Make: Colt

Model: 1905

Serial Number: 1950

Year of Manufacture: 1907

Caliber: .45 ACP

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

Barrel Length: 5"

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a blade fixed to the front of the slide. The rear sight is a round-top "U"-notch dovetailed to the rear of the slide.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are two-piece checkered wood with smooth diamonds around the grip screw escutcheons. The grips have even light-moderate handling wear with a few light nicks, scratches, and some scattered scuffing. The checkering is generally well defined. There are no chips or cracks. Overall, the grips are in about Very Good condition.

Type of Finish: Blue, Fire-Blue and Case Color

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is gray. The rifling is generally well defined. There is scattered erosion and pitting in the bore. In this writer’s opinion, the bore rates 5/10.

Overall Condition: This handgun retains about 10% of its metal finish. Finish remains in protected areas and around raised features, including a little bit of fire-blue on the sides of the trigger. With the slide removed, there is quite a bit of good blue finish remaining on the barrel, a little on the interior of the slide and frame. Most surfaces have gone to an even patina with some scattered minor surface erosion. The slide wedge’s indexing stud is intact. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads are lightly tool marked with strong slots. The markings range from clear to worn, but legible. Overall, this pistol is in Good condition.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We did not fire this handgun. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This pistol comes with a single 7-round magazine.

Our Assessment: The Ordnance Department of the U.S. Army convened a board of two men, Capt. John T. Thompson and Maj. Louis A. La Garde to determine a minimum handgun caliber for use by the U.S. Military in 1903. In 1904, a month before the report was released, Union Metallic Cartridge Company received "figures for the proposed ctgs.". UMC began work on cartridges, and shortly thereafter Colt set to work experimenting on a .45 caliber pistol based on their 1902 Military model.

U.M.C. came up with a rimless .45 cartridge that they were producing by April 1905. Meanwhile, Colt had John M. Browning try to figure out how to handle the stresses caused by higher powered cartridges using the M1902 pistol as a baseline. By May 1905, Browning had applied for a patent covering a new barrel design with locking lugs on the bottom to lock it to the frame. In 1907, Army tests began on guns from 8 different manufacturers, which was narrowed down to Colt's Model 1905 as well as pistols from Savage and Luger. Changes were requested, and Colt came up with a prototype of the new Model 1907 by Sept.1907. Only about 207 of this new model were made, making them some of the most desired collector guns in the world. Further modifications resulted in the Model 1911, later the M1911-A1. Although the M1905 wasn't adopted by the Army, they were made and sold commercially except for those used in government testing. The oil polished mirror finish Colt put on the pistols, with a fire blue or case-colored finish on the smaller parts, made them very desirable.

This M1905 pistol was made in 1907, in early-mid production. It has a little bit of finish remaining and proper features for its serial number including both the slide markings and the rounded hammer which would later be changed to a spur-type profile. The mechanics are still quite good with good slide-to-frame fit and a crisp trigger. The indexing stud on the slide wedge is intact, an important consideration for this model. This model, along with its M1900 and M1902 predecessors, is a must-have amongst Colt collectors as being the first of the large framed Colt semi-automatics. As only 6,210 of the M1905 pistols were made, they become even more desirable with every passing year. Please see our photos and good luck!