i have an old pistol that says colt army special 38 on the barrel. the fireing pin is on the hammer.e?

Question

the only dates on it are pat. dates. can you tell me any thing about it?

Answer 1

The Colt Army Special was a modernization of the 1892-1903 series of New Army/New Navy revolvers originally chambered in .38 Long Colt and .41 Long Colt. (The size of the revolver's frame is colloquially known as the .41 Long Colt frame as a result . . . larger than the .38 frame of the Colt Police Positive, but smaller than the large-framed New Service.) The Colt Army Special .38 was manufactured around and after World War I, and was chambered in .38 Long Colt, and eventually .38 Special.

The .38 Special uses a case roughly 1/10th of an inch longer than the .38 Long Colt (but is otherwise dimensionally identical,) and has a pressure ceiling of something like 5000 PSI more. So don't shoot .38 Special out of this gun if it turns out to be one chambered for the old .38 Long Colt cartridge.

Fortunately, .38 Long Colt ammunition is commercially produced by companies such as Black Hills and Ultramax, thanks to the popularity of Cowboy Action shooting, so if your Colt Army Special is pronounced safe by a reputable gunsmith, you can actually shoot it, and those old swing-out cylinder Colt double-actions can really be something pleasurable to shoot, and should be just as safe as any modern double-action revolver (having a modern-style rebounding hammer safety so you could carry it with the cylinder fully loaded.)

Answer 2

This appears to be a Colt Model 1892 "New Army and Navy" revolver.

These were made from 1892 to 1901, with a total of 291,000 made.

Calibers were .38 Colt, .38 S&W, .41 Colt, and 32-20.
The .38 Colt and .41 Colt are obsolete rounds no longer made, and the .38 S&W was the short .38 round NOT the .38 Special.

Some of these revolvers have cylinders bored straight through, and the .38 Special and even .357 Magnum WILL chamber, but should NEVER be fired in these old guns.

Answer 3

Sam Ds pretty much got that covered except for emphasis like DO NOT SHOOT MODERN AMMUNITION IN THAT GUN! It's much too powerful for that gun and could blow it up and hurt or kill someone. and ONLY LOAD 5 HOLES AND PUT THE HAMMER DOWN ON THE EMPTY HOLE! That pointed hammer WILL cause an unplanned firing! and Have It Inspected! Use Only Blackpowder or 'Cowboy Action' ammo. Have fun but be safe. It might be worth more as a collectors item. Some people go crazy over them old Colt's.

Answer 4

The gun you have IS NOT the US Army .38 Long Colt that was used in the late 19th century. The .38SPL cartridge made it's debut @ 1908. It is an early 20th century commerical offering that was made for a brief period. I have seen these before and they are well made but most are in fair-to-poor condition and lock-up is often pretty worn (particularly in the hand area). They are not worth a whole lot but they are shootable with mild 148HBWC .38SPL or light loaded 150LRN.

Answer 5

This sounds like a relic that should never be fired and put away as a piece of American history but if you insist on shooting it take it to a competent gunsmith for evaluation.

Answer 6

http://msxml.excite.com/info.xcite/search/web/colt%2Barmy%2Bspecial%2Brevolver

Answer 7

it has no safety so never have it in a double action mode, if so you are three times as likely to shoot yourself with your weapon.