 1917?

Mark_Mark said:
My honey holes shop just recently got his shop smashed in by a car (we call them KiaBoys here) and the owner is a nervous wreak. He’s been sleeping in the shop for 3 months now.
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That used to be a reasonable response.
Nowadays, he would be at risk of being killed by the intruders or of killing one of them and being prosecuted for shooting that poor young guy who just needed money to buy textbooks.
 
Jim Watson said:
That used to be a reasonable response.
Nowadays, he would be at risk of being killed by the intruders or of killing one of them and being prosecuted for shooting that poor young guy who just needed money to buy textbooks.
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IDK man, just ready for greener pastures.
 
I say go for it. In todays world where people accept that a plain vanilla model 10 is worth $500-$650, this looks like a deal to me.

Colts have been undervalued for a long time, excluding the glamour models. They can be more tempermental than Smiths but its not insurmountable, and contrary to internet lore, parts and gunsmiths exist that can work on them if you arent brave enough to do it yourself. The Colt forum has some good do it yourself threads on doing basic work.

Where else are you going to find a big bore DA for that kind of money with that sort of class?
 
Malamute said:
I say go for it. In todays world where people accept that a plain vanilla model 10 is worth $500-$650, this looks like a deal to me.

Colts have been undervalued for a long time, excluding the glamour models. They can be more tempermental than Smiths but its not insurmountable, and contrary to internet lore, parts and gunsmiths exist that can work on them if you arent brave enough to do it yourself. The Colt forum has some good do it yourself threads on doing basic work.

Where else are you going to find a big bore DA for that kind of money with that sort of class?
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I think Colt is undervalue too. I love old Colts!

This 1917 is a beast, and in such a weaker caliber compared to say 45 Colt, or .357 or .44

I really want yo shoot it with 1/2 moon clips and a period correct holster
 
I got to shoot a S&W 1917 recently, 45 acp is nothing to sneeze at. I was able to shoot 3 rounds which caused me some pain and consternation. I think a lot of it was the nasty small grips. It was snappy to say the least.
 
I tried moonclips and ditched them fast. I scrounged up 45 Auto Rim brass and enjoy enjoy the loading/unloading process more for shooting in the backyard. If that was my service weapon, though, I would quickly see the value in moon and halfmoon clips.
 
Jackrabbit1957 said:
I got to shoot a S&W 1917 recently, 45 acp is nothing to sneeze at. I was able to shoot 3 rounds which caused me some pain and consternation. I think a lot of it was the nasty small grips. It was snappy to say the least.
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Even in a large frame revolver 45 ACP has some kick to it and the stock grips on the 1917's don't really provide much help in handling the recoil. Changing out for rubber grips helps even though most people think they are a huge downgrade in the looks department.
 
reddog81 said:
Even in a large frame revolver 45 ACP has some kick to it and the stock grips on the 1917's don't really provide much help in handling the recoil. Changing out for rubber grips helps even though most people think they are a huge downgrade in the looks department.
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Ooooh no! that gun was ment to hurt so you would use your rifle. No rubber grips in the 1920’s
 
jobu07 said:
I tried moonclips and ditched them fast. I scrounged up 45 Auto Rim brass and enjoy enjoy the loading/unloading process more for shooting in the backyard. If that was my service weapon, though, I would quickly see the value in moon and halfmoon clips.
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My experience with moons was half moons. The S&W factory and surplus military ones were good quality spring steel, the repos of the 80s were not spring steel and deformed when loaded and never held the rounds correctly, basically junk. I think I threw the ones I had away. The half moons were somewhat of a nuisance to deal with but easier to load and unload than full moons. I carried a few loaded half moons when i carried the gun but for general shooting I mostly didnt use anything and pulled the empties out with a fingernail. I had some auto rim brass, but more acp brass and loaded rounds, so used it for the most part.
 
doubleh said:
All I can say is if you want it, get it. Since I don't have a large interest in DA/SA revolvers and even less in the older ones I have no idea about the price. I am an enabler so go ahead and lay your money on the counter. :D
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I put down $200 cash! for a 90 day layaway

It a brutal gun! Man’s Gun, grit and whiskey Gun! True Colt Style!
 
BTW, there are a fair selection of aftermarket grips available for the Colt 1917 that make it more pleasant to shoot. I used to have a pair of Pachmayrs for mine, and I think I still have some kind of knock-plastic grip adapter laying around (it was useless). Such grips may be getting old, but I bet they can still be found on Ebay.

If I wanted a 45 ACP target revolver, I would get this Colt. They are build like tanks, and my guess is this one is cheaper than any kind of used 45 ACP S&W revolver with adjustable sights.

I don't have my New Service any more, because it had only the factory sights, and I became unable to see them. It had been completely refinished, but I think the single action trigger pull had also been tuned, because it was very sweet. The DA pull was stout, though.
 
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Awesome. I think it’ll be a great shooter. They wouldn’t have put target sights on it back in the day if it wasn’t.

Reminds me of Elmer Keith and that bunch. It’d be worth looking into if it has any provenance, lots of famous shoots back then that would have had such a gun.
 
Jim Watson said:
Show me one. I have been reading about the bored through Colts for decades but never seen one in person or pictured.
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I've seen 2. Almost bought one, except it had been "deactivated" by crushing the end of the barrel in a vise. A criminal shame too, since the rest of the gun was very nice. That was long before cell phones, lol.
The 2nd was just recently at a local shop that bought a huge milsurp collection at an estate auction. Unfortunately, the guns had been thrown in a giant pile and were all damaged to one degree or another. That '17 was badly rusted on one side and the timing was out, so I passed. If it's still there next time I stop in, Ill snap some pictures. There were a LOT of rare pistols at that one that I'd only ever read about prior and got to play with. Too bad they were all abused and neglected once the fella died- he clearly knew what he was doing and spent a ton on amassing that collection. ☹️
 
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Mark, you would have cried. They had 2 Registered Magnums, a Colt Three Five Seven, a Shooting Master, a Bankers Special, a Campo Giro, 2" Diamondback in .22, several Pythons, including a super rare 2.5", a Colt Courier with the aluminum cylinder, a wartime 2" Commando, several Lugers and Broomhandles.....all more or less ruined.
 
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NIGHTLORD40K said:
Mark, you would have cried. They had 2 Registered Magnums, a Colt Three Five Seven, a Shooting Master, a Bankers Special, a Campo Giro, 2" Diamondback in .22, several Pythons, including a super rare 2.5", a Colt Courier with the aluminum cylinder, a wartime 2" Commando, several Lugers and Broomhandles.....all damaged.
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you didn’t have to tell me that! Taking a shot of whiskey for the lost souls :(

Recently gun/drug bust, showed a photo of a C96 and P38. Hope those poor things goes to auction or the original owners
 
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