Colt Official Police
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- Опубликовано: 28 май 2023
- Next up is a 1963 vintage Colt Official Police revolver in .38 Special. Let's take a look at it's history, function, and unique to Colt revolver design elements as we compare it to the comparable Smith & Wesson Model 10. I do NOT have a favorite here.....I know, very unusual. Truthfully, I love them both equally....and I make sure that they both know that.
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Interesting video, I love these old revolvers and have a Official Police Positive Special!
Amazing how they stay so precise, even 70 years later.
Me too! 1963 new in box, unfired!!🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Nice!
Sweet! Perfect timing! I recently bought a 1929-dated Official Police with 6-inch barrel. These revolvers were some of the finest ever made by Colt, especially the pistols built in the 1920s and 1930s. Prices on these old Colts are still reasonable since most collectors prefer older Smiths.
True….the S&W market is higher but I’ve noticed a recent dip in those prices as well. Acquired that Model 36 in the recent video for a steal.
Have the 38-200 version of both. Perfect condition as new. Paid $200 each. Interestingly the barrels are the standard bore for .38 Special not the .361 ish diameter of the UK Guns. So basically .38 Short. Great for the range and both are +P rated so you can load it up to 9mm pressures no problems. Both very high quality trigger pull and overall manufacture.
Just snagged a 1956 OP with 4-inch barrel in .38sp. Such a sweet piece, great video. My example has larger rubber grips on it that i cant seem to find elsewhere.
I agree. I think the 4'' barrel really sets it off.
I remember about 15 years ago a bunch came to the market from over seas, they were running $150-$250 based on condition, I really should have bought one when I had a chance
British or Chinese marked I’ll bet.
What an Amazing Revolver 😀😮😮😀😊
I agree.
Nice video. I notice the base/bottom of your stocks/grips are slightly rounded, similar to a Police Positive model. Many OPs have sharp/squared bottom of stocks, not rounded (like the Det. Sp.). I have '69 last-year of production 4" barrel "OP", in orig. box. Very nice handguns!
Colt supplied round butt Official Police revolvers on special order.
These are fairly rare.
The cylinder don't spin when loaded? Do you know why and how I can fix it?
Is it clean? Is the cylinder free from any dirt or deposits? Check with just one round in different cylinders, do ANY turn? Try other ammo, same thing?
Pretty good shooting!
I was unaware of the significant difference in rifling between the Colt and the S&W . Hatcher's book is quite a reference work, but almost certainly out of print. Do you know of a good source?
Usually eBay works well for books like that but this particular book was a tough one. Took a while to get one at a reasonable price.
If you are looking for a htough, accurate, smoot, light, and just plain good looking revolver go for the Offical Police. You will find that as a belt gun, you will find yourself buckleing this one on often. .38 spl is in my opinon, is the finest cartridge there is, and it took a long time for me to come to that.
My handsdown favorite revolver.❤
It certainly is a beauty
38/200 is the British name for 38 Smith and Weson with a 200 hundred grain bullet Via Enfield #1 Mark 2
I got two of those
Both in 38 special
Both made in the 50’s (52 & 55 respectively)
You can get right and left holsters and go dual wielding.
Garage, as a young copper in the early 70's, I carried the Official Police .38 as my "on-duty" .38 Service Revolver. Mine was a postwar production (869943), blue, with a 4-inch barrel. The PD-issue in 1971 was the Smith & Wesson Model 10-5. A blue steel, 4-inch standard barrel, and excellent fixed sights. My Colt .38 was a Christmas present from my Dad & Mom and I carried it over the issued Model 10. Okay to do that then, you had to get qualified before you carried though. I would carry that same Colt for the duration of my career. My Colt was a PD-trade-in, all the way from the Port Authority Police in New Jersey. My OP was a 1959 factory production and apparently part of a large PAPD contract order. It finished its career with the PAPD and was sold off as surplus in early 1971. A FFL gun store here in Columbus Georgia bought several of these surplus Colts, of which my Dad would subsequently select and buy one for his cop son.He felt his son would be better served with the Colt over my Department-issue Model 10. Time came and went. My PD would eventually trade-in our Model 10's on new S&W Model 66 Combat Magnums. With permission from the Deputy Chief, I continued to carry my OP, using the same .38+P ammo we were issued and authorized to carry. Later still, we converted to the semi-automatic pistol, the .45 S&W 4586 Pistol. Once again, I got permission, received, and grand-fathered in with my old Colt .38 Revolver until my retirement in 2020. I loved my Colt, I knew my OP like the back of my hand. The. OP would be considered a "custom" revolver by today's standards. The Colt Factory OP's had a "hand-honed" and "hand-fitted" trigger-action that was done by a Colt Mastercraftsman. These were no part bins assembly, the manufacture of the Colt OP "demanded" the services of a highly skilled craftsman. The "precise-fitting" of the side-plate to the frame was a work-of-art in itself, and this was an ordinary cop duty .38 revolver! As you can imaging the labor cost would ultimately doom the OP from the Colt production line. Before WW 2 the OP, combined with the smaller frame Police Positive Special was the number one purchase of many agencies. After WW 2 was concluded, in the early 50's if memory serves, Colt allowed a "union" to form within the rank and file employees. Unions started doing what unions do, demanding more money and better benefits. Like playing cards with the devil, you ain't gonna win! As Colt complied with union demands for "more", the cost of the product line rosin order for Colt to continue.When your competitor, the S&W Model 10, being an excellent service revolver itself, but way underselling the Colt offerings. The Colt people would subsequently price themselves out of customers, law enforcement and private sales. This short history lesson has more sidebars to it, but the Colt OP's past reputation for quality service carried on for many years after its production stopped in 1968. I was the recipient of this fine Colt craftsmanship for most of the duration of my career. I was a very pro-active Colt Revolver owner, after all my life "could" depend on how well it and me performed in that critical moment. Sorry for the length of this post, I thought you might find it interesting to speak with someone that used the OP as a part of his day-to-day job. Your "round-butt" OP is part of a "special" order, that was not standard, the NYPD used the round butt OP on a limited basis, most of their OP contract buys were the square butt models. Forgive my lengthy passion sir. David
Excellent info, thanks for sharing. I have my eyes on a 1932 OP 6’’ barrel that is in near mint condition complete with original box and manual. I haven’t got a price just yet, it’s only just hit my radar and is awaiting its release on the market……I’m expecting it to be priced at $1000 which would put it out of my price range….but it’s a real beauty. Like new from 1932…..spent it’s life in the box.
Check this out.............
ruclips.net/video/uNQg9nOUBTA/видео.html
Where & when unions have been strong, there is a higher % of citizens who are middle class.
It's typically the greed of the ceo that causes the company to fail.
Americans have longer work weeks with less benefits than most western European workers.
They just raised our age to receive retirement benefits & not a sound was made.
Now police union is a different story. While trade unions have lost power to the point of being practically pointless, police unions have grown in pwr to a ridiculous level.
Tyranny goes unchecked in the "land of the free."
Land of the incarcerated is more like it.
How is it possible to honor one's oath to uphold the constitution when working a job that requires a person to enforce unconstitutional laws?
It's a shame.
We need laws & law enforcement.
The laws must be just.
It's a shame we've allowed what should be a profession of honor to become tainted & overwhelmed by tyrants.
I wish I could thank you for your service. There is not much I respect more than a person risking their lives to protect & serve their community, that's just not how policing is though.
Enjoy your retirement &
PEACE!
Recently acquired a nearly mint 1959, 4” OP, w/square butt.
Love it! I’m mostly a S&W guy, but getting into Colts.
The lockup on mine (when I push the cylinder back in) sounds like a Swiss watch compared to the clicks my S&Ws make.
Also, the double action is sorta long, heavy, but very smooth. No complaints.
Thanks for your videos! Always enjoy them.
Thanks for tuning in. The Colts definitely feel like precision fit. Having them in hand and examining them before purchase is a must.
@@MilsurpGarage As per your statement that you should stay away from +P ammo. Colt's adds for the official police included the use of .38-44 ammunition in the .38special chambering. .38-44 ammunition would be considered +P+ today. NOTE; to clarify, I'm talking. 38-44 ammunition, not .38-40 caliber. A completely different caliber, as I'm sure you know...
@@mateoocampo3165 Colt apparently did claim the thing was strong enough for the cartridge, but notably did not chamber for it. The .38 case was made longer and a new cartridge was created for a reason.
@@MilsurpGarage it WAS chambered for it. The .38-44 is just a .38special loaded to what would be considered a 38 +P+. It would fit any .38 special but was only to be used in the S&W .38-44 marked N frames. But colt .38 special official police revolvers could handle it and colt said so un their advertising. They didn't mark the barrels. 38-44 because there were thousands already out there before the .38-44 loading was developed.
@@MilsurpGarage .38-44 is a loading of the .38special, not a separate cartridge. It will fit ANY .38special chamber but can only be used in revolvers rated for it. Just like .38+P or 9mm+P. Is ok in some guns but not others but the guns are not marked 38+P or 9mm+P.
I have a good question? Did colt or Smith & Wesson make a 7 or 8 or 9 shot 38 cal. Revolver?????
Yes, there is the S&W Model 686 which is a 7 shot .357 revolver. You can also check out the Taurus 66 and the Ruger Single Seven and GP100. Thanks for tuning in!
Excellent revolvers. Have a late model 4 inch, and a 1930s vintage 6 inch ,38s and a post war 6 inch 22lr. FYI in Death Wish, Bronson was given a 32 Police Positive. Always felt it should have been a 38 Official Police
This is from the Internet Movie Firearm Data Base……
“The Colt Police Positive was chambered in three separate .32 caliber cartridges: the common .32 Smith & Wesson Long (referred to on Colt revolvers as ".32 Colt New Police" to avoid stamping their competitor's name on their weapons), the .32-20 Winchester Center Fire, a powerful rifle cartridge and, finally, the anemic and scarce .32 Long Colt. For years, we here at the IMFDB assumed that it was chambered in .32 Long, which was at one point so common it was carried by the NYPD (and chosen by Theodore Roosevelt, who was the commissioner at the time). However, upon closer inspection of screenshots it appears that the cylinder is much longer than the ones you would see on a .32 Police, which leaves the .32-20 WCF as the only possible option. This also makes more sense than the .32 Long because the muzzle flash is much more powerful than that of a .32 Long and the wounds inflicted are so much more severe. The .32 Winchester has more than twice as much energy as a .32 Long.”
Hope this clears it up!
Nice Colt! Is that more of a Python size frame or a Detective Special frame size? Looks like a Python size I frame from what I can tell. Reminds me of the Colt Marshall.
Yes, the Official Police revolvers were close in size to the Trooper revolvers and the Colt Marshall was basically an Official Police which could be had in a 2’’ or 4’’ barrel with a round butt.....just like mine. The round butt 4’’ barrel Official Police revolvers were fairly rare.
I've been considering one of these made in the 1950's. I have a couple of S & W 10-5's, one made in 1963 I just purchased, so not like I need another classic 4-inch .38 revolver. However, it's hard not to love a Colt. Decisions...
You need a Colt……
@@MilsurpGarage 🤣👍
@@MilsurpGarage I ended up getting a 5-inch made in 1950. You were right...I needed this.
38 S&W 38 used 158 grain RN bullet
I was gonna say that small Text Book just Looked like a Fed Book or FBI Book!
That is an awesome book.....J. S. Hatcher.
Same as the Iver Johnson pistols
38 S&W bore .381 38 Secial bore .357
Colt`s version of the Smith Military & Police. Just a little bigger.
Can’t stop taking it on my range visits.
Have the 38-200 version of both. Perfect condition as new. Paid $200 each. Interestingly the barrels are the standard bore for .38 Special not the .361 ish diameter of the UK Guns. So basically .38 Short. Great for the range and both are +P rated so you can load it up to 9mm pressures no problems. Both very high quality trigger pull and overall manufacture.
Interesting. I don't know much regarding the 38-200.
@@MilsurpGarage 38 SW hotted up for military use.
When MG rolls to the range, he shoots alone. Also, why are shooting at 100 yards with the Colt??
I go after midnight and leave before the sunrise……I like the peacefulness. Shooting is my meditation.
That was like 25 feet. Shoot too close you can hit the floor, roof, walls…..gotta make sure the backstop is the bullet trap.
exuse me 146 grain
Wow that K frame looks like it went through WWIII
World War III and 30 years serving the NYPD starting in 1966 are a lot alike.
Just picked one up today, can't wait to shoot it.
Tell us what you think…