GUNS ENDURE
In preparing an article for a gun magazine on the classic Colt Detective Special revolver, I took a picture I’d like to share with you.
Both machines were manufactured in the year 1930. The automobile left the Ford plant in Detroit, Michigan and became one of the very, very few of its kind to survive the next almost eighty years. It has been restored and even performance enhanced by its current owner, Curtis Rhodes, proprietor of American Auto Body, Inc. at 13508 Highway 90 West in Live Oak, Florida 32060.
It isn’t transportation, of course, and hasn’t been for decades. It’s an iconic showpiece. You might drive it to the auto show, but few would consider using it for a routine commute.
The revolver was shipped from the Colt factory in Hartford, Connecticut directly to the New Jersey State Police the same year. The Detective Special lived up to its name, and was issued to an investigator for that agency. It has never been rebuilt, but is still in perfect working order. Presented to the detective by his agency when he retired, the revolver stayed in the family for many years, and eventually found its way to a gun shop. It has been in my collection for a decade now. It still functions perfectly, and will shoot a perfect score on a police qualification course. Though not built for the power of modern +P .38 Special ammunition, it will fire it safely. The Colt Detective Special and its related models were produced from 1926 to approximately 1999, and countless thousands of them still serve to protect American homes and, yes, American police. The current Commissioner of the New York City Police Department carries one in an ankle holster.
We don’t drive our great-grandparents’ cars, or keep our food in their handed-down iceboxes. Yet countless Americans hunt, and protect their families, with the heirloom guns of their forebears. Firearms are simpler devices, evolve more slowly, and take much longer to become obsolete. Finely made examples like this Colt endure. They are the ultimate in “durable goods.”
You can buy the 1930 Ford from Curtis Rhodes at curtis01@windstream.net. He’s asking $18,000. You can find a classic old “first issue” .38 Colt Detective Special on sites such as www.gunbroker.com for well under a thousand dollars. Both will be cherished possessions for those inclined to own and appreciate them.
And one is still eminently practical for its intended purpose.
March 22nd, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Colt’s revolvers were superb, alas none being made anymore.
March 22nd, 2009 at 11:10 pm
I share the pain, Marc.
While Colt does still make single action “Frontier Style” revolvers in their Single Action Army series (and they’re coming out very nice), their great double action revolvers like the Detective Special and the Python are long gone. There’s something profoundly sad about that.
March 23rd, 2009 at 4:38 am
just did my part for the economy by purchasing some “durable goods”.
S&W M&P 15. bought from a local shop (gotta keep my dollars in my community)
March 24th, 2009 at 6:03 am
I wonder if Colt will return to a larger civilian catalog if (perhaps when) they lose the sole source contract for Uncle Sam’s M4′s? If I remember correctly, that contract expires soon and there are a number of factors working against a renewal. Personally I’d love to see the Magnum Carry and Agent back in Colt’s lineup. The Anaconda as well.
On a related note, the oldest firearm I’ve ever owned was a Colt Model 1909 DA .45. It had been reblued at some point, so had lost much of its “collector” value. But it shot well and was a direct link to days long gone by. I really regret selling it in a time of economic need.
March 24th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Mas,
Even the not so finely made examples of firearms endure pretty well too. I still have my grandfather’s 16ga shotgun made by the Iver Johnson Cycle Works (prob around 1916). It still functions quite well and it’s looks have held up.
Your post is quite good, the fact that the automobile has been rebuilt and lightly customized contrasts nicely with the stock service model Colt.
March 26th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Looking at these two old “pieces” reminds me of one of my first maturing experiences. My uncle, a ‘rural’ Ohio deputy sheriff, took me to his basement office and showed me some 5 firearms, several older pieces, explaining first “what” he was showing – weapons – and then in turn went through each of them in detail. It felt at the time it was almost an initatory experience. At an impressionable age, i was introduced to serious, fascinating things. It was almost a legacy (he and his wife had only one child, a daughter, who was much more dolls than firearms, and I was a product of a single-parent, anti-gun home). Years later I hold him in very high estimation, despite the very brief period of interaction ( a handful of summers, little actual conversation of the time). He was also an american of Lebanese descent, come to think of it, you might have met him over the years! Thanks for doing a blog, i’ll be following it as I myself start looking to buy some guns. all the best,
np
March 27th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Mas
What magazine wil the Colt Det. Special be in?
March 28th, 2009 at 8:13 am
Tim, it was done for Combat Tactics, probably won’t be out until late this year.
March 28th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
With proper care guns last for a very long time. I have a .22 rifle purchased by my Great Grandmother between 1933 and 1935 and it works perfectly. I went on a 3 generation shoot with that rifle some years ago and hope to do the same when I have children.
April 1st, 2009 at 12:47 am
Long term use and making sure your kids have something to shoot when this great country make all guns illegal. ( sorry the pessimist in me), That is the reason all the gun stores are selling out all across the country. Endurance of tradition.
April 7th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
As I tell my friends I only know but two real durable goods- Musical Instruments and Guns.
Regards, Raimundo.
May 4th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Yes, the great arms truly do endure. My “baby” is a S&W .38/44 Outdoorsman, made about 1953 or 1954. I’ve handled other classics from the good old days.