Us Armament Corp 1903 Hammerless 32 Acp Review

The Filly 1903 pistol. (Photograph: David LaPell)

No ane today gives any thought to the number of small pistols because so many options are available, but at one time the variety was non and then plentiful. But it was one pistol in particular that got the ball rolling for the pocket gun craze, and it's been rolling on always since, the Filly Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless.

If you wanted to buy a handgun at the plow of the century that was small-scale and concealable, you options were pretty limited. Most of the choices were revolvers, the venerable 1911 was not even a blue impress, and semi automated pistols were in their infancy. John Browning, still, had designed a new semi-automobile pistol around the fairly new .32 ACP cartridge.

The new gun was dubbed the Filly Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless, or behind closed doors at the plant, the Hammerless Model M. Although the name was misleading, the gun did have a hammer, only information technology was concealed inside the slide. This gave the 1903 Colt the ability to be carried in a pocket without worrying about it getting snagged. Offered in blue or a nickel cease, the first Colt 1903's came with hard prophylactic grips and afterwards wore forest grips with a Colt medallion.

The early on Colt 1903 had a 4-inch barrel, then afterward a three.75 inch barrel and they had diverse barrel bushings throughout their production, the primeval beingness separate and so later integral. Overall the pistol was 6.75 inches long, 4.375 inches tall and just a scant 7/8 of an inch in width. Compare the Colt 1903 with the Glock 43 which is six.25 inches long, 4.25 inches tall and 1 inch broad and the Glock 43 was designed for curtained carry in every mode shape and form.

While the .32 ACP is no powerhouse by today's standards, you have to remember that none of the cartridges we have for granted today were available. The 9mm was only first existence experimented with in Europe, the .45 ACP wouldn't be seen until 1905 and the but .40-caliber rounds at the time were in revolvers. The .32 ACP had a 71 grain FMJ that was listed as having a cage velocity of 900 fps and the Filly 1903 had a magazine capacity of eight rounds, giving y'all a total of nine with one in the chamber. The magazine release was a heel style, which was typical of the mean solar day, especially in Europe. Like many of John Browning'southward other designs, the Colt 1903 proved to be well ahead of its fourth dimension. It not but had a pollex rubber, just a grip rubber as well, something that would be popular on other Colt pistols.

The Colt 1903 pistol serialized #501315. (Photo: David LaPell)

The pistol became an instant hit with anyone who felt the need to carry a gun, from cop to crook alike. They became an issued handgun to several police agencies in diverse parts of the country. Soon there was clamor for a more powerful version, so Colt created the 1908 Pocket Hammerless (non to be dislocated with the 1908 Belong Pocket), which was substantially the same gun simply in the new .380 ACP.

The Colt 1903 though was withal popular for decades even subsequently the 1908 fabricated its debut and during the product run the 1903 was past far a much more than popular. There were more than than 770,000 of both models produced, but only 138,000 of those were Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless pistols.

The 1903 found a dwelling house in diverse parts of the world. The British bought several for use in Ireland in 1921. Japanese officers preferred them to their own event handguns. The British again received more 1903'south prior to World State of war II as part of the Lend-Charter plan.

In improver to other governments, both the 1903 and the 1908 Pocket Hammerless models plant their way into the U.s.a. Armed services. Known every bit the General Officers Model pistol, they were issued to those officers who were carrying a sidearm, but didn't demand the heft and weight on a 1911 Colt. There were 4,000 issued and of those, ii,500 were 1903 versions. These guns were parkerized only a small few were blued and had the U.s. Property markings on the right side of the frame. Some more famous names carried the 1903, including General Douglas MacArthur for a time. The Office of Strategic Services also preferred to result the 1903 over the 1908. The General Officers Model was issued until the 1970's before finally existence phased out.

The Colt 1903 pistol holds viii rounds in the mag. (Photo: David LaPell)

For those out there who have a hankering for these guns but for some reason don't want an "quondam" gun, Colt is now offering the 1903 Pocket Hammerless once again. Colt has teamed up with the U.South. Armament Corporation and is producing the 1903 Full general Officers Model which looks identical to the same gun that was made fifty years ago. It is chambered in .32 ACP and has a MSRP of $1,350, a price point that might scare off the average shooter.

I have always had a deep admiration for the Colt 1903, and recently I was offered a chance at one with an interesting family history. It has a well worn nickel finish, and was in the aforementioned family for manifestly its entire life until the original owner passed abroad so got traded around until someone finally got sick of storing information technology and didn't want guns in the business firm. The series number puts information technology as being produced in 1930 and even though the finish was pretty much gone, the gun is perfectly functional except for the need of a new recoil spring which I acquired from Wolff.

I took the sometime Filly out to the range with the only .32 armament I could fifty-fifty scrounge up locally, and that was a box of Aguila 71 grain FMJ. The advertised velocity of these is listed at 905 fps with a muzzle energy of 129 ft lbs, hardly a barn burner today but in 1903 was well respected.

I showtime tried the Colt 1903 at 7 yards and the piffling pistol grouped very well considering how pocket-size the sights were. The recoil is almost non-existent and it'southward quite easy to encounter why the footling Filly was and so popular. The gun balances perfectly and fits the hand well.

The Colt 1903 pistol not bad at seven yards. (Photo: David LaPell)

For those who take shot the 1911 before, you can see where John Browning perfected that grip bending from when yous hold the 1903 Pocket Hammerless. I shot l rounds at various targets and every unmarried one went off without a hitch, no feeding bug, not a unmarried hiccup, certainly not a bad outing for a gun that is coming up on 90 years old after a couple more winters. While it is certainly not what I would choose to carry concealed in this day and age, I would not at all experience every bit though I needed something more if I slipped this trivial Colt into a pocket holster, which I have done once or twice for just a quick trip. I am non certain how well hollowpoints would feed in the 1903 Colt since the gun was not made for them.

The Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless was an innovative handgun that was alee of its time when John Browning designed it well over a century agone, it started the tendency of small frame concealable handguns that could be carried reliably and safely, and no matter where the trend goes, we all know where to wait back to see where information technology began.

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Source: https://www.guns.com/news/review/gun-review-the-colt-model-1903-pocket-hammerless

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