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Colt 1903 Pistol....Bought At Sears?

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    Colt 1903 Pistol....Bought At Sears?

    Brought back from Germany by a returning GI......

    The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless is .32 ACP caliber, self-loading, semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and built by Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut.

    These pistols were popular civilian firearms for much of their life, and also served as United States General Officer pistols from the 1940s until their replacement by the M15 General Officers pistol in the 1970s.

    The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) issued the Model 1903 to its officers during World War Two.

    Many gangsters of the pre-World War Two era favored the Model 1903 because it was relatively small and easily concealed. It is said that Al Capone kept one in his coat pocket and Bonnie Parker used one to break Clyde Barrow out of jail after smuggling it into the jail by taping it to her thigh.

    After WW2 Veteran acquiring this Colt 1903 Pistol, found an ad for it in a copy of a 1918 Sears, Roebuck Catalog.

    Would have cost $16.50 back then!

    ...............
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    Last edited by RonR; 09-14-2010, 11:54 AM.
    RonR

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      #3
      And the pistol.........

      ...........
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            #6
            Ron, $16.50 may have been 2 weeks or a month's apt. rent...which would extrapolate to $750-1000 today?

            It's all relative.
            These are one of the finest pistols ever made....
            Jerry Burney

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              78
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                910
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                  1111a
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                            #14
                            Ron,

                            I'm a huge fan of these pistols. My father used to carry one as his self defense gun in the 70s and since then I really enjoy them. Yours is a Type I variant, with barrel bushing and longer barrel (4 in.). After serial number 72,000, in 1909, the bushing was abolished and the barrel shortened to 3 3/4 in.

                            According to www.coltautos.com your 1903 was made in 1907.

                            Douglas.

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                              #15
                              I am a fan of these as well and,like most J Browning designs, these have stood the test of time. I have a half dozen of them and still enjoy an occasionial trip to the range with one. The nice thing about them is hardly anything ever goes wrong with them and they could still serve as a reliable carry gun if need be.
                              BTW: John Dillinger was packing a 1908(same gun but in 380acp) the night he was gunned down by the FBI outside the Biograph Theater in Chicago.
                              Jim

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