doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Colt vs S&W

Third generation are nice guns that were designed to compete with SIG Sauer guns. New third generation S&W 5946 with night sights is only $599 plus tax. That is very reasonable price.

My daily carry gun is a Colt 1911. I carry it daily, every day. I bought it new in 1956, from Krasnes Hardware in San Diego. It is on its 3rd barrel, wore out 2. It has never failed me. I do not own any "modern" production Smith and Wessons. I do own a number of non suffix Smiths which have also served me well. I have owned and sold Colt revolvers. I prefer Smiths.

James M

That is a dandy 1903. On the Colt vs S&W debate. I own and shoot both often. I have been a little disappointed in recent production S&W revolvers excepting those from the Performance Center. The Colts I shoot are mostly autoloaders, the revolvers S&W. Even though they can be a little fragile when used in rough conditions I would have to say the Python is the best production revolver made. Smooth and accurate. My favorite revolver however is a well worn S&W 6" K frame. Too bad the gun companies have to spend so much time developing plastic.
I guess they have to in order to keep the doors open.


Swampman

1903?

Fun gun in 38 Special

I've never really collected guns as an investment but I will have to admit the appreciation over the last 30-40 years has been truly amazing! New in the box has always been a favorite condition for me and this is just one example.
Jim

It would be virtually impossible today to manufacture and had fit and fin

It would be virtually impossible today to economically manufacture hand fit and finish pistols and revolvers as was done in the past. This is one of the primary reasons older examples in nice condition are so prized. Unfortunately examples such as the boxed Colt 1903 I've shown above will probably never be shot which is fine by me as I have other examples. Keep in mind there can never be more originals and attrition continues to take it's toll. You should have seen the large pistol collection I was asked to assess after it had been underwater for more than a week as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Polluted salt water can and will take a serious toll quickly.
Jim

Very nice '03 James. My '03 is not near so nice & not in the box As I recall it was made in the 20's & is still very reliable, though I have not shot it a lot. This is actually the only original Colt I currently have. I have several of the Italian reporo beginning with a Patterson & continuing through the SAA. These all seem to be pretty well made & close in detail to the originals. The SAA of course had to have a safety, Uberti put it in the hammer which is mostly unnoticeable & works well though I would still recommend loading only five

Here's one more example from my own collection. A later 1903 cased with a highly engraved 1908 25acp model. A letter from Colt indicated that the engraving wasn't done by the factory but that the pistol was shipped to Arizona in the 1920s to a gentleman with a Hispanic name. It is speculated that the engraving was done by one of the Mexican engravers known to have worked in the area at that time. The engraving is much finer than the pictures shows.
Jim

My point was both Colt and S & W produced great revolvers in the modern era, and both were offered in the most excellent .357 loading. I really can't find fault with models from either company, post WWII, anyway.
You would have forgotten all about a 1911 for riding if a H & K PK5 in an elastic belly sling was available. Ditto an AR platform with optics. What era you want to compare?
I'm not riding with anybody on horses, and I can conceal the 360 in board shorts at the beach, and, yes, I have done it. A 1911, not so much. I'm solidly in the camp that states the first rule of gun fighting is, "have a gun" so the small revolvers are my choice.

No violence intended, just sick humor that leads all the way back to have a gun.

Carry the 1911 in good health.


Best,
Ted