ltwguns.com

Hi everybody. I am finally getting around to posting this little beauty that Dave Sams did for me. She came home on December 23rd as a great Christmas present to myself. Unfortunately, over the holidays I have been in and out of the hospital 3 times with 3 more surgeries to slow me down a bit. 'Nuff said about that
Several months ago our member Lindermant posted some pictures on here of his Agent that was also done by Dave. I immediately fell in love with it and decided it was time for me to get one for myself, so I purchased a 70's model Agent that was well used and had a lot of finish wear. (Unfortunately forgot to take before pictures)! As they say "Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery", so thank you Tom for the inspiration for this.
Some of the things I had Dave do to her are as follows: EXCELLENT trigger job--SCARY!, install ball detent for tighter lock-up of cylinder, correct cylinder end-shake and timing, install recoil shield, crown muzzle (I think it was 13 degree crown), open rear sight channel slightly and install gold bead front sight (Dave makes his own gold beads), bob the hammer and excellent action job, and finally perform a "Half-Fitz" cutout on the right side of the triggerguard (slightly quicker access to the trigger). The grips I put on are Eagle Secret Service grips in Balsa Wood (these are very slick..I need to rough them up a bit or replace).
This has become my primary carry gun since getting it back. Since I am no longer in Law Enforcement I don't feel the need to carry a large cannon all the time. This little beauty is completely snag-free and carries 6 rounds of .38 +P ammo with several speed strips to fill her belly if needed. It is amazing how well this pistol disappears on my body or in a coat pocket!
I have only fired a few rounds to try her out, but MAN IS SHE ACCURATE!! With the trigger and action jobs by Dave, plus the natural accuracy that Colt was famous for (those were the days!!) I can handle anything coming my way within 25 Yards I know!! I will wring her out a little better when the weather warms and my wounds heal! Enjoy! (sorry about the cruddy pictures...best I can do right now!!)--John

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"There is a true glory and a true honor, the glory of duty done, the honor of integrity and principle."--Gen. Robert Edward Lee

that is FINE. makes my long for the colt cobra i stupidly sold some time back-cam

John, hope that you bounce back quickly from your surgeries! That little Agent looks great, thanks for posting pics & details. I'm looking forward to your range report once the warm wx gets back to our parts.

And you're right about Dave's trigger work, you'll enjoy it more the more rounds you put down range

*edited to add: what kind of pocket holster is that in the pics?

Nice little carry gun.

Thanks guys for the compliments! Especially you Tom, since you were the inspiration for this little project! That isn't a pocket holster, just a small belt slide from Don Hume that I had laying around. It is actually for my S&W 442 (which was my primary carry piece before this one arrived, poor gal has lost her home and her loving Daddy to this Colt!!). The holster also fits the Colt very well until I can get Alex, Lou, John or one of the other excellent Leather Artisans on here to build me a holster for her. I apologise for the crappy pictures everybody...like our good friend Terry says, "I ain't no picture taker!!" The dark parkerizing was playing hell with the autofocus on my little camera and my lighting wasn't very good to start with...I may try to shoot some more pics and edit the post later.--John

_________________
"There is a true glory and a true honor, the glory of duty done, the honor of integrity and principle."--Gen. Robert Edward Lee

JR, I just keep coming back to look at this little gem - it's really cool.

I had something completely different in mind when I heard "Fitz" treatment on the trigger guard (figured it would be removed vice thinned). Now you've given me some ideas for future projects (barrel crown, ball detent, gold bead front sight, rear sight widened, etc.).

I'm monkeying around with a little Ruger MKIII 22/45 now, so any new revolver projects will have to wait

*edited to add: like you I've ditched Badger walnut stocks I had on my Agent - a little too wide and too smooth for my tastes. I've since installed a set of plain checkered rubber grips and it's now perfect.

Beautiful gun! I didn't realize Dave Sams was working on Colt wheelies. I have an Agent just like this (grips and all!) that could use some trigger work and a bobbed hammer. How is speed loader clearance with your grips? I had to trim mine down to get proper clearance and I was disappointed by that.

-Rob

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No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his well-being, to risk his body, to risk his life, in a great cause. -Theodore Roosevelt

Random....thanks for your comments! Dave does quite a bit of work on wheelguns, but they just aren't his "trademark" like the Berettas he is famous for and 1911's and Hi-powers. He was a pleasure to deal with, pretty quick on the turnaround time, and prices were very acceptable. His action work on revolvers is impressive and with the added ball-detent, the lockup on this agent is probably tighter than Mark W's vault . The speedloaders will work, but it is a tight fit...if I decide to keep these stocks on her they will need a little "fitting", but overall I am not too happy with their fit or feel...VERY slick and almost impossible to get a good grip on. I am considering trying to checker them or add some sort of traction/sandy type epoxy to them, or may just put the original Colt grips back on her.
Tom, as far as the Fitz treatment on the triggerguard. I have always been a student of Rex Applegate, WE Fairbairn, and Eric Sykes and feel that a lot of what they taught and lived still hold a lot of merit. These guys understood combat on a level that not many others have known and I always was fascinated by the big-bore snubbies that they and others like Col. Askins carried (while in the pacific during WWII Col. Askins carried 2 Fitz special New Services! ). I liked the idea of the Fitz type triggerguard to help in accessing the trigger a split second quicker, but could not justify the liability of a completely cut-away triggerguard like the originals (we all know how you sneaky attorneys can be...AHEM), and I remembered an article in one of the gun rags a few years ago about Andy Horvath doing modern recreations of the Fitz guns but with the partial cutout of the guard, so that is the route I took since this gun will be (and is) carried a lot. This whole package is simply incredible to slip in a coat pocket, on the belt or anywhere else I can think of, and with a couple of extra speed-strips gives me a nice and unnoticeable insurance policy that virtually disappears!--John

_________________
"There is a true glory and a true honor, the glory of duty done, the honor of integrity and principle."--Gen. Robert Edward Lee

hi JR , thats a great lil Colt , six shot and its a Colt , hope you feeling better , robbt

Just realized JR had drug me into another line of posts! Them vault doors is heavy and tight!

I have my Dad's 50s era Colt Cobra. It lived in his top desk drawer at the bank until he retired. He kept it stuffed with Remington soft round nosed rounds. I still have the original box of 50 (full) that he purchased along with the revolver. I don't think it's ever had over a hundred rounds put through it, and I probably put 90 of those through it when I was a kid. It was the first center fire handgun I ever shot!

Now I'm thinking maybe I should have it slicked up and tightened up! Might be neat to carry. You know how I have a heck of a time finding anything of quality around my house to carry!

Mark

yep, you should. Dave does great work on them little Colts

hi mark how about a picture of your Cobra and the old ammo box , I'll post mine with a vintage holster if you will ??
robbt

Mark....I had forgotten that I had once again dragged you into a post, but I do like to flush you from cover every now and then!! Hardly EVER see you posting much anymore which is shame, I always enjoy seeing those old "dogs" you have locked away....just because the kiddies are at college doesen't mean you can't entertain the rest of us with a few goodies from time to time!! Break out some of the good eye candy for us and post them revolvers you got hidden, along with some of your famous props!! Take care and watch six--John

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"There is a true glory and a true honor, the glory of duty done, the honor of integrity and principle."--Gen. Robert Edward Lee

I'll try to take some pictures of the Cobra this weekend.

I'm still here almost every day, but I just haven't had the time to post very much. We've acquired a new bank and a huge portion of my time is spent working on that project.

More pictures and props to follow...

howdy , heres two pics of my favorite DS with hammer shroud and my Favorite vintage holster , a Lewis Police Special , Jack Webb had a tan one when he played Joe Friday.