

- Colt agent 38 special serial number lookup serial numbers#
- Colt agent 38 special serial number lookup install#
Released in as the Colt Army Specialthe revolver was renamed the "Colt's Official Police" in in order to better market to law enforcement agencies. Since parts were so difficult to get, it was common for barrels from other models to be used as replacements.The Colt Official Police is a medium frame, double-action revolver with a six- round cylinderprimarily chambered for the. Years ago gun parts were terribly expensive and often almost impossible to obtain.Ī gun owner or even gunsmith couldn't just log on or call up a big parts house and order the parts he needed.
Colt agent 38 special serial number lookup serial numbers#
Since the frame had no identifying name and often shared serial numbers with a totally different model, identifying what Colt model you have can be almost impossible in some cases.
Colt agent 38 special serial number lookup install#
Most Colt revolvers had the same thread size and it was often possible to install a barrel from a totally different model on a frame. The problem with identifying a Colt is that Colt only stamped the model name on the barrel.

Since these guns shared the same serial number ranges, it can be quite confusing as to just what you have. When he attempts to determine when his Colt was made, it comes back as a totally different model than what is stamped on the barrel. What he has is an aluminum frame Cobra someone installed a Detective Special barrel on. Since many of these guns used the exact same barrel except for the model name stamped on it, we have situations where an owner is convinced he has a rare, unknown model of aluminum frame Detective Special. As example in the late 's Colt started combining all small "D" frame models like the Detective Special, Cobra, Agent, Diamondback, Viper, Police Positive Special, etc in the same serial number ranges.īecause of Colt's serial number systems it may not be possible to identify what model a Colt is based on just the number. As example you may have a model of revolver made in.Įven after Colt began using unique serial numbers in the 's, Colt often combined a number of models into one serial number range. During the mid's the serial number data is so mixed as to be almost incomprehensible. Colt often mixed several models in the same serial number ranges or split models out by caliber. An added issue is Colt's often confusing serial number system. To comply with the law, Colt began adding letters to the serial numbers as prefixes and suffixes to make each firearm have a unique number. This law mandated that from then on all new firearms had to have a serial number and that number had to be unique. Since all Colt's started off at number "1" it's possible to have a number of older Colt firearms all with the same serial number.

The second question is often "What Colt do I have"? Date Made & Model Infoįirst, identifying a Colt revolver can be frustrating because beginning in Colt always started each new model at serial number "1", and progressed upward until the model was discontinued, OR until the mid's when the serial number system changed to meet Federal law. A common first question for a Colt owner is "When was my Colt made".
