Colt M-1903 revolver

[Iceman66]

You have a Colt New Army & Navy revolver. These were originally contracted for in 1899 as .38LC and updated numerous times. Your model of 1903 is one of those updates. Almost all were arsenal refinished and updated at some point. Early models, for example, did not have the lanyard ring, but this was added to the older revolvers as part of the arsenal update. At some point the bores were changed to handle the .38spl but the barrels were not so marked. I don't have my books with me and don't actually remember when this happened. Parts are almost non-existent as are qualified gunsmiths and these are not easy to work on - I speak from personal experience. Colt completely re-designed their revolver action with the M1909 .45Army revolver.

In any event, I don't recommend shooting modern .38spl ammunition in these 100+ year old handguns, and in no event, ever should you fire a .38spl +P round through it. Serious damage to the revolver and personal injury may result. Both the gunpowder and steel used 100 years ago are very different from that used today. I suggest you use only .38LC ammunition if you are going to fire your revolver. Possibly .38spl Cowboy Action loads would be a reasonable substitute if you cannot find .38LongColt ammunition.

Hope this info is helpful and yes, this is the correct forum for your question..

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