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Colt .32 Automatic - Questions

GSequoia

GSequoia

Everyone says I'm a jerk.
NAXJA Member
Location
Torrance, CA
Well I'm in possesion of a pistol of my grandfathers. I'd like to make sure it's in good firing condition, clean it up, and do a bit of target shooting. I just thought I'd see if anybody can ID it. The guy's 87 so doesn't quite remember when he got it ;)

PS - It hasn't been fired in at least 30 years. It was stored in his garage in an ammo can with duct tape over the barrel to keep moisture out. There is no rust on the gun and the barrel looks good to my eye with a thin coat of oil.

IMG_0002.JPG


IMG_0001.JPG


IMG_0003.JPG


IMG_0007.JPG

Markings are:
405
008


The grips are plastic, it's stamped "COLT AUTOMATIC / CALIBRE 32 RIMLESS SMOKELESS" (The / designates a new line)

The forward edge of the trigger guard has 34 stamped in it, and the gun does have a serial number (405xxx).

Also at the end of the barrel on the side marked Colt Auto there is a K stamped.


It's a pretty small gun, measuring approximatly 6.75" from the tip of the barrel to the rear of the gun and 4.5" high. The magazine holds 8 rounds.

Also how stable is old ammunition? There is a lot of it in the box (not just .32) and I was wondering what to expect.


Yeah... I know.. It's about the last post you'd expect by me ;)
 
Clean it, oil it with some breakfree. If it cycles well and freely by hand then shoot away. Just to be on the safe side pick up some new ammo. The old stuff if kept dry is probably fine. But new is cheap insurance.
 
Bite the bullet :) and take it down and pay to have it test fired. Having the slide come back and plant itself in your forehead, can cause blurred vision and other unpleasant side affects. Some auto's are infamous for this.
All ammo isn't created equal, European pistol ammo from certain manufactures is often a bit on the hot side, the ammo from the Scandinavian countries a little milder. Many ammos have the literature available, so you can compare muzzle velocity and chamber pressures. Mild ammo isn't necessarily a bad thing.
It looks very much like the pistol manufactured (in the US and under license) and distributed throughout Europe to the Police departments shortly after the war.
Older Ammo may have corrosives in the primer that can pit a barrel.
 
chopperdog said:
Clean it, oil it with some breakfree. If it cycles well and freely by hand then shoot away. Just to be on the safe side pick up some new ammo. The old stuff if kept dry is probably fine. But new is cheap insurance.
Click to expand...
x2

A .32 doesn't have much power, so it won't hurt much if it jams up anyway. Don't forget your gloves and glasses :D
 
It appears to be a 1903 model colt pocket pistol. I am not sure when the stopped making them. I suspect about WWII. The gun appears to be in good shape and I bet very shootable. Ammo is another story. I d expect to have a lot of duds and possible dangerous hang fire if you shoot it. The gun was favored as a personal sidearm of the gentleman army officer and the like.

Bill
 
JohnX said:
x2

A .32 doesn't have much power, so it won't hurt much if it jams up anyway. Don't forget your gloves and glasses :D
Click to expand...
If you want I'll be happy to shoot some mine trolls and find out if it works for you :D:D:D:D:D
 
AlabamaBill said:
It appears to be a 1903 model colt pocket pistol. I am not sure when the stopped making them. I suspect about WWII. The gun appears to be in good shape and I bet very shootable. Ammo is another story. I d expect to have a lot of duds and possible dangerous hang fire if you shoot it. The gun was favored as a personal sidearm of the gentleman army officer and the like.

Bill
Click to expand...
Well I've been doing some research and it is a Colt 1903, they were prodced from 1903 - 1945. One source that I don't know if I an trust yet gives me a date range for my serial number range of 1910 - 1925. That would make sence as my grandfather never has been the kind to buy stuff new (he was born in 1920) and he probably purchsed this when he still lived on his property in the desert with his folks (30's - early 40's).

I've been looking at it and it's in fantastic shape. I've halfway dissassembeled it (I haven't torn it down completely, only pulled the slide off and associated parts) and everything looks good to my eyes and there is no corriosion. some of the bluing is worn off at the edges where it's been sitting, other than that it looks good.

The rounds I am refering to are hollow point .32 rounds with brass casings, none of them show any sign of corrosion and there was very little liklihood of moisture in the area it was stored in. (there are also a lot of hollow point 30-30 rounds, some solid point .22 rounds, five .38 rounds, and probably 150 hollow point .22 rounds!

After I get a good idea on this gun I just may have to go target shooting sometime... I'll have to find a place nearby to do so though ;)
 
Nice having a grandfather with lots of guns he doesn't know what to do with isn't it? :D

Sure is an ugly gun IMO but a good find! Tell us how the first few rounds go!
 
GSequoia said:
Well I've been doing some research and it is a Colt 1903, they were prodced from 1903 - 1945. One source that I don't know if I an trust yet gives me a date range for my serial number range of 1910 - 1925. That would make sence as my grandfather never has been the kind to buy stuff new (he was born in 1920) and he probably purchsed this when he still lived on his property in the desert with his folks (30's - early 40's).

I've been looking at it and it's in fantastic shape. I've halfway dissassembeled it (I haven't torn it down completely, only pulled the slide off and associated parts) and everything looks good to my eyes and there is no corriosion. some of the bluing is worn off at the edges where it's been sitting, other than that it looks good.

The rounds I am refering to are hollow point .32 rounds with brass casings, none of them show any sign of corrosion and there was very little liklihood of moisture in the area it was stored in. (there are also a lot of hollow point 30-30 rounds, some solid point .22 rounds, five .38 rounds, and probably 150 hollow point .22 rounds!

After I get a good idea on this gun I just may have to go target shooting sometime... I'll have to find a place nearby to do so though ;)
Click to expand...

Learn something new every day. I was under the impression the 1900- series auto colts were mostly 38 cal and 45 cal and had a "C" (civilian) stamped before the serial number.
I was looking through my catalogs and the single grip screw, isn't there anyplace, most all have two screws in the grip. Is the grip painted/stained wood or Bakelite?
The primers in old ammo are often fulminate based and corrosive when they are new. Most shooters toss the seriously old stuff. Remove the bullet and dump the leftovers in a can of use oil. Some people burn the powder.
 
Grips are hard plastic, black.
IMG_0001_001.JPG


One is cracked, just about to epoxy it back together (it's barly hanging on)

Here are two of the rounds I"m talking about (they all look the same).
IMG_0005.JPG
 
The ammo looks like Winchester Silvertips. Oil it up and shoot them, they won't destroy the gun because of corrosive primers, you just have to clean the gun. I clean my guns after I shoot them anyway and so should you. (BTW powder makes great fertilizer if you decide to dump them- although that's a dumb idea).

I wouldn't glue the grips up just yet, the 1903 is a moderately collectable gun and original condition (even beat up) is better than some glue slobbered on the cracks after 70 years.
 
The ammo looks a whole lot newer than the pistol.
The old molded Bakelite and Catalin stuff always interested me. Bakelite usually was reinforced with saw dust or cloth, you may see some texture in the back side of the grips. Catalin is an improved Bakelite and came later. The grips alone are a collectors item.
You never really know what kind of chamber pressures the older pistols are designed for. Hollow points are often pushed with a fast burning powder. Just to make it last, I'd find a box of mild stuff, Scandinavian ammo is a good bet, they also favor the 32 Cal. in many of there target pistols. Target ammo is often the lowest load, that will reliably make it out the barrel and cycle the action.
 
Last edited:
GSequoia said:
How? Just put the casing in a vise and use piars?
Click to expand...
Bullet pullers are cheap. I sometimes use a pair of pliers. Wiggle it till it loosens and bang the pliers on the side of something hard, with the bullet/cartridge hanging free. Jars the bullet out of the case. Dump the powder and put the primer in a can of used oil along with the case. Back in the old days, the oil/case/primer was buried in a plastic jug, I don't really know the environmentally approved method.
The ammo may shoot OK, but I always ask the question as "why not" rather than "why". When the Berreta first came out in mass production for the military and police. There was a rash of slides flying back into peoples faces. Since then my trust level has gone way down. Many shooting ranges have a test bench, they use for initial site adjustments. Designed to hold a pistol and recoil some like a person shooting. Why not?
 
SCW said:
I wouldn't glue the grips up just yet, the 1903 is a moderately collectable gun and original condition (even beat up) is better than some glue slobbered on the cracks after 70 years.
Click to expand...

Already did ;) I actually used a very thin coating of JB on the mating surfaces (not a high stress area so I didn't have to build a bridge), can barely see it.

I'm not into seeling it and if I ever wanted to up the value I'd get "new" grips anyway, particularly if I were selling it! One broken grip would've been annoying from an ergonomic standpoint when firing.

The tip of the barrel needs to be crowned, it's *ever so slightly* out of round, it looks like the gun was dropped on it's head at some point. Maybe that's why my granddad never could shoot a deer :laugh3:
 
I would do a quick check on it's collector value if any, Keep in mind that if you break an ejector it may be tough to get parts for but then again, maybe not, they were a very popular sidearm in the 20's and 30's.
I only mention the parts angle as I bought an Astra Constable, new, in 71, it has had maybe 20 boxes of .380 through it. It got put away for 20+ years. While cleaning out my old navy foot locker I found it, picked up a box of ammo and took it to the range, fired 10 rounds and it stopped ejecting, the ejector broke and I had a devil of a time getting a replacement part. Very annoying, got a new one and spent a couple of hours getting it to fit.
 
KOOL!
 
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