Make: Colt

Model: 1903 Pocket Hammer

Serial Number: 37729

Year of Manufacture: 1916

Caliber: .38 ACP

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

Barrel Length: 4 1/2”

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

Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are reproduction checkered wood with “COLT” in a banner across the tops of the grips and a circled Rampant Colt logo in the center. The grips have no notable wear or damage, only light handling marks. The checkering is well defined. There are no chips or cracks. Overall, the grips are in Excellent condition as not original to the gun.

Type of Finish: Blue, Fire-blue controls, pins and screws.

Finish Originality: Professionally Restored, the slide is serial-matching.

Bore Condition: The bore is gray with well defined rifling. There is light erosion and minor pitting scattered evenly through the bore. In this writer's opinion, the bore rates 5+ out of 10.

Overall Condition: This handgun retains about 99% of its current metal finish. The slide wedge's indexing stud is intact. The finish is strong throughout. There are some polish marks and infrequent minor erosion under the finish. The screw heads are sharp. The markings are clear. Overall, this pistol is in Fine-plus condition as restored.

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 one 7 round magazine, also restored.

Our Assessment: The Colt Model 1900 was the first automatic pistol manufactured in the United States and marketed in an environment still oriented to revolvers. Self-loading pistols had been manufactured for several years in Europe but were hardly accepted in the year 1900 when Colt began selling this John M. Browning designed pistol. Browning was nothing short of a genius in firearms design, developing concepts like "the slide", so revolutionary in his era that it is nearly universal today. By associating with the marketing and manufacturing abilities of Colt’s Firearms, he ensured the eventual acceptance of the automatic pistol design.

The 1900 underwent continuing design changes, becoming the 1902 Sporting and Military Models. Their success led Colt to believe that a smaller version was in order, which could be carried in a pocket or holster. This spawned the 1903 Pocket Hammer, basically just a shortened M1902 and made with much of the existing tooling. The Colt Pocket Hammer has a 4 1/2” barrel but, like its big brother, lacks an external safety and has a 7 shot magazine with bottom release. One noticeable change from the M1902 was the slide serrations, which were moved to the rear of the slide. Colt’s manufactured about 31,250 of these pistols. Even though the 1903 Pocket Hammer was the most successful of the .38 ACP pistols, its success paled in comparison to the "hammerless" .32 and .380 ACP models 1903 and 1908 that were to follow. Production of the M1903 slowed during WWI and surged in 1920, but then fell off – people were either gravitating to the larger M1911 for knockdown power or to the hammerless pistols for concealability.

This M1903 Pocket Hammer pistol was made in 1916 and has been beautifully restored with a deep blue on the slide and frame setting off the brilliant fire-blue of the controls, pins and screws. It has also been equipped with a set of reproduction wood grips in the style of the original hard rubber panels. This model, along with its M1900 and M1902 predecessors, is a must-have amongst Colt collectors as being one of the first of the Colt semi-automatics. Please see our photos and good luck!