That's pretty cool. It's one thing to own, carry, and shoot a VERY nice firearm, but quite a bonus if it's has been handed down from your grandpa. I'm sure you're taking good care of it.
I am sure that Your Gandpa Was and Is Very Proud of You. Good on You For Using / Carrying it and not selling it... In a Way You are keeping His Memory Alive.....
@@IkerBoulala yea my Grandpa had a old Smith & Wesson .38 s&w for years. Really hard to find ammo for. I managed to find a couple of boxes for it and gave them to him wrapped up for Christmas one year. Probably around 1985. The whole family was shocked and their jaws all hit the ground when he opened that present for Christmas. lol... but Grandpa was so happy that I could find him some ammo in .38 s&w. We where the only vet's in the family and I guess that the others just did not get it. I guess you had to be there. It was Hilarious... then in 1986 I think it was I Bought a brand new government model 1911 in .45acp of course and a 3rd generation Colt Detective Special in .38 special. Well when he saw them boy did his eyes light up. lol. I asked him if he would like to hold onto the Detective Special for me and he could go ahead and use it and have fun with it. I don't think I ever saw him so happy. He raised me since I was 4 years old so I was Happy to do that for him. He really got a kick out of that. Well he was Killed in a work related accident in Oct of 1997 3 days before his Bithday by a inattentive, in a hurry to get to work driver. Very bad what he had to go thru until he passed away in the hospital. Well a few months before that happened he said he wanted to give that Colt Detective special back to me. I said are you sure and that it was for him. We had a talk and he said hey boy, I am up there in age and I want to make sure that I get it back to you in case something was to happen to him. He said most of the family is a bunch of money grubbin Vipers and if he died I would probably not get it back. Boy was he on the money on that. He sure called it. It was crazy how the family was after he died. Money grubbin Vipers is to good a name for it. Damn. I think he had a premonition and just wanted to be sure that I got it back. He was one of the many OUTSTANDING WW2 Vets. His unit and him was training to get ready for the Normandy invasion and during that time he was involved in a terrible car accident. He almost died then and was in the hospital for quite a long time. Head injury, lost a eye, steel plate in his head and messed up his back real bad and lot of other bad life threating injuries. Well thank God that he pulled thru or none of his kids, grandkids, great grandkids would have been born and been here. As he was recuperating in the hospital he found out that his whole unit and all his buddies / friends had been Killed at the Normandy / D-Day invasion. As he was healing in the hospital he became a orderly in the hospital and was helping all the injured Vet's that had been injured in the war. Oh the stuff he saw. Unimaginable pain, suffering, and death. What a Outstanding Soldier / Man he was. Funny thing is most in the family just never did understand how special this event was for our family. He suffered alot but it was as if God had a hand on his shoulder to insure that Grandpa would live. Finding out about his whole unit dying like that sure hit him hard and really stuck with him all his days. Too bad I was the only one to realize how special this event was, well other than Grandma. Seems to me that God Wanted him to live and have a family. Well I thought that some of you out there might enjoy hearing his story and how God indeed works in mysterious ways. He worked up until he was killed on the job helping a standed motorist changing their flat tire for them. He was unfortunately smashed between 2 vehicles. Like I said it was pretty bad and painful for him. Just seems unusual to me How he died after what had happened to him and he had lived thru in the war. Sure do miss that good ole Boy. Heck, if he had not taken me in when I was 4 years old I might not be here to tell you his story. I am 57 years old now and he died / was killed in Oct of 1997... Yes Sir, God sure works in mysterious ways...Yes I still have that Colt Detective Special and I will until God calls me home also... Just sorry that I have no kids or anyone special to pass that Colt Detective Special too along with Grandpa's story. Our Families Story... God Bless You All... And God Bless America and Her people...
My carry gun is a Colt Cobra 6 shot 38 Special. It was my wife's dads gun that he carried when he worked as a detective for New York City PD. I carry it in his memory.
I have my dad's 1972 Cobra alloy frame and I carried it as a backup gun when I was a deputy sheriff in the early to mid 90's. It is now an EDC. He passed in 1986 and was an investigator with a county prosecutor's office in North Jersey. It was his backup and/or duty gun, depending on whatever the day called for. In case you may be wondering since I mentioned EDC, I no longer live in NJ. I call NC home now, where you can still protect yourself without having to wait 20 minutes or forever for a response.
@Ernest Paul I picked one of those up about 20 years ago , no cylinder turn line , probably unfired , hammer tied down , no evidence of residue , etc . original box , papers , and , believe it or not , the original purchase receipt with the buyers name , it was purchased from a hardware store in Dayton Ohio in 1967 . The purchase price in 1967 was $67.95 , with a box of Remjngton “high speed” 38spl 158 grain r n l that were marked $4.55 . I gave 500.00 for it , I still have it , still unfired .
After watching a lot of Hickock45 Videos I just realized that they are all made in one take, no editing what so ever. That's a great performance doing all these videos with no hickups and that kind of fluent speech
Today, I saw an unused one in original box that was manufactured in 1956 for $685. What a beautiful gun. I couldn't stop looking at it. They don't make like that anymore. A work of art.
+WAVETUBE84 They should have innovated. Smith and Wesson has all sorts of new revolvers that sell like hot cakes. Ones that have light or scope mounts for hunters, revolvers for almost every caliber or new allows for carry guns. Colt just got fat on government contracts and doesn't try to sell what civilians want because they're an anti-gun gun company. Glad they're going bankrupt, hope it gives them a wake up call.
Revolvers are usually not more durable. A well made semiauto is more rugged. You just need to learn to hold a gun. My 7 year old niece can hold a full size Sig with an e2 grip.
6236003 How many times have you had to get a revolver fixed by a smith or armorer? What can you drop on the ground more. revolver or auto? If you encounter a problem with a semi auto what do you do? Compare that to a revolver. The myth of the more reliable revolver is very old and not true at all anymore.
6236003 I would disagree, a decent .357sig or 10mm can handle full power rounds better than certain revolvers, especially colts that need to babied. Revolver rounds are stronger, but we can't really fit those in a grip and expect people to hold them. Revolvers serve a very limited niche that is even smaller when talking about self defense.
+WAVETUBE84 S&W, Ruger and Taurus have no problem with sales of new revolvers. Go figure. Colt has made the profit on .mil contracts for the last 20 years.
Got a 1964 .38 det special here with a Tyler's Grip extension on it. My father carried and had it it for 50 years. When he passed, i got it. Its the #1 thing i have to remember him by. He loved it. Only handgun he ever owned and now its in my collection. Thanks for the video!
I used my issued .38 DS in a 1974 gunfight w/three armed robbery suspects in a downtown parking lot. My first off duty gun (still have it) is a Colt Cobra purchased for $85 in 1968.
I have a 3rd Issue Colt Detective Special chambered in .38 Special. My father was first issued that gun in 1980 when he first became a police officer. The department later switched over to Glocks in the mid-1980's, and he then gave the gun to my grandfather. Then my grandfather gave it to me for my 21st birthday, and my father retired after 34 years of serving as a police officer. My Colt revolver shoots great at the range, and it's still in mint condition.
Bought my first Colt Detective Special in38 Special as an off duty gun. We had to qualify with the gun before you could carry it off duty. Our issue gun was an S&W 4 inch 38 Special and your off duty gun had to be in the same caliber. Have both of them in 1963 at $68.00 each. Still have them and function is perfect. Yes I have them and they are NOT for sale.
I have a nice collection of handguns. The one I carry most is my .38 special. Especially in this hot weather. Convenient and effective. Still love the Colt and Smith and Wesson snubbies. The Joker was right in that subway.
+RapidRrobert Me too but I'm not very optimistic. They made the best. My uncle has the 10mm Delta Elite, my dad owns various Woodsmans, I own a Python and my brother has a Trooper. Great guns
Very interesting and informative. I just inherited a S&W Hand Ejector 4" in .32 Long. It appears to have been used very little. I want to keep it as is with the original box and what appears to be a period correct box of ammo. Having never shot a .32, I very much enjoyed your comments in this video.
I have a 1973 vintage Detective Special and is one of the first of the Third Series of that model. It's seen a bit of use, but still locks up tight and is in pretty good condition. Personally I prefer the Colt to the J-frame and the LCR. After watching this video, it looks like I'll have to take it out and burn a few rounds through it.
When I was a kid the angry police chief would always make the loose cannon detective turn this in along with his badge. Made me want to get one ever since.
I have a 1910 Colt Double Action Army with a 6" barrel blued, a 1963 Colt Official Police 6" barrel blued, and a 1963 detective special nickel plated. Three of my favorite revolvers.
My father retired from the Michigan Dept of Corrections. I inherited his .38 Cobra .38 special which must just be another name Colt used to market the detective special. It says "Colt's PT. F. A. mfg co Hartford Conn USA" on the right side of the barrel and "COBRA .38 special ctg" on the left side of the barrel. I think it was made from '68 - '72 sometime. I had no idea it was such a sought after handgun until tonight. I knew it was a high quality firearm just from handling it. Thanks dad!
I really like the Colt Detective Special! I carried a S&W Chief's Special, J Frame, five shot Revolver as an off duty Gun for quite some time. I mix it up after awhile, never sticking to one particular platform.
Thanks for this video, Hickok. I just bought a gen 3 Detective Special a few days ago to carry while I'm off duty. I've done some research on the gun, and have found that it was made in 1973 (I was born in 1990, mind you), and the history of the gun is really what sold me on it. Thanks again!
on the .38 special, had one a S&W for precision shooting competitions a couple of years back witha five inch barell, the accuracy of those revolvers are are ridiculously good! with only minor training with it I easily shot series of 1-2 inch spread on 25 meters one handed and didn't change much over at 30-40 with 2-4 inch spread with support hand, absolutely gorgeous to look at and shoot! totally fell in love with it from the start! :)
Good review Hickok45! In continuing your exploration of the .32 caliber, you should try the .327 Federal magnum. There are several platforms offered by Ruger, Charter Arms, Smith & Wesson, and Taurus. The S&W is no longer being produced, and I think the same for Taurus. The Ruger SP101 is the most common revolver available in .327. The cool thing is, it will fire .32 ACP, .32 short, .32 long, .32 H&R magnum and .327 Federal magnum in the same gun! The .327 is near .357 power level. You and John keep up the great work! Thanks for all you do for us gun enthusiasts!
Awesome! I happened to be lucky enough to come into possession of a Colt Detective Special from the '80's that I don't think was ever fired. A lady had purchased it when her husband passed away and she kept it in her dresser drawer and then she decided she didn't want it around any more. I love that gun.
Purchased a Colt Detective Special in .38 Spcl way back in the early 80's; the model you described with the ejector rod shroud and black rubber grips. It was supposed to be a truck gun but it turned out to be a resident of the living room drawer. Fun to shoot and the usual Colt quality made it a keeper for me. Good review!
He did kind of carry this exact gun. It was a 4" Police Positive .32 Long. The Detective Special is basically a snubnose Police Positive with a smaller grip.
I have my great-grandfathers. He carried it every day as his service pistol. Mine was made in 1937 according to the serial number. Also have his officers target model from the same era. DS has holster wear but it's still super tight. The officers model is pristine, it never got shot that much. Both guns are in .38 special.
Great that you did a video on this one! I have a 68' detective special in .38special, 2 inch barrel (would love to have one of the rare 3 inch versions). Mine has a little more holster wear on it but it gives it character. I'm surprised the owner didn't put a Tyler T grip in those walnut grips, it really makes a difference. The size on these are perfect for concealed carry IMO. I think the J frames are too small with 5 shots and the K frames are too big to be comfortable all day.
About a year ago I purchased a 1974 Colt Cobra (alloy frame) as an investment. But I love it so much it's become my every day carry. Damn they are good......
I find it interesting that it came out in 1927 because I have a colt police positive that was made in 1920 that has the barrel cut down and the sight moved back to look just like a detective special. It’s grips are so worn the checkering is gone and it has no finish left but it locks up perfectly still.
Modern smokeless .32 S&W long is still a very popular target shooting caliber here in Europe. The .32 S&W long is loaded to very low levels compared to what it was originally intended for, same with .32 S&W (short). The long was introduced as a black powder cartridge, but try find any info about the ballistics of its original configuration.. you'll struggle. I think smokeless .32 S&W long has a velocity of about 600fps and the original black powder had a velocity of 900+
I cleaned up a little at my girlfriend's grandparents house after her grandfather passed and found some .32 S&W short black powder rounds. I don't have a .32 firearm to shoot them from, but I'm courious to see how they perform.
+ilmob1234 A guy i talked with over at S&W forums told me that he tested 2 different types of black powder era .32 S&W and got an average of 740 fps from one and a whooping 800 from the other... quite a bit more than smokeless modern where you are lucky to get 650fps.
+Rajbir Dhadda where i live in Sweden theoretically all guns are legal but you need a valid reason, and to get a license for every separate gun. Buy the way self defense is not considered a good reason, basically there are three reasons available hunting where you need a hunting license, if you are a serious hard core collector this is supposedly hard to get but i don't know much about collecting guns here and the last way to own guns in Sweden is if you are a competitive shooter in a competition club and you need to be active otherwise the cops are going to force you to sell your guns or confiscate them
Great gun. I have a late 60's Colt Agent with long exposed ejector rod and notched front sight. It came with short panel grips and I put a set of long ones on. I love it. It looks brand new and looks as nice as the Cobra from that time. 38 spec and it's just beautiful. The bluing on the steel parts looks very nice. The frame looks incredible too. It had been shot by previous owner because it has very very light powder burns around the chambers but hard to see
I've got a Detective Special with a 3 inc barrel made in 1963. I really didn't like the stock grips, so found that Eagle Grips makes their Secret Service boot grip for that older model.. Grips that fit the later generations won't fit that frame, so I was lucky to find that the Eagle do. They are great looking and make me want to shoot the gun more often. Those old Colts are one of life's simple pleasures to shoot. Hickok, thanks for reviving that old filly for us to enjoy.
As a Revolver enthusiast, I carried a Detective Special as my EDC for years. Eventually, I could no longer ignore the realities of polymer pistols, higher capacity and better ballistics. My current EDC is a Beretta Px4 Storm subcompact in .40 S&W. The Detective Special is remains a reliable revolver. Mine were chambered in .38 Special and one of them had a 3-inch bbl. Perfect size as J-frames are too small for me.
I have a nickle plated det. spec. in .38 with a shrouded bbl. I also really like this gun for the same reasons. Great video sir, I was wondering just the other day when you might be doing this particular colt. Thanks again for all you and John do for all of us. You guys are greatly appreciated as you well know.
Classic target round. Pretty good availability. Of course Wally World no longer sells handgun ammo but any decent gun shop should have something. Relly hoping to have a 32 some day.
As a young Military Police sgt. and a plainclothes MP Investigator assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) at Sandia Base, NM I was issued a Colt Detective Special .38spl. It concealed well and was a good sturdy weapon.
I have a Colt Cobra, the looks are identical to this. Lighter weight and aluminum barrel. Mine was made in 1961, real nice classic gun with ultra-smooth action, and good pin point accuracy!
Nice presentation. Using my dad's he bought 1975 full shroud 38 Spl with Royal Blue finish and Bianchi holster. Use open carry when dressed up. The action is smooth as glass still had Pachmeyer rubber grips pinky rest makes easier to control. Only have Colts sidearms. One real advantage vs S&W Chiefs Spl is 6 rds and i like cylender rotates clockwise. Never saw a 32 Det Spl. Barney Miller 70s TV series he wore a Det Spl & famous lawman Fitzsimions modified his Colts milling front of his trigger guards faster to trigger in combat. Im my humble opinion you and John provide best gun videos on the web. Your passion with guns is special. In this arena your second to none !
22plinkster bounced a shot iff a tractor which is steel but Mr. Hickock does it off the ground. Takes a skilled shooter to do that. Kidding aside, I really enjoy your videos.
Great test sir,I've been a fan of the DS for long time myself.I own a later made .38 version.I think I purchased it back in about '95 or so,it was cheap at $230...all steel & 6 shot COLT quality.
I own a 1971 Detective Special... original condition with Herret’s Wood grips... this has become my regular Friday/Off-Duty carry in IWB and OWB. Ruger SP-101 .357 holsters will fit this gun for more holster buying options... love my Colt!! 💕 🐴
I just bought one a few months ago. Came across it used in a gun store. Bought it right up! Things in excellent condition too. Craftsmanship of these things are 👌made in 1973
My training officer, who has now since retired, had a CDS in .38 just like the one that got away from you. I always wanted one, but wouldn't pay what others wanted for them. My only experience with revolvers was brief with Model 10's and GP 100's at work.
My dad was a deputy constable in dade co fl in the 50’s he had a colt cobra with an aluminum frame (called dural back then. It was a .38 special. It too held 6 shots. when I was 8 I think it was the first “real revolver” (I guess he didnt consider the colt woodsman I regularly shot as “real”) I ever shot. Sure woke me up that day, I think my hand stung for a week. just sharing, I watch some of your videos every day
This gun is chambered for .32 s&w long, but colt didn't want to put s&w on the barrel of their guns, so they called the chambering .32 colt np, both cartridges are identical save for the name.
+von HUEland Smith and Wesson had guns chambered in Colt designed calibers. I bet it was created for lever guns or wound channels more than for lawsuits.
Though I would certainly prefer a .38 Special vs. the .32 Colt New Police/Smith and Wesson Long (1896) the author makes a valid point here. Even today despite the popularity of high capacity semi-automatic pistols the venerable .38 caliber revolver remains ideal for many people. Until recent decades both sides of my family who traveled on a long road trip never carried a firearm. I guess they were conditioned to the "only crooks and cops" carry handguns from a bygone era. Not so today! Things have radically changed.
I'd really enjoy you reviewing the new Ruger LCR in 327 Magnum. I have one and it has become my favorite chambering for the LCR because of it's versatility.
32 S&W Long are hard to find locally in anything but target wadcutter loads. I luck up and find some at the gunshows every now and then. Thought about reloading but have yet to find dies for it.
I just bought a 1949 chambered in .38 Colt New Police. I’m excited for the transfer to get here. It’s my first gun in my collection that’s considered “collectible”.
Great video. I have a S&W J Frame .32 and it is a six shot. Very little difference in size. The J Frame is just a little bit smaller. I really enjoy your videos.
Friend of mine is transferring me a bunch of guns at transfer cost, since she doesn't want them, and this is one of them. Now that conceal carry is legal in NY, this might be the one.
I hope to get to the meet and greet you have been a positive influence unlike some other channels you do not insult your viewers and you are informative and likeable thank you
I carried a S&W in .32 SW long for many years. It is easy to shoot and very accurate. It's in storage due to age and I carry a S&W .38 spcl. It's not nearly as stable, but it can handle hot loads.
The 60 FPS makes a huge difference in all video. If you do not have the option in this video from the gear symbol in the videos border, you'll need to find an update called Flash Player from Adobe I think. Right clicking the video will show that Flash player is made for video. Thanks Hickok45 & Son - Great piece
I have a Detective Special in .38spl. I think it's a newer model, it has a rubberized round butt grip. I had to have one, growing up with all those spy and cop shows where everyone had a snubby. Hickok45, do you think it is safe to shoot +P's out of?
I bought one for 280 today. All original except grips. Blueing is faint. But I like it. People don't realize how small these are until they have one in their hand. A good pocket pistol.
Colt reissued them in the early 1990's. I bought one new in 1993. I love it and it shoots great. 6 shot and can handle +P. It came with pachmayer grips with Colt medallion, but I had custom Hogue grips made for it. Looks awesome!