Virgil Caldwell writes . . .
This is a beautiful, tight, smooth Colt Army Special from 1908. The problem is, when I found it in the pawn shop someone had sawed the barrel off to three inches and they hadn’t fitted it with any type of front sight.
The job was very nice, even the re-crown was well done. But the pistol was ruined for any type of collector value and, truth be told, shooter value as well.
I love old Colts and paid too much for this piece. It would have been horribly expensive to re-barrel the pistol or fit a dovetail sight to the barrel so a hole was drilled and a shotgun bead installed.
Now it’s a Colt snake gun but not in the usual sense of a Python, Cobra, or Diamondback. This is a .41 frame gun, but it rides nicely in the back pocket. The Speer shot shells are deadly on reptiles and even rodents at a few feet.
Please don’t lecture me on beneficial aspect of snakes. My wife is deathly afraid of them and the few I shoot every year wont hurt their numbers. The first two shots are shot shells. Next come Federal 148 grain wadcutters. They hit about three inches above the point of aim and they sure flatten anything they hit.
Just an old gun, and old gunner. There isn’t a scratch on this gun and it’s seeing plenty of regular use.
[This post is part of our series, What I’m Carrying Now. If you’d like to submit a photo and description of the gun, holster and gear you’re carrying in the new world in which we live, send it to us at thetruthaboutguns@gmail.com with WICN in the subject field.]