Colt Detective Spl--32NP--32S&W

[SWANEEDB]

Was a happy camper a couple days ago when this little firearm showed up. Do believe it's at least 90o/o or better. Is a 2nd issue 2in, grips in great condition, look new. Barely a mark on cylinder, now to load some ammo and get to the range. No box or papers but can't shoot them anyway. At first sight thought it was a 38, happier with it being a 32.
Cheers, Woof woof Gus an me.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Congratulations! That's a nice acquisition. Have two of the .38s myself. Any photos?

[Green Frog]

SCORE!!! You have found what might be the neatest little Colt revolver made in the 20th Century. I know people get all excited about the Python and Cobra and other late model Colts, but your little Detective Special is in it's own class of cool. Congratulations and let's see pictures and a range report ASAP.

Froggie

[curator]

.32 New Police was the favorite of Teddy Roosevelt when he was Police Commissioner in NYC. most of my "ole-tyme" COP friends in NYC claimed it was about as effective in stopping bad guys as the .41 Remington rim fire, without the smoke. On the other hand it is an accurate, easy to shoot cartridge in a dependable, quality revolver. Keep in mind that NOBODY wants to get shot, especially in the days before penicillin and you get an idea of its real effectiveness. My medical examiner friend once said, "three .32s usually equal one well aimed .38."

[Outpost75]

While on a .32 nostalgia kick, am cross-posting a great article on the Colt .32 New Police through the courtesy of the author:

Tales From The Back Creek Diary
“A .32 Gun In the Pocket For Fun…”
…with apologies to “Big, Bad Leroy Brown” and the late Jim Croce…

184194
Colt’s “Pocket Positive” was manufactured from 1905 until 1945. It is most commonly found with barrel lengths from 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 inches, but a few examples are occasionally seen with barrels as long as 6 inches. The Pocket Positive was the first “drop safe” modern, small frame snubby. In 1905 Colt patented its internal, passive-hammer block, which prevented the hammer-mounted firing pin from contacting a live cartridge unless the trigger was held all the way back. This safety was held to be utterly foolproof or, in other words, “positive.” Thus the trademarks Pocket Positive (round butt) and Police Positive (square butt). The Pocket Positive was a substantial design improvement over earlier (1893) New Pocket (round butt) and (1896) New Police (square butt) revolvers, adopted by the New York City Police Department, on the recommendation of then-police commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt.

The rigors of police service quickly revealed the two major flaws of Colt’s earlier New Pocket and New Police revolvers. If a loaded New Pocket or and New Police were dropped and struck on its hammer, an accidental discharge was likely. Their .32 Short and Long Colt cartridges were loaded with heeled, outside-lubricated bullets, which required chambers be bored straight through, without a ball seat, so that bullets didn’t fit the cylinder throats or bore well, which impaired accuracy. Furthermore, exposed bullet lubricant collected all manner of pocket dirt. Despite these failings Colt’s New Pocket and New Police revolvers were well liked for their compactness and concealability. It was felt a better design for police work than its competitor, the Smith & Wesson First Model .32 Hand Ejector of 1896, because the Colt could be opened with one hand, a feat difficult to master with an S&W Hand Ejector. A selling point was also that the Colt could be had with a 2-1/2-inch barrel, whereas the shortest barrel then catalogued by S&W was 3-1/2 inches.

Colt listened to its police customers and accepted (albeit reluctantly) the reality that inside-lubricated cartridges were more accurate, gave superior ballistics and were cleaner for pocket carry. They chambered the Pocket Positive and Police Positive for the .32 Colt New Police, simply a flat-nosed version of the .32 S&W Long cartridge tagged with the Colt name. The Pocket Positive was discontinued after WW2, being replaced by the Detective Special and Police Positive Special, which offered the .32 Colt New Police chambered in the longer “Special” cylinder, being optimized for the .38 Special and .32-20 Winchester cartridges.
184199 184200
I recently was offered a Colt Pocket Positive with 3-1/2” barrel made in 1920. This was appealing to me because I also have a Colt M1903 .32 ACP Pocket Hammerless Type III made during that same year. The Pocket Positive is a cute little bugger.

Just the ticket if you get charged by one of Jimmy Carter's rabid attack rabbits. Ric Bowman made for me one of the file-trim dies to clip the noses off .32 S&W Long round-nosed rounds, I described in a recently Fouling Shot Q&A responding to our appreciative gentleman reader who contacted us from India. A flat nose of greater than half of bullet diameter makes the otherwise anemic rounds more effective, actually, it makes a BIG difference!

Getting fixed sight revolvers to shoot to point of aim sometimes requires some creativity. In this case the Colt shot about 2” high and left with factory 98-grain lead round-nosed loads of all makes. Revolvers which shoot high either need a higher front sight to correct, or a lighter bullet. Clipping the noses off the factory LRN slugs drops their weight to about 90 grains, which got elevation about right at 50 feet using a 6:00 hold. Not target accuracy, but 2-inch groups or so are "minute of bunny wabbit" considering a tiny gun with crude sights, which is difficult to shoot well, even with a two-handed hold. Correcting windage was done by CAREFULLY bending the front sight to the left, with light hammer whacks, to move the point of impact to the right. It took a couple “whack and shoot” trials to get it about right. Tyler Manufacturing in OK still makes the T-Grip adapter to fit all of the old pre-1940 Colts, which completes the package. So my pocket bunny gun is ready for pest control and small game duty!

In testing the Pocket Positive, its velocities fall almost exactly between my modern 2" Colt Detective Special and 4" Police Positive, both being late 1960s guns chambered in .32 Colt New Police. The advantage of the Pocket Positive is its tiny size, and one pound weight, which is "perfect in the pocket." It is noticeably smaller than a modern S&W J-frame Model 30 or pre-war S&W I frame. I'm not inclined to push loads in it above 120 ft.-lbs. due to its age and metallurgy, and will limit my use f it to "clipped" factory loads or the Accurate 31-090B, 90-grain flat-nose with 2.0 to 2.2 grains of Bullseye. Even the mild factory .32 loads are more effective on small game than any rimfire, and they have lower noise, penetrate better, AND you can eat right up to the bullet hole! The flatnose bullet mod is icing on the cake! Or cast your own from one many suitable designs from Accurate Molds!

184196184197184198

[rintinglen]

I am envious. That is a sweet little pistol. I have six small frame Colts, a Cobra (New Model) a DS, an agent,a 38 Spl PP, a 32-20 PP and a DSII. The Oldest is the 38 PP, the newest is the DSII. A 32 New Police to round out the bunch would be sweet.

[SWANEEDB]

OK, You asked for a picture, well here tis. Is dark but is what it is.

[EMC45]

Pretty little snub!

[Outpost75]

While showing Colt .32 porn here are some more:

184221184222