Make: Colt

Model: 1902 Sporting

Serial Number: 5041

Year of Manufacture: 1903 (https://www.colt.com/serial-lookup)

Caliber: .38 ACP (.38 Rimless Smokeless)

Action Type: Single Action Semi-Automatic Pistol with Removable Magazine

Barrel Length: 6”

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a short rounded blade fixed to the top of the slide. The rear sight is a rounded “U”-notch dovetailed into the slide.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are checkered hard rubber with “COLT” in a banner across their tops and a circled Rampant Colt logo in their centers. Originally black, the right panel has gone to a slight brown color. The grips have minor handling wear with only a few scattered small marks. The checkering is well defined. There are no chips or cracks. Overall, the grips are in about Fine Condition.

Type of Finish: Blued

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is mostly bright with sharp rifling. There is some scattered minor erosion and stubborn fouling in the bore. In this writer's opinion, the bore rates about 8 out of 10.

Overall Condition: This handgun retains about 80% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at all edges. There is handling wear in the grip areas. There are fairly evenly scattered minor nicks, scuffs, and scratches. There are scattered spots of minor oxidation with one spot of surface erosion on the left-front of the trigger guard. Some small parts retain strong fire-blue. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads are sharp. The markings are clear. Overall, this pistol is in Very Good Condition.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The slide has very minor play to the frame. This pistol has a bronze firing pin and the slide serrations are plunge-cut at the front of the slide. The slide was not designed to lock back on an empty magazine. We did not fire this handgun. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This pistol comes with one unmarked though factory original Colt Model 1902 Sporting blued 7-round magazine. At around S/N 8000, Colt switched to this style of mag with an unmarked floorplate. Thus, this mag likely postdates the pistol by about two years.

Our Assessment: The Colt Model 1900 semi-automatic pistol was the first of John Browning’s pistol designs to reach full production. Such was Browning's genius that he developed many innovations which are considered commonplace today, not least of which is the concept of "the slide". As with any new design, there were small tweaks needed along the way, and towards the end of 1901, Colt started changing the Model 1900's sight safety, which only offered a fixed sight, to a sight that was dovetailed into the slide to offer windage adjustment. With a few other minor changes, the pistol transitioned into the Model 1902 Sporting and Military Models and eventually into the Model 1903 Pocket Hammer model, the beginnings of over a century of pistol manufacturing dominance in the US market.

This Colt Model 1902 Sporting Model Semi-Auto Pistol was made in 1903 and is in Very Good Condition. It boasts the proper features for its serial number of “5041”, which is fairly early in Model 1902 Sporting production, which began at serial number 4274. The pistol features a 6” barrel, 80% of its original blued finish, with some small parts retaining strong “fire-blue”, plunge-cut slide serrations at the front of the slide, a three-line patent marking on the left side of the slide, a rounded hammer, elegant, original checkered hard rubber grips with “COLT” in a banner across their tops and a circled Rampant Colt logo in their centers (originally black, the right panel has gone to a slight brown color), one unmarked though factory original Colt Model 1902 Sporting blued 7-round mag (which likely postdates the pistol by about two years), strong mechanics, and a mostly bright bore with sharp rifling (there’s some scattered minor erosion and stubborn fouling). There were only 6,900 Colt Model 1902 Sporting pistols made before they were discontinued in late 1907; highly prized and heavily used, even fewer survive today. All of the early Colt autos are collectible, and this fine example, with so much original finish remaining, will make a great addition to any collection.