Not quite "modern", but, if you wanted a classy pocketable 380...

[Evil_Ed]

A little less than 10 years ago US Armament Corp (https://usarmamentcorp.com/) was sub-contracted by Colt to repop the 1903 and 1908 Pocket Hammerless/General Officer's pistols, in .32ACP and .380. As you might expect, they were expensive, and dried up fairly quickly.

Well, I just got an email that they've got a bunch of blued .380s for sale now...

I mean, it's expensive for a 380...but class and panache are priceless :o

[DrkBlue]

Why man why?

So I love the idea, but does anyone know if there is an integral firing pin safety? The drop safety things scares me on such a smooth gun.

[Duelist]

Why man why?

So I love the idea, but does anyone know if there is an integral firing pin safety? The drop safety things scares me on such a smooth gun.

Unless they added one to this run, I wouldn’t expect to see one since the original did not have one.

[Half Moon]

Why man why?

So I love the idea, but does anyone know if there is an integral firing pin safety? The drop safety things scares me on such a smooth gun.

They claim to have revised the sear geometry to make them drop safe compared to the originals. Not sure if I believe it or not. Tempted if they ever have the parkerized versions or silencer threaded models back in stock (though at the price point it's a definite stupid want).

[fatdog]

The drop safety things scares me on such a smooth gun.

One of my first very runs as a freshly minted EMT back in the 70's, I am not likely to forget that one.

https://www.odmp.org/officer/5095-sergeant-william-clay-frederick

Clay Frederick was carrying an M1903 in a vertical shoulder holster, off duty, he slipped on a flight of stone steps and fell, the M1903 discharged and the fmj bullet entered his torso just above the diaphram and transited his abdomen lodging just above his pelvis on the other side. He died two days later after surgery. Officers who I worked a lot of wrecks, shootings, stabbings with in that department later told me that they though the internal hammer/firing pin mechanism simply slipped its engagement surface on impact, inertia maybe, and it all happened at a weird angle.

They are cool guns but if I had one it would ride with an empty chamber....if it was EVER carried.

[Evil_Ed]

They claim to have revised the sear geometry to make them drop safe compared to the originals. Not sure if I believe it or not. Tempted if they ever have the parkerized versions or silencer threaded models back in stock (though at the price point it's a definite stupid want).

In Lead We Trust (https://inleadwetrust.com/product-category/colt-barrels/) makes threaded barrels for both 32acp and 380 variants of the 1903/1908 :D No need to wait for the factory ones!

I have one for my 1920-ish 1903 in 32; took a little fitting to get it to fit. When I told the guys about my issues they asked for the barrel back to see what they would need to alter in future runs and refinished it for me. Apparently they had been basing theirs on the new made guns (at the time) and didn't have a whole lot of earlier guns to compare them to...at least that's my suspicion.

Anyway. Now to find mags...InterArms in TX used to have a pile of them, sadly I missed that boat for 380 mags...

Edit - I don't remember the serial number cutoff, or dates tbh...but at some point in the early 1920s Colt redid the hammer to add a safety/half cock notch. I want to say the serial cutoff for the 32acp was in the 300k-s? I could be wildly wrong; a quick google isn't giving me the info I'm looking for but I'm sure it's out there. Anyway...not that it made it that much safer to carry, but it's the primary reason I don't carry my 1903 - the serial pre-dates the half cock notch and I've read too many stories of people getting killed by their own gun (albeit because they weren't using a holster and it fell out of their waistband, or it fell out of their ill-fitting holster, etc)

Or like the story above...if the gun never left the holster and it went off because he fell on it, oof :(

[Half Moon]

In Lead We Trust (https://inleadwetrust.com/product-category/colt-barrels/) makes threaded barrels for both 32acp and 380 variants of the 1903/1908 :D No need to wait for the factory ones!

I have one for my 1920-ish 1903 in 32; took a little fitting to get it to fit. When I told the guys about my issues they asked for the barrel back to see what they would need to alter in future runs and refinished it for me. Apparently they had been basing theirs on the new made guns (at the time) and didn't have a whole lot of earlier guns to compare them to...at least that's my suspicion.

Anyway. Now to find mags...InterArms in TX used to have a pile of them, sadly I missed that boat for 380 mags...

Edit - I don't remember the serial number cutoff, or dates tbh...but at some point in the early 1920s Colt redid the hammer to add a safety/half cock notch. I want to say the serial cutoff for the 32acp was in the 300k-s? I could be wildly wrong; a quick google isn't giving me the info I'm looking for but I'm sure it's out there. Anyway...not that it made it that much safer to carry, but it's the primary reason I don't carry my 1903 - the serial pre-dates the half cock notch and I've read too many stories of people getting killed by their own gun (albeit because they weren't using a holster and it fell out of their waistband, or it fell out of their ill-fitting holster, etc)

Or like the story above...if the gun never left the holster and it went off because he fell on it, oof :(

Thank you for the heads up on the barrels. Very cool!

FWIW I just checked the newer of our two (.32 s/n 352xxx manufactured 1920) and no half cock midway through the 300,000's. If I recall correctly, US Armament tested across the various Colt production runs and says none of the variants are drop safe. That's where their revised geometry is supposed to come in. Then again I've seen folks claim it has more to do with age weakened springs and the original geometry being no safer or unsafer than a Series 70 and earlier 1911. Either way I don't trust the Model M's with one in the chamber. Which is a crying shame. Still one of my favorite handguns. Improve the sights and fix the drop safety and I still might carry one.

[rd62]

I was just thinking that the threaded OSS model was cool.

[TGS]

Joe in PNG

Your time has come.

[Borderland]

This is your cool 380. Why they no longer make it is a mystery to me.

https://i.ibb.co/pJqbZsw/lf.jpg (https://ibb.co/wMtBCbg)

[Evil_Ed]

I actually have two HScs in 32acp; one early war (blued and beautiful), one late/post war made after the occupation I think. I've only got a couple of mags for them both and I've only taken one out and shot it...neat little gun. Can't imagine one of those would be super comfortable in 380 though, and the HK4 is a direct descendant of them..

[Evil_Ed]

The Big Brown Truck of Happiness showed up at my FFL today, and among the things it dropped off...

(I apologize for the crap lighting, it's been a long and annoying day and it's dark out.)

97820

In the box was a soft pistol case with US Armament Corp embroidered on it; in the case was this:

97821

The roll marks are more...engravings...which is fine. Not "perfect", but what is :)

97822

97823

It actually came apart with very little fiddling, which is nice:

97824

The slide has the last 3 of the serial number stamped into the hammer recess, which is nice.

Sadly, it only came with one mag...I'll need to pick up a handful more. Tomorrow I plan on tearing it back down and cleaning all the goop out of it, maybe getting some better photos (in daylight, even), and see what it looks like then!

[Willard]

Did you get blue or the royal blue version? About a $200 difference it seems. Personally, I'd love the parkerized version which is out of stock.

[Evil_Ed]

Just the regular blued one; they didn't have any of the others in stock. I would have liked a shot at the royal blue version, but...this is just fine. I'd take blued over parked personally; I'm a sucker for a nice blueing...

[fatdog]

That is a really nice looking repro gun.

[LockedBreech]

The Big Brown Truck of Happiness showed up at my FFL today, and among the things it dropped off...

(I apologize for the crap lighting, it's been a long and annoying day and it's dark out.)

97820

In the box was a soft pistol case with US Armament Corp embroidered on it; in the case was this:

97821

The roll marks are more...engravings...which is fine. Not "perfect", but what is :)

97822

97823

It actually came apart with very little fiddling, which is nice:

97824

The slide has the last 3 of the serial number stamped into the hammer recess, which is nice.

Sadly, it only came with one mag...I'll need to pick up a handful more. Tomorrow I plan on tearing it back down and cleaning all the goop out of it, maybe getting some better photos (in daylight, even), and see what it looks like then!

Oh heck yeah, when I originally saw this thread I knew someone on P-F would bite. Thanks for being the one.

That looks quite nice!

[Joe in PNG]

One could technically call it a Brevete Colt.

[Evil_Ed]

Not that there's probably too many people who got on this bandwagon, but I just got a notification from US Armament that they have a bunch of .380 1903/1908 Mags in stock, blued (https://usarmamentcorp.com/1908-7-round-magazine-for-380-cal-blued/)...get while the getting is good! I just ordered 3, so I can actually get some rangetime in without spending more time reloading than shooting...

[Gun Mutt]

Evil_Ed, have you shot that gorgeous piece of fun yet? Did I miss it somewhere?

[Tamara]

Pockets sure were bigger back in the day. ;)

[Evil_Ed]

Evil_Ed, have you shot that gorgeous piece of fun yet? Did I miss it somewhere?

Not just yet, winter has come here...I'm hoping tomorrow morning maybe I can get to one of the indoor ranges and spend some time with it. I was able to source a handful of mags for it; ordered 3 from Interarms TX, and another 3 from US Armament Corp...they're all supposed to be "Colt" repop mags; US Armament Corp has been making them as official Colt products and hopefully they're all from them...one set of the 3 has arrived and the other set of 3 is still in transit. I've heard nothing but bad about Triple-K versions of the mags so I'm hoping to avoid those entirely.

Sadly original mags are now tickling 3 digit prices..

[Evil_Ed]

Pockets sure were bigger back in the day. ;)

The funny thing is, compared to my Walther PPS M1...it just goes in and comes out so much smoother in say jeans pockets. Nothing gets hung up, just slick in, slick out. In a coat pocket it wouldn't really matter that much, and in pants pockets it'll for sure take up all of the pocket...but it's just so much less grabby than other things.

It's actually slimmer than the PPS too..

[Tamara]

The funny thing is, compared to my Walther PPS M1...it just goes in and comes out so much smoother in say jeans pockets. Nothing gets hung up, just slick in, slick out. In a coat pocket it wouldn't really matter that much, and in pants pockets it'll for sure take up all of the pocket...but it's just so much less grabby than other things.

It's actually slimmer than the PPS too..

I’ve got a couple 1903’s, but even in my Lee mom jeans, they’d be a no-go…assuming I was gonna carry a non-drop-safe pistol in my jeans pockets. :D

Then again, you guys have male pocket privilege. Clint Smith was recently talking about carrying 4” N-frames in jeans pockets and I was just like “Bruh…”

98262

[Tamara]

When I carry my 1903, it’s like this… ;)

98263

[Half Moon]

I’ve got a couple 1903’s, but even in my Lee mom jeans, they’d be a no-go…assuming I was gonna carry a non-drop-safe pistol in my jeans pockets. :D

Then again, you guys have male pocket privilege. Clint Smith was recently talking about carrying 4” N-frames in jeans pockets and I was just like “Bruh…”

98262

Do you have problems with J-frames too? Knowing women's pockets are notoriously undersized, it still surprises me a hair that a Model M doesn't fit.

98264

[Tamara]

Those Lees have pretty capacious pockets for women’s jeans (my right pocket currently has a Saber Mk.6 and waved Spyderco Delica in it) but the depth means anything longer than a 2-cell pocket light or a ~3.25” folder risks getting ejected while seated.

Never even tried a J-frame, but it would probably fill the pocket and leave the backstrap visible. My two 1903’s are both very early production with the longer barrel.

[Gun Mutt]

Pocket schmocket...that belongs in some dead sexy shoulder holster, something vintage.

[45dotACP]

Now you just need the Colt vest pocket gun on a little gizmo that pops out your sleeve

Sent from my SM-A326U using Tapatalk

[BobM]

I’ve got a couple 1903’s, but even in my Lee mom jeans, they’d be a no-go…assuming I was gonna carry a non-drop-safe pistol in my jeans pockets. :D

Then again, you guys have male pocket privilege. Clint Smith was recently talking about carrying 4” N-frames in jeans pockets and I was just like “Bruh…”

98262

We had a state trooper as a guest instructor at our academy class (1989). I don’t recall the context now, but he showed us his then issued L frame could be carried in his uniform pants pocket.

[Evil_Ed]

Now you just need the Colt vest pocket gun on a little gizmo that pops out your sleeve

Sent from my SM-A326U using Tapatalk

I've got one for each hand :D

98291

The blued one on the right has enough finish in the light where you can see the nitre blueing on the small pieces still...beautiful gun, wish more of the finish survived...but being 103 years old, it'll do!

The box it came in/was sold with is an original/correct box, but not for that particular gun. The penciled serial number on the bottom sadly does not match; it was shipped with 130768.

The nickeled or chromed or whatever one on the left is an aftermarket job...a nice one to be sure, but not original. That one was a basket case internally when I got it; the main spring was broken, the other springs were just wore out, etc. I think that was the first JMB handgun I had that I detail stripped that was not a 1911...I have the original grips for it, but they didn't fit the motif nearly as well as faux pearlite ones! I actually carried it for a bit in a pocket holster...it always ran/went bang, but that was also before I really spent any time comparing 25ACP to anything else. Then the old joke, "if I shot someone with it and they ever realized it, they might get even more pissed"..so I put it away.

[Joe in PNG]

I've mentioned it before, but there was a brief time I toted two Baby Brownings, one in each pocket. It started off as a quest for a used mag, and ended up with a $150 gun that needed a re-bluing.
I really should have hung on to both guns... but I've moved on:
98293

[Evil_Ed]

I finally got it to the range - I had swapped the grips for some faux ivory grips from GunGrip (https://gungrip.com/colt-1903-1908-grips-.32-.380-auto.aspx)...this was probably a mistake to be honest. The gun was a bit slick with these, though it did look nice. It squirmed in recoil quite a bit. I swapped back to wood when cleaning the gun after I got home from the range.

Anyway - Fed, fired %100 - extraction was at about %80...the last round for the first 3 or 4 mags would fail to eject; caught and stovepiped between the port and the barrel and the extractor would be jammed back. After the 4th mag or so, it started wearing in I guess, and it stopped being a problem; ejection went to %100 including the last round. I didn't shoot it that much, frankly, because it wasn't so comfortable...partly the slick grips, but it was just thin in the backstrap, and just kind of stung. Ammo fired was 50 rounds of Winchester white box 380, 7 rounds of Nov-X 56gr (https://www.midwayusa.com/product/102359671?pid=678062) which was pleasantly light recoiling, nice and blasty!, 7 rounds of Hornady 90gr FTX and 7 rounds of Sig 100gr. I was there with 3 things to test, so I didn't want to spend too much time on this one beyond making sure it actually worked.

It seemed to group high and left but that could also have been the tiny sights...it really doesn't appear to be designed for bullseye work. :D

I'm going to try it out again with the wood grips next time and see if that improves it's manners. I'll also bring a 32acp 1903 along with it to see how they compare...I recall the 32 being a joy to shoot but it's been a while.

[Evil_Ed]

And another one came out of the woodwork...which brings the tally to 3 32s (one from 1918, the "new" one from 1919, and a General Officer's repop from 2016), and the new 380 from a couple months ago.

100852

Order is from oldest to newest, from the top.

The new one is a 322,xxx; 1919 made, and it has the entire serial number stamped in the hammer recess in the slide - according to this (https://www.unblinkingeye.com/Guns/1903C/1903c.html), that practice started in early 1919 but was only the last 4 of the serial; by the end of 1919 it was the whole serial...mine was sufficiently late in the year as to have the whole number.

I'm still on the lookout for a post-1922 made Colt; supposedly that was when Colt changed the hammer design to allow for a half-cock to make it "more safe". As we already discussed...how much "more safe" is debatable, but it's still a variant I want.

I guess I should order a new recoil spring for it now...and keep an eye out for a decent leather shoulder holster, I suppose...nothing like a NY Reload!

[Joe in PNG]

I'm still on the lookout for a post-1922 made Colt; supposedly that was when Colt changed the hammer design to allow for a half-cock to make it "more safe". As we already discussed...how much "more safe" is debatable, but it's still a variant I want.

I wonder if you could drop in a post 1922 hammer (https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-manufacturer/colt/auto-pistols-colt/1903-pocket-hammerless) and 'drive on'?
The trick is installing the hammer- it's a... fun task.

[Moped]

And another one came out of the woodwork...which brings the tally to 3 32s (one from 1918, the "new" one from 1919, and a General Officer's repop from 2016), and the new 380 from a couple months ago.

100852

Order is from oldest to newest, from the top.

The new one is a 322,xxx; 1919 made, and it has the entire serial number stamped in the hammer recess in the slide - according to this (https://www.unblinkingeye.com/Guns/1903C/1903c.html), that practice started in early 1919 but was only the last 4 of the serial; by the end of 1919 it was the whole serial...mine was sufficiently late in the year as to have the whole number.

I'm still on the lookout for a post-1922 made Colt; supposedly that was when Colt changed the hammer design to allow for a half-cock to make it "more safe". As we already discussed...how much "more safe" is debatable, but it's still a variant I want.

I guess I should order a new recoil spring for it now...and keep an eye out for a decent leather shoulder holster, I suppose...nothing like a NY Reload!

Beautiful stable of Colts!

[Evil_Ed]

I wonder if you could drop in a post 1922 hammer (https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-manufacturer/colt/auto-pistols-colt/1903-pocket-hammerless) and 'drive on'?
The trick is installing the hammer- it's a... fun task.

Oh, yeah. Needs 3 hands. And, the pin that holds in the sear/disconnector is the same size pin as holds in the mag release/grip safety…but a tiny bit shorter. I reassembled the 1918 with the pins reversed…one grip would never seat flush and the thumb safety wouldn’t flip off. Took me a long time to figure that out.

I found that using a well padded tiny C-clamp to hold in the grip safety while you futzed with getting the hammer seated and lined up does make the job a tiny bit easier…fortunately for me the 1918 had already been refinished so a little ding here or there leaning to detail strip it didn’t scare me.

I haven’t tried a later hammer but considering the mostly hand fit nature of the guns, I don’t know that it’s work, either…not a bad idea though, I wonder if I could even find one!


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[Joe in PNG]

Oh, yeah. Needs 3 hands. And, the pin that holds in the sear/disconnector is the same size pin as holds in the mag release/grip safety…but a tiny bit shorter. I reassembled the 1918 with the pins reversed…one grip would never seat flush and the thumb safety wouldn’t flip off. Took me a long time to figure that out.

I found that using a well padded tiny C-clamp to hold in the grip safety while you futzed with getting the hammer seated and lined up does make the job a tiny bit easier…fortunately for me the 1918 had already been refinished so a little ding here or there leaning to detail strip it didn’t scare me.

I haven’t tried a later hammer but considering the mostly hand fit nature of the guns, I don’t know that it’s work, either…not a bad idea though, I wonder if I could even find one!


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Looks like Numrich has a few in stock.

[UNK]

We had a state trooper as a guest instructor at our academy class (1989). I don’t recall the context now, but he showed us his then issued L frame could be carried in his uniform pants pocket.

A guy working in a lgs carried a full size Hk in his pocket. Considering the time frame, most likely a P30. Its probably the only way he could carry considering his waist size.