Hi all, been a while since I have visited the site - sorry. I recently went out to my grandparents to be by my grandfather's side as he passed away - he was a great man - and there will be many things I will never know about him. Over the years he has slowly handed over weapons to me that I cherish - he may not have shot much, but he certainly kept them in mint condition. Shortly after his passing, my grandmother handed over to me 2 matching western style pistol belts - one of them had a pistol in it. I did a quick look over, but my attentions were elsewhere - I stashed it away safely at grandma's house and I will pick it up in August.

So I get back to my house and I really wanted to kick myself as I did not look into the pistol further - here is what I know...1) it is a Colt .22 revolver (blued). 2) it is in excellent shape. 3) The two pistol belts are also Colt. 4) My waist is not as small as my grandfathers as the belts do not fit. 5) Thinking he bought it sometime between the late 50's to early 70's. With that limited knowledge, I have looked at some photos on-line to get an idea of what I may have - best guess is it looks like a New Frontier or an old Scout - but the photos I have seen on-line show horses and maybe an eagle on the pistol grips - I don't recall the pistol having these. Does anybody know of any of these pistols that may have been sold with accompanying belt/holster? Obviously, I will find out more when I inspect it in August - grandma says there is another one around somewhere that goes with the other belt - I told her I am in no hurry and just thankful for the gift. Any advice from you collectors on things I should look for or key in on? I am not looking to get rid of it - just want to know what I have......Sorry Bushy - can't send it to you for safe keeping. Please advise and once I get it, I will update w/ photos etc....

Anybody have experience with either the New Frontier or Scout - good shooters? Likes / dislikes?

Single action Colts hold their value and are great shooters. I have recently helped a Cowboy Action Shooting buddy buy a matched pair of nickle plated Colt Frontier Scouts' for $1200. These were about 1980's vintage. Having said all that, Colt is NOT the only maker of single actions. The grips may have been changed, but there is also a Colt emblem on the frame, if not, it aint a Colt! Ruger, Heritage Arms, or other is about a $150 value gun. A Colt is about a $600 gun. Hope this helps and welcome back!

Okay - so I have some better information than I had at the time of originating the post and have realized that it is not in the Fronteir line.

The .22 is a Colt Official Police - 6 round wheel gun - very fine shape - 95%. 5 digit SN begins with 13XXX

Grandma also had a couple others she gave me on this trip that also belonged to grandpa:

Colt Officer Model .38 Heavy Barrel - also a 6 round wheel gun this one is also in very good shape and closer to 90-94%. 6 Digit SN begins with 641XXX

I am curious to know what I have - not looking to sell, rather to help me decide if I want to shoot them or case them. Is there anything in the serial #'s or a certain string of #'s that would give me an idea of their mfg. circa?

The final pistol is an AMT .380 9mm Kurtz Backup - nice little pistol, it is missing the magazine and also a grip screw, but I contacted the mfr and they said they could get those items for me for about $40 or so. I know nothing about the AMT line - any good. It is a nice sized pistol and will fit nicely in the same little concealed carry holster I use for my .25 ACP - now to climb the mountain to look for the ammo - this caliber seems fairly scarce on the MidwayUSA's and Cheaper than Dirt.

If anybody can give me some clues or thoughts on the serial #'s for the Colts - I would be very appreciative - I had added a couple photos.

My guesstimate, based on the 28th edition Blue book (It doesn't list serial number ranges for these):

Colt Official Police, .22 cal, 95% condition, is about $430

Colt Officer's Model is tougher, there were 6 "issues". 90% condition prices range from $375 to $950, depending on which one it is.

If they've been shot any I think I'd go ahead and shoot them some. But of course I just HAD to shoot my S&W Model 1 1/2 too!

Sweet looking pistols Wiley. I love "inheriting" things from my grandparents, it means much more than just buying it from a shop.

If you can source some .380 cases, from memory, the load is pretty much the same as for the old S&W .38 cartridge.

Cheers, Vince

Called Colt, only gave them the first few #'s of the serial #'s. The .22 is either a 1938 or 1939 - she said the 1938's run 13000-13599 and 1939 is from 13600 - so I will check on that at home later. For the .38 it is a 1940.

Vince: I did a little web surfing last night after the post, looks like there are a few availabilities, looks like I might just have to hord my allowance from Momma and pick them up when I see them.

Take Care,

Lee