Home Index Search Handguns Visual Selection British North American Italian German Belguim French Spanish Austrian Russian Czechoslovacian Turkish South African Hungarian Brazilian Israeli Competition Firearms Shotguns References Links Gunsite SAGA PAAA SAAACA Contact E-mail me!

Colt’s Patent Firearms Manufacturing (1847-1947)(1955-1964) Colts Manufacturing Company (1947-1955) Colt’s inc. Firearms Division (1964- ) Introduced to the firearms market in 1908, the Colt Police Positive is a small frame, double action revolver with a six round cylinder, primarily chambered for the .38 Special Cartridge, designed and manufactured by Colt’s manufacturing Company. The Police Positive Special was intended primarily for sale to law enforcement agencies and enjoys the distinction of being Colt’s most widely produced revolver design with over 750,000 built. The Colt Police Positive was an improvement of Colt’s earlier “New Police” revolver, upgraded with an internal hammer block safety. Colt named this new security device the “Positive Lock”, and its nomenclature ended up being incorporated as a partial namesake for the new revolver. The cylinder of the Police Positive rotated in the clockwise direction, the opposite of firearms maker Smith & Wesson's competing models. Ever a canny competitor in the firearms milieu, Colt missed no opportunity to score a Coup d'état over its arch rival, and began a marketing campaign which accentuated this detail. In its advertising Colt proclaimed that "All Colt cylinders TURN TO THE RIGHT", and suggested that the Colt design forced the cylinder crane up against the frame, resulting in tighter lockup with less play and better chamber to barrel alignment, thus markedly increasing accuracy. The Police Positive went through a series of issues. The first issue ran from introduction to 1927 and had the early 1900-era distinctive Colt black hard rubber grips. The second issue introduced wooden grips which were smooth in the early years, later giving way to a checkered style, also the smooth top strap was replaced with a serrated one. The Third issue began in 1947, and the Fourth issue in 1977 introduced a Colt Python-style shrouded ejector-rod housing. Production of the Police Positive Special ended in 1995. Produced with fine carbon steel, the Positive Special featured Colt’s characteristic highly polished surfaces and was available with Colt's signature bright royal blued finish as well as a nickel plated veneer. Built on Colt’s “D” frame, it was offered in four and six inch barreled models, weighing a scant 23 ounces in the four inch. The Positive Special also incorporated Colt’s “Positive Lock” safety which preventing the firing pin from hitting the primer unless the trigger was deliberately pulled. Intended to address deficiencies of earlier models such as the Single Action Army, Colt's Positive Lock prevented an accidental discharge even if the lowered hammer was struck or the pistol was dropped, allowing the revolver to be safely carried with all six chambers loaded. The pistol’s sights consisted of a blade front with a fixed iron open rear sight, which was a simple V-notch shaped groove milled into the revolver’s top strap. The Police Positive was very successful; along with the Colt Official Police it dominated the law enforcement firearms market in the early 1900’s. The Positive was itself incrementally modified in 1908, forming the basis for Colt’s Police Positive Special model. In the early 20th century the Colt Positive and Positive Special teamed with Colt's other admired model, the Official Police, to capture the lion's share of the law enforcement firearms market. The revolver was very popular with law enforcement officers due to its light weight.

102112