Colt OP, Lady Rossi, Beretta 1934, E.G.Makarov, Glock 29

[Dutchman]

Did some down and dirty handgun shooting at 50 feet to compare:
1- Colt Official Police .38 S&W Special mfg in 1929. Former armored car guard's gun and has severe holster rash on both sides of barrel to prove it.

2- Lady Rossi, 2" snubbie, .38 S&W Special, polished stainless steel, 5 shot. I bought this new and carried it when I lived in a free state and had a CCW. When it's been fired 40-50 rds the front face of the cylinder gets carboned up and jams the cylinder. The barrel-cylinder gap is extremely tight. I need to file the rear of the barrel to increase the gap so it doesn't jam up. Other than that it's a perfectly ok little dude for a belly gun.

3- Beretta m/1934 Romanian contract 1942. Gun is in excellent condition. 9x17mm Scurt (Short/Corto/Kurz/Browning Short). I really like this gun. It has class and charisma. It shoots nice and handles nice. I have carried this clandestinely (legally). The safety requires a nearly 180 degree sweep but with some practice it's easy to get down. As a single action it can also be carried with the hammer down on the safety notch.

4- East German Makarov 9x18mm. Mfg in 1963. This came from AIM in Ohio and cost a whopping $120. I have some nice goodies that keep it company like a complete armorer's spare parts set, black leather police holster, military rain pattern holster and 900 rds of East German FMJ ammo. This is another one that I really like. I especially really like it because it cost only $120. If it cost $300 I might think otherwise.

5- Glock 29 10mm. This is my son-in-law's and I shot it 10 rds today. He just got it. I don't like Glocks but it's ok if you like this sort of thing.

I'm a Smith & Wesson man but I know this army general who collects Cults and he did some juju on me and I ended up with 2 of his culls. The New Service .45 Cult is now sold and helped pay for my milling machine. This Official Police is a holster gun. It's not a collectible. The action is ok but the cylinder is quite loose. I intend on 'smithing it down the road and may turn, thread and install a new McGowen "liquid honed" heavy barrel blank. The Pachmayr Presentation grips were on it when I bought it (cheap!). My primary .357 magnum is a S&W 686-2 6".

[Dutchman]

PMC 130 gr FMJ factory. Both the Colt and Rossi shot to point-of-aim at 50 feet. I held a 6 o'clock hold on the black.



Some very old Remington factory 148 gr wadcutter ammo. Probably 25 yrs old.



Handloads dated 1988. 358156 no gas check, 5 grs Unique. Shot pretty good.



The Rossi shot best with the old handloads. Point-of-aim.

[Dutchman]

The Beretta with Sellor & Belliot 92 gr FMJ. Actually not bad for a pocket gun at 50 feet.



My handloads look like they're tumbling but I'm not 100% sure yet. Tumbling isn't necessarily a bad thing in a pocket gun. Impact is a double whammy up close.



9 shots in the Mak.

[healey55]

my makarovs (three of em) all shoot at least 10" high at 25 yards.

[Dutchman]

This came up in a google search... ten years ago!!

Dutch

[smkummer]

I am a colt collector. My first fixed sighted (25 years ago) colt duty gun was an Army special 5” nickel with the agency marking ground off the backstrap made in 1925. $200 Colt that shot like yours if not better. Nothing really prevents these from shooting like a python.
If your cylinder is loose on a colt, somewhere in its 90 year history it was probably dropped and got slightly bent. It’s a simple fix to tap the rear of the cylinder the proper direction outside the frame to tighten it up.