Another Score
Then, talk about great luck, I was nosing around on a good friend’s site where he sells some amazing classic guns (www.sportsmanslegacy.com) and stumbled onto another Officer’s. This one is a Colt Officer’s Model, but factory stock — and in .22 LR! A quick serial number check revealed it began life in 1938 so I’d call it a peer to the .38. An interesting side note is the SA trigger shows 3 lbs. 10 oz. and that’s about right for dead-stock.
There’s a bit of magic at work here too. I have a blued Python and a blued Diamond Back in .22, so how on earth could I not have the parents to my more “modern” guns at-hand too? My charge card was glowing for a short time.
Smarter people than me know way more about these guns, but from what I gleaned, Colt introduced the first of these “medium-framed” models in 1904, calling it the Officer’s Model, catering to police business. Between then and about 1969, Colt produced several variations, with slightly different mechanicals and looks, but all based on the same idea of a medium-framed gun good for target shooting and even police duty use. The Officer’s Model Target was offered beginning in about 1927 and was chambered in .22 LR, .32 Colt and .38 Special. The heavy barrel (like my .38) was made optional in about 1935. According to one source, only the 6″ barrel was offered post-war. The grips were checkered walnut with silver-colored medallions so mine seem to be correct.
In those days target shooting was pretty mainstream and these models ruled the roost. Guys like Fitzgerald of Colt honed these actions to within an inch of their lives, helping to assure the guns shot as well as humanly possible with the technology available then. As times changed, model designations changed from “E” frames (with the firing pin in the hammer) to “I” frames if the firing pin was in the frame, but the quest for quality always remained.