Guns International #: 103403343
Seller's Inventory #: 603819

Category - Colt Pistols - 1903 - .38 Pistols

Category
Colt Pistols - 1903
.38 Pistols

COLT 1903 POCKET HAMMER AUTOMATIC PISTOL .38 ACP

Description:
Guns Listing ID: 603819



The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer is a John Browning-designed, short-recoil semi-automatic pistol chambered in .38 ACP, notable for its locked-breech mechanism and dual-link barrel locking system, making it a more robust predecessor to the 1911, but it lacked features like a slide lock and magazine safety, making it distinct from the later, simpler blowback-operated \"Hammerless\" models. It offered powerful performance for its era but required careful handling due to its design.
Key Characteristics:
Action: Short-recoil, locked-breech.
Caliber: .38 Automatic Colt Pistol (.38 ACP).
Design: Based on the Colt 1902 Sporting Model, featuring a sophisticated dual-link barrel locking mechanism (unlike the 1911‚s single link) and a flared barrel, but no barrel bushing.
Features: It had an external hammer (unlike the \"Hammerless\" models), a frame-mounted safety, and lacked a slide lock or magazine safety.
Operation: The barrel locks into the frame, and the slide disassembles to the rear, held by a retaining pin.
Power: Fired a powerful cartridge, but its locking system wasn‚t durable enough for full-power loads, leading to downloaded ammunition.
Distinction from Other Models:
Not the 1903/1908 Pocket Hammerless: The Pocket Hammer is mechanically different (locked breech vs. blowback) and uses the stronger .38 ACP cartridge, while the Hammerless models are simpler, use smaller calibers (like .32 ACP), and were more common.
Precursor to the 1911: It laid groundwork for the 1911 but was more complex and lacked some later features, though it shared the Browning tilting-barrel concept.
In Summary:
The Colt 1903 Pocket Hammer was a powerful, albeit complex, early automatic pistol for its time, chambered in .38 ACP, and represents a key step in John Browning‚s development of semi-automatic pistols before the more famous 1911.

Curio/Relic: Yes
Manufacturer: COLT
Model: 1903 POCKET HAMMER AUTOMATIC PISTOL
Caliber Info: .38 ACP
Condition: Used - Non-Certified
Barrels: 4.5" BARREL
Action: SEMI AUTOMATIC
Finish: black blued

Price: $2,499.99