Official Police questions

[TomP]

I have a .22 Colt Official Police, serial #12xx.  It is a target model with front sight adjustable for elevation and windage adjustable rear.  Can someone give me an idea about when it was made?  It must be pretty old because the rims are not recessed into the back of the cylinder.  Are target sights unusual?

The grips are on the small side for my hands.  Are there oversize replacement grips for this model?

I've never been able to shoot well with a pistol until I began to practice with this one.

[Shorty]

Tom,
Colt Official Police Double Action Revolver
Cal. 22LR (introduced 1930, embedded head-cylinder for high-speed cart's. after 1932).  22 LR w/4-6" bbls only; walnut grips; fixed sights.
Ref; Gun Trader's Guide
Seems yours was made 1930-32.  Adjustable sights might be after-market.

[TomP]

Thanks for the reply, Shorty.

After reading your reply I went down to the basement and found my old copy of "A History of the Colt Revolver" by Haven and Belden.  My revolver looks identical to the one pictured on page 194, target sights and all, except that the picture is of an "Officer's Target Model".

The text says that the Official Police was made with fixed sights.  Well, I've got what appear to be factory target sights on a gun marked "Official Police".  Weird.  It doesn't look like the sights are aftermarket because the top rear of the frame is machined with a dovetail to accept the rear sight and drilled for the adjusting screw.

Maybe I have a transition model of some kind.  I'll try to contact Colt and see what they say.

Anyway, the finish is all turning grey and the checkering on the grips is worn but the chambers and bore are bright, lockup is tight, and best of all, I can hit what I aim at!

[Hammerdown]

The text says that the Official Police was made with fixed sights.  Well, I've got what appear to be factory target sights on a gun marked "Official Police".  Weird.  It doesn't look like the sights are aftermarket because the top rear of the frame is machined with a dovetail to accept the rear sight and drilled for the adjusting screw.

Hello
The Text is Correct. The official Police Never came with adjustable sight's. They are a Police carry training revolver, to allow Police to have little recoil, and positive results before jumping to the larger .38 special caliber back when they were popular. It is not uncommon to see a fixed sight revolver, like an Official Police that has been converted. Often this was done, if other models were hard to locate, such as and the owner wanted to have adjustable sights.Walter Roper made Target style sights for this conversion on Colt's as well,and he had alot to do with the Colt designed adjustable sight that several used at the Camp perry shooting teams, and any competent gunsmith could mill out the top strap, cut a dovetail in place and install the adjustable sights. Here is a correct Official Police model in .22 caliber.Another possibility is that someone has rebarreled an officers model barrel on an official police frame. Here is a standard official police in .22 caliber. Hammerdown