Colt Detective Special

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Great To See A Detective Special Reviewed

October 12, 2015 by

Colt hasn’t been making the Detective Special since the latter part of the 1990s. Still there are a lot of old ones hanging around. Heck, one is even in my gun safe.

Hickok45 did a review of an earlier edition Detective Special in .32 Colt NP that was published today. He did a good job on it. He is absolutely correct about the Colt trigger and stacking. It really does stack when shooting it double-action.

You have to wonder how much it would cost to make one of these revolvers nowadays. Probably too much to be economically viable.

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Ruger LCRx

December 19, 2013 by 1 Comment

You know that the SHOT Show is less than a month away as we are starting to see more and more announcements regarding new firearms. Ruger announced their LCRx yesterday. It is an external hammer version of their polymer, steel, and aluminum LCR revolver. The external trigger allows the revolver to be shot single-action as well as double-action. The LCRx is only available currently in .38 Special +P.

Finish: Matte Black, Synergistic Hard Coat Grip: Hogue® Tamer™ Monogrip®
Front Sight: Replaceable, Pinned Ramp Rear Sight: U-Notch Integral
Barrel Material: Stainless Steel Cylinder Finish: Ionbond Diamondblack™
Barrel Length: 1.875″ Overall Length: 6.50″
Height: 4.50″ Width: 1.28″
Weight: 13.50 oz. Capacity: 5
Twist: 1:16″ RH Grooves: 6
MA Approved & Certified: No CA Approved: No
Suggested Retail: $529.00

Other than the external hammer which allows the LCRx to be used single-action, it is identical in size and weight to the original LCR.

Michael Bane made the observation yesterday that he thought this year’s SHOT Show will be evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Looking at the Ruger LCRx, I’d say this is on the mark.

Now if someone asked me what I’d like to see introduced or reintroduced, it would be the Colt Detective Special with an enhanced trigger and in .38 Special +P. I like the idea of an extra round in a small package. However, I’d settle for revolversmith Grant Cunningham opening up his waiting list so I could send him my Detective Special for tuning.

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Going Old School

September 6, 2011 by 4 Comments

For the longest time I have been searching for a Colt Detective Special at a reasonable price. I finally found one and picked it up this weekend in a private sale. It is a Model D1425 or 4th Issue Detective Special. These were only made between 1993 and 1995. The 4th Issue featured a shrouded ejector rod, 2 inch barrel, composition grips with a gold Colt medallion, blued finish, and a steel frame.

Unlike most .38 Special snubbies, the Detective Special is a 6-shot revolver. Size-wise, the Detective Special weighs in at 21 oz. and is just a hair larger than the Smith and Wesson J-frame. The manual says that you can fire +P loads in it but should have it inspected by a qualified gunsmith after 2-3,000 rounds of +P ammo.

I especially was on the lookout for this variation of the Detective Special as I had been told by revolversmith Grant Cunningham that these had the best internals that he had seen.

One of the nice touches that Colt included was a letter from the President of Colt’s Manufacturing thanking the buyer for purchasing a Colt.

Now I need to find a good holster for this revolver which is easier said than done since it hasn’t been made in over 15 years. Also, I’d like to have some trigger work done on it to reduce the stacking or increase of pull weight toward the end of the trigger’s travel. That said, I am a very happy buyer and look forward to using this revolver for many years to come as a carry gun.