ltwguns.com

This is my little DS. The grips are courtesy of Don Williams. Thanks Don!

Dang Mark! They even fit!

_________________
Don Williams
http://www.theactionworks.com
http://www.ltwguns.com

Outstanding, nothing like a small blued revolver. Those grips are beautiful. Thanks Mark.

_________________
Heirloom Precision, LLC.
480-804-1911

"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking."
- General George Patton Jr

Mark - Very nice. I'm envious.

My only DS went to my dad about two years ago as his hands can't rack a semi-auto slide any longer, and he wanted to still have some sort of defensive handgun in the house.

The DS has always caused a gleam in my eye, much more than any "J" frame smith.

Deep bluing on a Colt. Very nice
Lenny

_________________
Show 'em where you live....

Hello. Very beautiful.

I have but one of these little Colts. This Agent was not new when I bought it. It had been fired 12 times!


This little thing is stock. I simply have it to appreciate an example of a different time in the US and the products common then...

Best.

_________________
Please drop by http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com

Mark, Seeing as how you like those little Colt Dick Spls, here's one from
1930. This gun supposedly belonged to 'Wild Bill Donovan' who was the head of the OSS during WWll. I got the gun from his newphew, Leo Donovan, who was the Chief of Homicide for the Buffalo PD for 28 years. He was a legend in this city for his resolution of homicide cases.


I hope this picture comes through..
The gun has factory Ivory grips, a checkered trigger, and checkered cylinder release. It's about 95%, and very tight..
Lou

_________________
Alessi Holsters, Inc.
You'll never know it's there, until you need it...

Ooowww!!! Mr Lou!!! Neat gun+famous owner=1 dang KEWL revolver!!!
Really neat! Thanks for sharing.

Lou & Mark,

I love both of those guns. If either one of you ever wants to sell, please contact me.

My dad has my only DS, as his hands aren't strong enough to rack the slide of an auto reliably anymore and I wanted him to have something at home to protect him & mom. He saw the DS which I had just found about a year ago and fell in love with it, so I had to give it to him. Unfortunately, I never even had a chance to shoot it before it went off to its new home with my Dad. Oh well, its doing what it should do which is protecting loved ones.

Thanks for sharing guys. The DS has always been my favorite revolver.

Best,

Ray


P.S.: The offer to purchase was serious.

Damn nice guns!!! You guys are gonna’ make me have to dig out my Dick Special and snap some photos of it. Now if I could only remember what corner of my shop I stashed it in.

Lou - Nice gun, nice grips and nice badge. Is that one of the early Ranger badges that was made from a coin (Mexican coin, I believe)?

_________________
Dave Berryhill
Berryhill Custom, LLC

Nery nice handguns all the way around.
Newby ???? for you guys- Would the grips on Mark's fit Mr. Camps revolver???
I would love to have a older snubbie but don't like the little grips for my paws.
Thanks.
Tony

_________________
Bless the great colors of this Country, those who protect those colors and those who help the cause of this sight.

Excellent handguns both. The pencil barrel Detective Special just has a touch of class. I have two of the older guns such as those. Both have factory shrouds on them. One was made with the shroud and the other was installed by Alex Hamilton.

Finding a Colt Revolver smith is hard to do.

Anyway. My compliments on the two revolvers.

_________________
Be safe and keep the brass flying

Terry Peters

Do your research but you get what you pay for front end or back end
http://www.pt-partners.com
@ptpartners_tx

Whaere can I get a beautiful blueing job on my 1968 Detective Special?
Thanks so much,
papaone

_________________
Dennis

What a thing of beauty!!! What will it take for Colt to ressurect this masterpiece?!?!?!?!?

_________________
"Where the government fears the people, there is liberty; where the people fear the government, there is tyranny."
-Benjamin Franklin

A visit to the wizard to get a brain, something their marketing people seem to lack.
ML

On whether Colt will bring back the Detective special is up to the gun market. Retailing unfortunately has changed quite a bit over the past 15 to 20 years. Low prices without corresponding quality and little or no follow up service seems to be taking over

This is just an observation from working retail for 15 or so years in firearms as well as other durable items.

The average buyer is what the cheapest price which means he gets the cheapest made product made out of the cheapest materials and the cheapest unskilled labor and this is what keep a business alive. Keep cost down and money coming in.

The number of value buyers such as many who frequent these forums is dwindling rapidly hence if there is not sufficient demand of those willing to pay what it costs to make the gun and not "outsource" there will be no supply.

I very much miss the Colt Detective special. Would I buy another if reissued, probably not as I have three already.

_________________
Be safe and keep the brass flying

Terry Peters

Do your research but you get what you pay for front end or back end
http://www.pt-partners.com
@ptpartners_tx

I know this is an old post but I especially appreciate seeing William Donovan's gun because I'm immersed in reading W.E.B. Griffin's series of novels about the OSS and because our family doctor when I was young had been in the OSS.

One of the problems Colt faces if they want to bring back the Detective Special or any of the other 'D' frame guns is finding qualified folks on their staff who remember how to make one of these work properly. Any of the Colt V spring type actions in both the larger and smaller varieties (E/I frame such as Python, and D frame like the Det. Spl.), are a bit of work to properly time and set-up. Unlike the S&W's, in which parts can be replaced with very little fitting required in most cases, the Colts need more time and some knowledgeable fitting to replace, for instance the hand. It's pretty much a 10 minute job in a Smith. You'll spend the better part of an hour or more replacing one in a Colt, due to the fitting required. As well, if you change one item in a Colt, you may have to re-time the entire action, due to the inter-relationship of the internals. Since most of the guys at Colt who used to put these guns together day after day have long since retired, the factory would have to bring some of these guys back to train new personnel or start from scratch, with the commensurate loss of quality in initial gun production.

_________________
Don Williams
http://www.theactionworks.com
http://www.ltwguns.com

Seems to me the D frame has a real advantage over the J frame when one or the other is required for backup gun competition. Certainly for down the line on the PPC course for plainclothes guns the D frame was IMHO clearly the choice over the J frame. FREX I tried to push a D frame on my wife for purse carry as having some real benefits - maybe just an argument in favor of one more gun?

If IDPA had a real BUG class then all the folks lamenting the 625/610 issues might be out chasing down D frames?

Oh how great were the old Colt revolvers. Tuning them with new parts tho is a problem and sure would take some special training to redo new people. Don Tedford who is still around was a genius on these and when I setup shop on Commertial Row at Camp Perry in Colts bldg, I learned alot from Ted.

I remember once talking to then chief eng Walt Gleason about new guns to build. I at once told him to bring out the New Service or Shooting Master in 44 mag to compete with S&W. He told me that Colt had scraped all that tooling 10 years ago, that was 35 years ago from now. What a shame.

I also had a way of doing a Super Tune on Pythons and the like that Even Don never thought of and it wound up with a DA of 5 1/2 lbs smooth with no stacking. Maybe I should tell how.??

Austin, Absolutely! Any information is always appreciated and enjoyed. Thanks,

_________________
Don Williams
http://www.theactionworks.com
http://www.ltwguns.com

Austin- now you have to spill it, can't leave us all hanging

OK now pay attention. One of the things that give the smith a problem is stacking during the last 3rd of the pull thruSome smiths never get rid of it and others like Colt smiths, bend the end of the trigger sear downward to avoid the stacking. This of course works but also throws the revolver action completely out of time and requires a timing job. (not easy) Now, if the gun is innew condition, and you have the single action mode finished, take a 5 inch flat file, medium, with an edge cut about 1/3 the width of the sear and file a slot down the center of the sear in a slight ccurve beginning halfway up the sear and stopping with a web at the tip of about .010. Stone the slot with an 1/8 in wide India stone. Bevel the edges of the slot for the next step. Remove the strut from the hammer that rides on the sear in DA and grind the sides in a taper and being careful to keep it even so it runs in the slot and doesnt contact the beveled sides. Put the hammer and strut in and be sure it runs smooth. You can now bend the end of the lower spring leaf so only the tip engages the rebound lever and then slightly bend the upper leaf slightly down. Be sure you have stoned all the other places that contact during the DA pull. You should now have a DA pull of about 5 1/2 lbs with very slight stacking. You will find that the SA is about 2 1/2 lbs.

Now to finalize the job install a rubber stop in the frame behind the trigger ( I used various durometer 1/4 dia rubber) cut to a length that will just stop the pull thru. At this point shave the plug so the pull only requires another 1/2 lb to break the shot. With a little practice you can pull to the stop fast, realign the sights and aqueeze it off. You will wonder why you ever thumbed the hammer in the first place and you never lose the grip. Good luck

That is COOL, Mr Behlert! I've heard of that type of action job but never ran across one. I know my New Service Target and Kings 1917 Target could use actions like that!!

I'll guarantee, when Austin speaks, I listen. Thanks for your years of service to our community Austin.

_________________
Dennis