Colt Positive Police .32

[Battis]

I was looking at a Colt Positive Police .32. It's in great shape and it's under $300. I had a Colt Official Police .38 that I traded for a S&W Airweight .38 that I kinda wish I kept.
Any thoughts on the Colt .32? (pros, cons, price, ammo, etc). It's a nice looking gun.

[Walkingwolf]

Good price these days if it is in good shape.

[Outpost75]

Great price! Grab it!

[Nueces]

I'd jump on a nice one at that price and I already have 8 Colt 32s.

[smkummer]

Be careful that its not the old chambering in 32 Colt. If its 32 Colt NP (new police) your good as its the same as the still produced 32 S&W long.

[Guesser]

skimmer hit the problem right on the head. 32 Colt ammunition, Long & Short is no longer in production. 32 Police or 32 New police is 32 S&W, Long and standard. Think hard and be sure. I own and shoot both, as I'm set up to cast and load for both. good guns, but obsolete ammo makes them wall hangers.

[Battis]

The online description says 32 Colt, but I'm pretty sure the salesman told me it was .32 S&W. I just called and put the gun on hold for a week. The salesman I spoke to thinks it is 32 Colt. Can .32 Colt brass be formed from other brass?

This might be my answer:
http://www.starlinebrass.com/articles/32-Revolvers/

[Green Frog]

If it's relatively late, it's probably a 32 NP (=32 S&W Long) and even if it isn't I'd be tempted to buy it anyway and have the chambers reamed to S&W specs... a quick pass with a finish reamer in each one should do it. If I remember my Colts correctly, it should be between the J- & K- frame S&W in size... a good size for hand loads in that caliber. I'd probably grab it since I have an identified weakness for tha caliber.

Froggie

[54bore]

I owned a NIB unfired Colt official police .38, box, papers and all, i sold it to a collector as im not a collector of firearms, rather a shooter. I kinda wish i had kept this one tho!

[Battis]

I didn't write down the serial number, and they removed the listing from their site when I put it on hold, but I'm pretty sure the serial number was in the 83,000 range which would date it to around 1910. I'll go back today and check it out.
If it's stamped 38 Colt on the barrel I don't think I'll get it. I do have an old box of 32 auto ammo that, from what I've read, might have enough of a rim to use. The listing said the condition was 82% - it's in great shape but I want to shoot it.
Reaming it to 38 S&W is a good idea but trying to find someone around here to do it might be a problem.

[Outpost75]

If it is .32 Long Colt you don't want to try shooting .32 ACP out of it, as barrel bore and groove are much smaller and will run up pressure. Frankly, if a .32 Long Colt and not .32 Colt New Police, I would let it pass, as obsolete brass is much harder to find. With the older pre-WW2 Colt .32 revolvers do not exceed 2.5 grains of Bullseye with an 87-90-grain bullet, 2.2 grains with 95-98-grain bullet or 2.0 grains with 100-105-grain bullet if you want the gun to last.

RCBS 32-090CM is good bullet for these.

[Guesser]

A point of reference......I own, load for and shoot 2 Colts in 32 Colt. A Pocket Positive from 1907 and a Police Positive from 1910. Colt did not build any guns in 32 Colt after World War One, 1918. I have Police Positives and Police Positive Specials chambered for 32 Police and 32 New Police, 32 S&W. I slugged the bore on all the Colt 32's in my stable. They all slug and measure .311-.312. That's all of them, 32 Colt included. I size all my cast bullets to .313. The 2 older in 32 Colt get a heel style bullet that is also sized .313. I have sometimes wondered about having the chambers reamed to accept 32 S&W Long. Pressure ratings are the same but I won't do it as long as my stock of 32 Colt, Long & Short, cases holds out. I'll continue loading and shooting. The reason to "NOT" shoot 32 ACP in any of the older 32's is the 32 ACP is loaded to substantially higher pressures than any of the 32 revolver rounds.

[Thin Man]

32 Long (and short) Colt ammo can be crafted from 25-20 SINGLE SHOT (not Winchester) cases, now selling at $1.50 and up per case. These are the only donor cases I remember being able to convert to the Colt caliber. Dies for the Colt caliber appear sparingly on the auction sites. Heel type "outside lubricated" boolits run .313" diameter, and boolits that seat completely inside the case will go .299". Molds are available from specialty vendors, and Accurate Molds comes to mind as a source for these. Lots of expense for the joy of occasional firing these revolvers if you really wanted to do this.

Thin Man

[Outpost75]

IF, the barrel bore and groove dimensions are the same for .32 Long Colt as for .32 Colt New Police, it is practical to fit another cylinder, as they are easy to find. I would not attemp this if barrel groove diameter is tighter than. 308". I have rebarrelled .32 revolvers with pieces of .30 cal. rifle barrel with good results if forcing cone was cut at shallower 11-degree angle and soft bullets used with standard pressure loads.

[Guesser]

CH4D makes 32 Colt dies. Buffalo Arms carry custom moulds

[rintinglen]

It is possible to make 32 S&W Long Brass into 32 Colt, but you will have to make or have made a special die. What I did was drill a 5/16ths hole in a piece of scrap boiler plate and polish it until it was .318 in diameter. I would lube and run my 32 S&W long brass into the RCBS 32 Colt Sizer that I had, then run it into the crimper die, then drive the lubed,empty brass with a mallet into my hole until the head touched the face of the boiler plate, then I would turn over the plate and knock the case out with a punch made from a large nail. Very time consuming, and then I was faced with the problem of finding boolits to reload the smaller diameter brass. I did eventually cobble together a couple dozen rounds, but it was way more work than it was fun.
If the gun in question is in fact a 32 Colt and Not a 32 Colt New Police, I would not buy it as a shooter.

[Battis]

I went back to the store and bought the Colt. It is stamped "Colt New Police 32" on the left and "Police Positive" on the right of the 4" barrel. It's in great shape for its age, with some slight holster wear but no pitting. The bore is really good. I think the grips are original hard rubber. I don't think it's been reblued but who knows...
I rechecked the number on the Colt serial number site, and it's listed as:
1908
POLICE POSITIVE .32 & POLICE POSITIVE TARGET

Thanks for the tips.




184024

[Outpost75]

Absolutely lovely! Tyler Manufacturing can make to order for you a T-grip adapter to fit the old prewar frame.

[Battis]

The funny thing is that my wife really likes this gun. It's light and fits her hand well. I (we) have a Smith and Wesson .38 Airweight that is kinda nasty to shoot. This Colt should be fun.

[Nueces]

If you'd prefer the black Pachmayr grip adapter, the size you want is '1'.

These are long out of production, but do show up on the auction sites. Size 1 is not one of the hot ones.

[Battis]

I know I'll need a sizing die at least, but I'm wondering if my Winchester Self Loader .32 dies and .32-20 dies might be useful.

[Outpost75]

.32 ACP dies will work with a .223 Rem. shell holder.

[Guesser]

You have a "transition" gun. Colt started the "positive safety" in 1905 and that's what the "positive" means, it is a hammer block in case of being dropped. Your gun maked New Police and Police Positive make it a combination of old and new; circa 1905-1908. I have one marked New Pocket and Pocket Positive from 1907. They are great little guns in 32 Colt or 32 Police.

[Battis]

It's interesting to see where Colt put the serial numbers compared to where Smith and Wesson put them. The Colt serial numbers aren't on the butt of the frame but on the yoke (and inside the grip); the S&W numbers on the yoke are the assembly numbers, and their serial numbers are on the frame butt and underside of the barrel.
I only mention this because I bought a M1917 S&W .45 that was missing the lanyard loop and the serial number on the butt. I spoke with a few ATF agents about the missing number and they said that usually it's the S&Ws that have these problems because of where they stamped the numbers.
I wrote to the ATF tech office with that revolver's info and now I'm waiting for their response (it takes at least 3 months) concerning the missing serial number. Just want to cover myself...

[Guesser]

Up until 1907 Colt put their SN on the butt on most of their guns. The SAA, Bisley, New Army/Navy all had the SN on the butt. Only the small frame guns were numbered inside; the SN is also on the inside of the side plate on Colt DA revolvers.

[Texas by God]

I had one just like yours; it was a delight to shoot. A rancher in Almont, Colorado offered double what I paid after shooting one cylinder full of my .32 S&W Long reloads. I'd bet he still has it.

[smokeywolf]

I've seen a 4" 38 spl barrel and 38 spl cylinder on a 32 PP frame.

[Battis]

I bought brass online (the "little guys" will still ship brass to MA), Lee dies and a Lee .311" 93 gr mold. When the weather warmed last week I cast a bunch of bullets, lubed them overnight, loaded them up (2 grs BullsEye) and headed to the range. The bullets measured .311" but only weighed about 87 grs. Anyways, the bore measures about .314" but the undersized bullets still shot well (for me). The next day I Beagled the mold and came up with a batch of .315" bullets that I'll try this week.
Great gun. I don't like to call it little, even though it's small. It has a pretty good bark.

[Texas by God]

I've seen a 4" 38 spl barrel and 38 spl cylinder on a 32 PP frame.

The Police Positive Special was in .38 special. I had one that was cut to 2" and the sight reinstalled. It had Fitz imitation stag grips. "Shooter grade" it was and it was a shooter. A biker gave me a 5" M&P S&W for it and we were both happy.

[smokeywolf]

The Police Positive Special was in .38 special. I had one that was cut to 2" and the sight reinstalled. It had Fitz imitation stag grips. "Shooter grade" it was and it was a shooter. A biker gave me a 5" M&P S&W for it and we were both happy.

This one has bird's eye maple grips. Very light weight. Was built by a gunsmith for his wife.

[Tom W.]

Mine has what I believe is " Coltwood" and does not have an emblem on either side. The ones I googled didn't have the emblems either.

[Texas by God]

The Detective Special and Diamondback and many others were built on the Police Positive frame.