Colt Officers Model Match.

[Trooper224]

Todays new addition to the armory: a Colt, Officers Model Match .38 Special. Manufactured in 1962. Over two weeks ago one of my LGSs called me to advise they had several new arrivals I needed to look at. There were a couple of other things that were nice. However, being a long time member of my must have list, this one really caught my attention. It's been a very long time since I've seen one in this kind of condition and with a wood presentation case to boot. I just couldn't swing it at the time, so I assumed it would fly off the shelf and would be gone before I could ruminate on the situation. It was really hard to walk out of the shop without this one and that doesn't happen very often anymore. Apparently, there must be a shortage of people who appreciate fine shooting iron around here, because there it sat. Today, Mrs. Awesome walked through the door with a larger than anticipated bonus check from work and said, "Let's go buy that gun." As an obedient spouse I didn't argue. The shop is having a rough time due to increased competition, in the form of two new glossy ranges opening up in the city. Consequently, the owner's had to dip into his own collection and this is one of those.

[Zeke38]

Glad you were able to get the OMM. I have one made in 1960 not quite as pristine as yours. Can't wait to see the targets that old Colt will produce!

[Tom Givens]

I have one made in 1927. The sights. although adjustable, are so tiny I can't see them. It is fitted and finished like a fine watch, however.

[SeriousStudent]

That is beautiful! I can certainly understand why she is Mrs. Awesome.

I am curious, are you going to commission a really nice leather holster for it? An elegant revolver like that really deserves something equally nice.

Congrats again on a terrific catch. And the revolver is nice, too.

[Trooper224]

That is beautiful! I can certainly understand why she is Mrs. Awesome.

I am curious, are you going to commission a really nice leather holster for it? An elegant revolver like that really deserves something equally nice.

Congrats again on a terrific catch. And the revolver is nice, too.

Quite likely, no holster for this one. It'll spend time in the safe or the range bag. I can see a set of custom grips in its future though.

After a decade, I stopped shooting in my Monday night bullseye league earlier this summer. This one might make me change my mind, at least for a while.

I was able to get the owner to knock the price down, since there had been no interest other than mine in nearly three weeks.

[Trooper224]

I have one made in 1927. The sights. although adjustable, are so tiny I can't see them. It is fitted and finished like a fine watch, however.

A friend has a Colt Shooting Master of that vintage that I keep trying to talk him out of.

[Gun Mutt]

Congrats, that's gorgeous!

[SecondsCount]

That is an amazing piece of gun history. Congrats.

[Trooper224]

Thank you gentlemen. I'd hate to see this shop go under as I've done business with them since getting out of the Navy in '91. Unfortunately, they're the stereotypical gun shop: a hole in the wall down in the "hood", with their share of goons behind the counter. The range isn't air conditioned and hasn't had any upgrades in the last twenty years. They were able to keep going because of little competition in the area. Now that a couple of other ranges have opened up with much nicer facilities, and employees, they're hurting pretty badly. I did talk the owner down $150 from his initial asking price because of all this. I felt a little guilty about it given the situation, but I have to maximize my shekels too. I was truly surprised it sat in there as long as it did. An 8 3/8" S&W M29 from the owners safe flew right off the shelf. (Thankfully it wasn't a four inch as that would have been a difficult choice.) Now, if I could find the scratch for that pre-ban H&K 93 he just put on the wall...........

First group fired, twenty five yards, off hand, single handed stance. With an unfamiliar gun before any sight adjustment, I'll take it. We'll do better next time.

[willie]

You likely know that the action is the same as the Official Police and Python. A fact of life with these revolvers is that with extensive firing they tend to go out of time sooner than would a Smith. If it were mine, I would keep a drop of the best lube on the
action parts including extractor star. An odd fact about these revolvers is that the bores mike at .354 instead of .357 or .358.
I never knew the reason. Smith's comparable target revolver was the Model 14 or K-38. Champion bullseye shooters of many decades ago favored the Colt over the Smith. Both had an unusual factory offering that was single action only. It had a shortened hammer arc to reduce lock time. To preserve the action's correct timing, I would not use the double action feature. Neither would I dry fire it. But, I would put a very large number of standard velocity rounds through it. If you reload, try a 147 grain cast bullet sized .356. You have a very fine revolver, and today you can't go anywhere and find a new one. Please don't let anyone work on it.