Captain Bill Burt

You’re correct. Expect a wait, but if you want the best gunsmith for c&b pistols Mike is the guy.

Well he seems to think he can take it to the pawn shop and trade/sell it as a ‘collectible’ pre war Colt, which it clearly isn’t. Since the place he’s going to is manned by at least one or two doofuses who routinely take guns out of the display and sweep anyone around them he may be right. I hope it finds a home with someone who will take care of it better than its current heathen owner. Thanks for the feedback and pictures!

If it will make you feel any better I'll give it a good home once you're through building it.

I can’t see a straight swap. I might offer him $250 or at most $300. If I do get it I will most likely strip it down, take the nickel off, blue it, and replace the barrel (if I can find one that’s made to headspace properly) and replace the sights. Slide to frame is still tight, no rattle.

1968. The owner thought it was a 30’s model but he’s wrong. Too many digits in the serial number and the slide roll marks are wrong.

Yeah, checked the database. All it said was Super 38, 1968. It needs work. I would tear it completely down and give it a good cleaning. The barrel has some minor pitting, but I would probably buy another and a complete spring set. The thumb safety has a positive disengagement but is mushy when engaged, so I would have to look at that too. The front sight appears to be pinned and is so small and hard to see it might as well not be there. Not sure what I would do about that.

I have a Tisas Duty with about $450 in it and a Ruger 22/45 Lite with about $350 in it. I told him I would swap the Tisas straight up, but if he wanted the Ruger I would need $100 plus the Colt. He claims a guy at the local pawnshop thinks it a prewar gun and is offering a better deal. I told him he should take it if he can. We'll see.

I don't think so. You would know more about that than I would! I thought the roll marks looked pretty crisp other than the wear on one side of the slide. It was filthy inside. My neighbor is a nice guy, but completely ignorant when it comes to guns. I took it apart and there was crap in the barrel. Cloth or something. I did a quick cleaning and pointed that out and his response was he would have just shot it out. He didn't know how to field strip it, so I'm guessing he's never cleaned it.

I’m thinking of offering a straight trade for my Tisas. Or my Ruger 22/45 lite plus he gives me $100

Well, it’s 1968 manufacture and a bit rough.

Can that be addressed with a different barrel?

lol! He’s a neighbor, not a friend. I’m not going to make that suggestion to him. He is not a gun guy at all. I don’t want to be unfair to him so I want an idea what value I’m looking at. He saw my Tisas and liked it. I’m thinking that’s a lop sided trade.

I almost always carry a Colt Commander OWB in a Wilson Combat Lo Profile II (pancake style). I’ve had this holster for about 25 years and it’s given great service. I also have one for a full sized 1911. Variants are available that accommodate optics and shorter barrels.

A neighbor of mine has a 1930’s manufactured Colt in 38 Super, nickel. He doesn’t like the caliber and wants to work a trade for a 1911 in 45 ACP. I just happen to have a few of those… I haven’t seen it yet, so I don’t know what condition it’s in. Once I get a look I will take pictures and post them. I’m always impressed by the depth of knowledge here so my question for the brain trust is what would the range of value on one of those be? Assuming on the low end the finish is crappy but it’s mechanically solid to the high end it’s mechanically solid with great finish.

lol! I’ll add WC to Outlaw!