A New Colt 1903 Hammerless?– SHOT Show 2015

If you have never been to SHOT Show it is hard to get a grasp on how huge this show is and how many firearms there are to see. I read somewhere that if you walk every single isle, on all the floors and in all the rooms, that it would add up to about 40 miles. I know by Friday my feet felt like they had walked 40 miles. What I am trying to convey is that there is so much stuff, noise and people that it can be difficult to find something that truly stands out and is a surprise when you see it.

What’s old is new.

I’m talking mind blowing type stuff. My mind got blown on Thursday at SHOT. I had seen and found some truly cool and innovative things, but not at the level that spoke to me.  I was certainty not expecting my mind to be blown at the Colt booth either. Nothing against Colt at all, but they are a monolithic bastion of tradition. Consistent.
When I was handed a 1903 Colt Pocket Hammerless at the Colt booth I had 3 thoughts run through my head.

1. What the hell is this doing here?
2. Man, this thing is in great shape!
3. Wait a minute, I think this is new?!

I was right. It is new. Mind blown. Colt has teamed with U.S. Armament Corp., the guys that made the Gatling gun a few years back, to remake the old John Browning classic. Now they are making the 1903 in the General Officers Pistol version. Be sure to watch your interview with Curt Wolf who is the man behind this project.

Should we hold our breath for a re-release of the Snakes?

Here is the break down on what is planned for this run:

• .32 ACP Type 2 (which means no magazine disconnect).
• 3500 currently in production, should be available in a couple of months.
• 2000 will be Parkerized.
• 1000 will be blued.
• 500 with same serial number and information about the General the original pistol was issued to.
• Colt Custom Shop will be doing a small run in Royal Blue and Nickel Pearl.
• Base model will have an MSRP of $1,395 no word on the others at this time.

After US Armament finishes the 3,500 run, the tooling will be given to Colt. What will they do with it? A 1908 in .380 maybe? An update to 9mm? Pure speculation on our part here. But it would be awesome.