Colt Country | Home of The Almighty Colt

Did the 1911 see active duty?

I'm pretty sure it did. I got a nice web belt and leather holster with it and the holster looks pretty old.

I have an 1890 and a 1906.  The 1890 is a basket case I will eventually rebuild.  The 1906 is a fun rifle to shoot but the stock is too short for me.  It may get a longer one at some point.

That 1890 I show is also a basket case. Oh, it functions fine, but the barrel is pretty much shot out. It won't group worth a darn compared to the little '06.

There is actually a funny story attached to my Dad's old Model '06. One day when I was around 15 years old or so I found a box in the basement that I had never seen before. I reached in and pulled out the little '06. I went upstairs and asked my Dad, 'What is this?'. He said, 'Well, I guess that's yours now.'

Unbeknownst to him I set up a little shooting range in the basement. I took a little wooden box, filled it with sand, and found a piece of plate steel someplace. I rigged up the piece of steel at a 45 degree angle over the box to act as a bullet stop. Then I rode my bicycle up to a local sporting good store and bought some 22 Shorts.

So when nobody was home I would take the little rifle down to the basement and shoot it. It was pretty quiet with the 22 shorts. I doubt if I used any ear protection.

My neighbor across the street heard about my new Winchester and called me over to his house. He showed me a beautiful Model 1890 mounted on a wooden rack. A few days later the neighbor called me over again and handed me a beautiful walnut rack just like his that he had made for my rifle. I kept my little '06 mounted in my bedroom until I went away to college.

So, the funny story is, my Dad had expressed to his Dad that he would like a 22 target rifle. My grandfather knew nothing about firearms, but he worked in Manhattan, and there was a huge Abercrombie and Fitch store on Madison Avenue. This was long before Abercrombie and Fitch became the yuppie clothing chain it is today. Abercrombie and Fitch was a huge sporting goods store. They occupied all 12 floors of the building on Madison Avenue and there was an entire floor devoted to firearms. There was even a shooting range in the basement.

Anyway, my grandfather came home that day with the little Model '06. But it wasn't what my Dad really wanted, he wanted a target rifle, and the '06 was a little gallery gun. I don't think he ever had the heart to tell his Dad that he didn't really like the rifle.

Yes, the '06 is really a boy's rifle, the stock is very short. Turns out my Dad had set up a little shooting range in his basement when he was a kid pretty much like I did. I don't think my grandmother much appreciated it though. My Dad had thoroughly greased up the rifle before he put it in storage, so after I degreased it it shot great. There isn't a whole lot of blue left on it, but the bore still looks like it just left the factory and it can shoot rings around that 1890.

Howdy

Here are a few old Winchesters.

Winchester Model 1873, made in 1887. Chambered for 38-40.





Winchester Model 1892 rifle at top, made in 1894. Refinished so it was quite reasonable to buy.
Winchester Model 1892 Saddle Ring Carbine at the bottom, made around 1916.
Both are chambered for 44-40.





Winchester Model 1894, made around 1941 if I recall correctly. Chambered for 30-30.




A couple of gallery Rifles.

Winchester Model 1890 at top, made around 1908. Chambered for 22 Long.
The bottom rifle is my Dad's old Winchester Model 1906, that his Dad bought for him in Abercrombie and Fitch in New York City in the early 1930s. This model feeds 22 Shorts, 22 Longs, and 22 Long Rifle interchangeably and it is still a tack driver.





Here is a photo of my Dad as a young man shooting the little Model '06 in Maine around 1931.





Just for fun, here is a photo of the Model 1873 with a Bisley Colt that was made in 1909. The Colt is also chambered for 38-40.

Howdy

I bought this old Marlin way back in the 1970s sometime. It was made the second year of production, 1895. I happened into a local shop and came across it and bought it pretty much as a lark. It is chambered for 44-40, which I had never even heard of at the time. The shop had one box of Remington 44-40 ammo, I still have a few rounds left in that box. Many years later I took it to the first CAS match I ever attended. Fired one shot and it jammed up tight. I had to have help unloading it and used a borrowed rifle for the rest of the match. I took it to a smith and he discovered that the hook on the lever that pulls the block down was completely worn out. He welded a bit more metal on and got it functioning again. However by that time I had bought a Winchester Model 1892 so the old Marlin pretty much gathered dust. I did have Happy Trails do a little bit of work to it, lightening the hammer spring among other things. I took it to a few matches, shooting my Black Powder loads out of it, but it doesn't get shot a whole lot these days.

I should probably bring it to a few matches this year.







Here is a view of the hook that needed a bit of metal added.





The front sight is interesting. I seem to recall it is a Lyman sight, and it has a tiny ivoroid bead set in it.





Somewhere I thought I had a photo of the caliber call out, but I don't seem to be able to find it. It says 44W. Not 44 WCF and not 44-40., just 44W. Anyway, here is a shot of the patent dates. You can see how much wear there is on this old rifle.




Here is the tang with the model number.





Question to the moderators:

My photos of the rifle are bigger than they are showing up here. How do I get them to show up bigger?

Do you shoot them?

Well, the Army Special and the Police Positive Special are just about pristine, so I probably won't be shooting them much.

I just had some work done on the New Service. Action job, lighter main spring, and opening up the chamber throats. It is not quite so pristine, so I probably will shoot it a bit more.

It shoots beautifully, it is my CAS Main Match rifle. You cannot buy one chambered for 357 Mag, they only come chambered for 44-40 or 45 Colt. Mine is 44-40 and I only shoot it with Black Powder.

Howdy Again

I bought this 38-40 Bisley Colt at auction a few months ago. Made in 1909. It was pretty far back in the catalog and a lot of bidders had gone home, so I did not have to fight very hard to win it. The finish is almost completely gone, from the barrel and ejector rod, and the colors are almost all gone from the frame. There is still plenty of blue on the grip frame. The ejector rod handle is slightly bent, and the cylinder pin is a little bit chewed up. The bore is pitted, but the rifling is strong. The chambers look like the gun just left the factory yesterday. All the Serial Numbers match, and the hard rubber grips are scratch numbered to the gun.







The words Bisley Model are almost worn off the barrel, but the caliber is still easily read.





It has the Verified Proof mark for Smokeless Powder (VP in a triangle on the trigger guard) but I only plan to shoot it with Black Powder.




First thing I did when I got it home was to completely take it apart, clean all the old oil and powder residue out with solvent, then lube it up with Ballistol before buttoning it up. I took a photo while I had it all apart.





The hammer spring is quite stiff, I need to either grind it down a bit or buy a modern replacement spring and see if that will fit. It has a bit of endshake, but I should be able to clear that up with some Power Custom cylinder bushing shims. The lockup is as tight as the day it left Hartford.

Did not get a chance to actually shoot it until a CAS match a couple of weeks ago. I shot three stages with it, putting five rounds through it at each stage. I just didn't have enough BP 38-40 ammo loaded up to do anymore shooting with it. Gotta load up some more 38-40 so I can put it on paper and see how well it actually groups.