[muddyboot]

My good luck with recent Colt letters continued with the letter for this 4" Army
Special which lettered to The Fargo PD. Interesting they went with the .41 Colt over
the .38 special.

 

[Oyeboten]

How neat!

Jan'y 1928 was already 'Official Police' incarnation, but probably, .41 and .32-20 Army Specials were still on the Colt Storeroom Racks for a while?

 

[johnh]

Wonder why it has those early grips, the letter says wood.

 

[ussmanlovede36]

yet another nice colt you have. I wish the ammo makers still made 41 colt. I think it's a neat cartridge. I always wished colt would have brought out a revolver chambered in a 41 special to replace their 41 colt. a colt saa in 41 special or a double action in 41 special. I would be a buyer.

 

[smkummer]

I believe this adds fuel to the fire to the discussion about the Official Police being chambered in 41 Colt. While Colt initially advertised the Official Police in 41, I am speculating they probably had a supply of Army Special barrels available for years after the adoption of the Official Police that they simply used for the very few who wanted a 41 until they ran out. It didn't help that a year later after this gun was shipped, the stock market crashed with ensuing depression , followed by a work force strike and then a flood. Events such as those would cause any company to run lean and not waste anything. It would be interesting to see a 41 army special/official police box that was made after 1925/26 to see how it was marked.

 

[up196]

Muddy, nice find.

Two questions, to expand on smkummer's note above:

1. What is the last patent date on the barrel, 1905 or 1926?

2. Is the topstrap rounded (Army Special style) or flattened and serrated (Official Police style)?

 

[johnh]

Are the grips numbered to the gun? The letter says wood.

 

[muddyboot]

Muddy, nice find.

Two questions, to expand on smkummer's note above:

1. What is the last patent date on the barrel, 1905 or 1926?

2. Is the topstrap rounded (Army Special style) or flattened and serrated (Official Police style)?

1.The last patent date is 1905

2.The topstrap is rounded

3. The grips are not numbered to the gun, they are in the 305000 range, so they must be replacements.

 

[rusty37874]

Muddy, Check the bottom of your boots, I think you stepped into something recently------You have gotten some really desirable letter's back.

Mine are usually from a shipment of 50 to Simmons Hardware

 

[muddyboot]

Not all the letters came back interesting , the third letter was more mundane.

 

[Malysh]

I believe this adds fuel to the fire to the discussion about the Official Police being chambered in 41 Colt. While Colt initially advertised the Official Police in 41, I am speculating they probably had a supply of Army Special barrels available for years after the adoption of the Official Police that they simply used for the very few who wanted a 41 until they ran out. It didn't help that a year later after this gun was shipped, the stock market crashed with ensuing depression , followed by a work force strike and then a flood. Events such as those would cause any company to run lean and not waste anything. It would be interesting to see a 41 army special/official police box that was made after 1925/26 to see how it was marked.

That's an interesting theory.

 

[Colt75]

I believe this adds fuel to the fire to the discussion about the Official Police being chambered in 41 Colt. While Colt initially advertised the Official Police in 41, I am speculating they probably had a supply of Army Special barrels available for years after the adoption of the Official Police that they simply used for the very few who wanted a 41 until they ran out. It didn't help that a year later after this gun was shipped, the stock market crashed with ensuing depression , followed by a work force strike and then a flood. Events such as those would cause any company to run lean and not waste anything. It would be interesting to see a 41 army special/official police box that was made after 1925/26 to see how it was marked.

I think this may be the most likely explanation. The 1929 Colt Catalog did not listed the .41 Colt as an available chambering for the OP. Not sure about the 1928 catalog.