New Life For A Re-Barreled Colt Police Positive Special
The re-barreled Colt Police Positive Special and proper handloads.
Picking up where we left off after Special Projects Editor Roy Huntington kindly re-barreled my .32 Colt Police Positive Special, I finally had the chance to handload some of my favorite loads for it. If you remember, the replacement barrel has a thicker front sight on it, so it’s easier for me to see. Because of the thicker front sight, Roy also opened up the fixed rear sight channel for me.
He obviously got things lined up pretty good because the gun shoots to sights with the handloads used.
Bringing an old gun back to life is satisfying. Shooting one is like
stepping into a time machine, as you live in the past by shooting guns of yesteryear.
Nice close-up of the checkered hammer and cylinder latch,
along with Colt’s prancing pony trademark.
Name Only?
When certain manufacturers come out with a new cartridge, competing manufacturers don’t like advertising for the competition, so they stamp their own, or some benign moniker for the cartridge. Examples include Ruger marking .45 Colt revolvers with .45 Caliber. Well, Colt was no different. When the .32 S&W Long came out, Colt went with the .32 Colt New Police for the same cartridge.
All handloads were loaded on Tank’s Lee
Precision Classic Turret Press.
Handload Heaven
The .32 S&W Long is best suited for quicker burning powders such as Red Dot, Winchester 231, and the old standby, Unique. I use two cast bullets suitable for this gun, both weighing just over 100 grains. The first is an RCBS SWC that looks like a baby “Keith” slug. I’ve always had good luck with this bullet, accuracy-wise, when shooting it in my other .32 H&R sixguns.
The other bullet used is from MP Molds, based in Slovenia. It is a radiused flat-nose design, with a hollow point (HP). It, too, has always shown good manners in the accuracy department and is deadly on varmints with the huge HP cavity.
All loads were assembled using my Lee Precision Classic Turret Press and Lee dies. Since the charges were so small, a Lee Auto-Disk Powder Dispenser was used with the Lee Micro Disk (#441523) since the charges.
I was able to drop 3.0 grains of 231 with this disk. For handloading numerous calibers, the Lee Classic Turret is the way to go. With dies pre-set and stored in the die plate, swapping calibers is quick and easy, taking just seconds to accomplish.
When using 3.0 grains of Winchester 231 powder with both bullets’ velocity runs right at 880 FPS from the 4” barrel of the Police Positive Special. With 3.5 grains of Unique, muzzle velocity was almost identical. Friend Glen Fryxell shared his favorite load of 2.6 grains of Red Dot with the RCBS SWC, and it runs at 800 FPS, also shooting very well.
The heavy barrel looks “just right” on the gun.
The serrated, thicker front sight on the replacement
barrel was a welcome addition to the old shooter.
Shooting
As I mentioned earlier, the replacement barrel has a much thicker front sight (.125”) and is much easier to see with my tri-focal corrective lenses. Being transitional lenses there is no distinct line, rather the focal planes blend into each other. All I have to do is find the “sweet” spot where the front sight looks sharp and clear like it did when my eyes were just 20 years old.
From a distance was 50 feet, I had my hands resting on top of a 12” section of 6” x 6” post standing on end with a sandbag perched on top. The raised position allowed my eyes to automatically align with the “sweet” spot of my transitional tri-focal glasses, providing a sharp sight picture.
My targets consisted of 2” florescent orange squares turned ¼ turn, giving them a diamond shape appearance. Using a 6 o’clock hold with the top of the front sight at the bottom of the diamond shape is natural and provides a wonderful sight picture when everything is all lined up. Groups consisted of five shots each.
Not bad for an old, re-barreled gun. The satisfaction of this whole
project was heartwarming and fun. Can it get any better?
Special thanks to “The Fixer” Roy Huntington.
Results
First off, shooting these loads is a pure pleasure. There is no recoil to speak off, yet a 100-grain cast slug traveling in excess of 850 FPS packs enough punch to do some damage. Groups were consistently accurate no matter what bullet or powder was used, running anywhere between 1-1.5” as you can see in the target photos.
Shooting old guns with handloads you made yourself is wonderful therapy for beating boredom or taking a break from the routine of shooting modern guns and loads. It’s just different, in its own pleasing way.
The old barrel and the gun after Roy re-barreled it. He’s handy indeed!
Marvelous Misfits
Also of note is shooting a gun once considered a candidate for the scrap heap. With a little computer research, an even better barrel was obtained, making it more suitable for my eyes than the factory original. Plus, I think the heavier barrel looks better.
By making these changes, along with having a friend doing the work, it adds a personal touch to the gun and makes it seem more yours. Old guns taken from the pile of “misfit toys” (referencing “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”), and giving them a little care and love, rendering them to shooter status once again, is very satisfying to say the least.
Plus, these “misfits” are usually sold “as is” at bargain prices. So, if you have a little “misfit” in yourself and enjoy making broken guns become shooters again, this is a satisfying and affordable way of keeping yourself occupied until the next project presents itself.
