Raritan River Kid SASS #23259

Since we have gone through this cycle many times before....buy your ammo when no one wants it and store it for the leaner times. That won't help anyone now but I know a number of shooters who are reasonably stocked and bought at prices 1/5 to 1/10 of what they are now. I have seen 9MM at $1 per round and not that far back it was less expensive than .22s.

Frankly NJ is a mess. You can follow all the rules (guns and ammo in trunk, locked in separate cases, unloaded, no hollow point ammo, etc, etc) and you still risk being arrested if the police officer who stops you decides to ignore the nuances of the law or doesn't know them. Gun busts are a highly popular prize in some departments in NJ. You may win in the end but that involves lawyers, court costs, and time. There were cases in the past the Governor had to step in to pardon innocent people but that isn't going to happen with the current administration. Your mileage may vary, out-of-staters do come to shoots, your choice. Under no circumstances consent to a search of your vehicle if you have things in the trunk. I am a FORMER NJ resident.

Let us like your page so I can follow you. Do you have matches year round? I spend some time on Oak island part of the year.

No, Colt did not charge me extra after it turned out to have been ordered by Tom Mix. I was a bit surprised myself.

Thanks Guys, it's appreciated. It'll give me some researching experience.

I have seen a Colt .38 Officer's Model revolver which has been in the family since the 50's. Family lore is it was traded to my wife's grandfather by Roy Rodgers for a Luger he had that Roy saw. We have no documentation for the provenance so as a way just to settle the issue I sent to Colt for a factory letter. The letter came back with no reference to Roy. What it did come back with is it was in a shipment of two sent to Tom Mix of Beverly Hills, Ca. Pretty nice but surprising find and no proof of the family story. I checked the serial number so it is not one of the ones taken from his museum. Any suggestions as to where I might be able to get any more information on this revolver as it appears to be one used for trick shooting or shows? Thanks.

I have/had several, never had a problem with any, never a FTF. For the price I feel they are a good value, not a Baer or other top line but not the price of those either. Way ahead of a Mini 14 in my opinion and easier to buy addons for. I'd buy another if I needed one.

All valid points, well said. Unfortunately we have to win every time, they only need to win once. We've lost a lot of spaces here in our area, I and others bought our own land while we could.Not an option for everyone but maybe for some.

I chose the Nikon, been very happy with it (when I can get it away from my son and my wife). Pretty intuitive, price was reasonable, I've bought some more lenses for it.

Lots to do in the area depending on your interests but cowboy stores are not present in quantity in North Jersey or Central Jersey, maybe one in South Jersey. The actual quantity I am aware of in the north half is zero. Our guns laws and paucity of shooting locales leave us with only 2-3 active cowboy clubs in the state I am aware of. More by far in Pennsylvania which has a few shops if you want to drive. In NJ, if you have not been here before, I can make other suggestions if you are interested.

Cabela's in Hamburg had a Bulldog on the floor for a while, I think they priced it at $36K. Wasn't a Colt. Used to look at it each time I was there, finally it was gone. Made a comment to the sales guy in the gun room and he said "we'll get you one if you want it". Want or can pay for are two different things. Sigh.

I have a couple, a commander and a 3 & 1/2 inch one I don't recall the name of right now, but it's not an officers. They shoot fine, not as smooth as a 70 series but they didn't cost me as much at the time either. Not finished as shiny either. I like them, I carry the commander in the hills pretty often.

Label me as not current on the nomenclature also...be that as it may be what you might be recollecting MM is that originally the .44 Magnums were not offered that way, only 5 1/2 and less frequently 7 1/2. The 4 5/8 option was made available later. It was more popular once it was offered.

I've gone with a 4 3/4 Colt on the right and a 7 1/2 on the left in a crossdraw. I'll never be on top in speed so I figure I'm going for style. Works fine for me. I started out with two mismatched .44 Rugers because when I bought my first the only thing they were making was the 5 1/2. Didn't come out with the shorter barrell until a year later. Do what you like. Now if you're going for the top rank a matched pair is probably better.

If it was mine and a piece of family history I'd converve it so it doesn't age any more and hang it up to pass on as it was passed on to you. Just my two cents, your results may differ.