Introduced in 1907, the Colt Police Positive Special is a small frame,

double-action Double action (or double-action) refers to one of two systems in firearms where the trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. *Double-action only (DAO) firearms trigger: The trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. There is no single-action f ...

revolver with a six

round Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the number ...

cylinder A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...

, primarily chambered for

.38 Special The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & ...

. The Police Positive Special was intended primarily for sale to

law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEA ...

and enjoys the distinction of being Colt’s most widely produced revolver design with over 750,000 built.Cumpston, Mike
“.32 Colt Police Positive Special”
, Gunblast Webzine. Accessed September 11, 2008.

Development and history

The Police Positive Special was an iterative improvement of Colt's earlier Police Positive model, the only differences being a slightly lengthened cylinder and elongated and strengthened

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

to allow the chambering of the longer, more powerful

.32-20 Winchester The .32-20 Winchester, also known as .32 WCF (Winchester center fire), was the first small-game lever-action cartridge that Winchester produced.

and

cartridges.Miller, Peyton
“Colt Police Positive Special”
, ''Guns and Ammo'' magazine Web site. Accessed September 11, 2008. It was also made in .32 Colt New Police and .38 Colt New Police. It was made with 4", 5" and 6" barrels and came with either wood or hard rubber grips. 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.Scarlata, Paul
“Colt's Official Police Revolver”
, ''Shooting Times'' magazine Web site – Handgun Reviews. Accessed August 13, 2008. Very popular with

law enforcement officer A law enforcement officer (LEO), or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws. The phrase can include campaign disclosure specialists, local police officers, ...

s due to its light weight, the Positive Special went through a number of series or “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 Serration is a saw-like appearance or a row of sharp or tooth-like projections. A serrated cutting edge has many small points of contact with the material being cut. By having less contact area than a smooth blade or other edge, the applied p ...

one to reduce glare. The Third issue began in 1947, and the Fourth issue in 1977 introduced a

Colt Python The Colt Python is a .357 Magnum caliber revolver manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut.Dougherty, Martin ''Small Arms: From the Civil War to the Present Day'', New York City: Fall River Press, 2005, page 48. It w ...

-style shrouded ejector-rod housing. Production of the Police Positive Special ended in 1995.

Features

Produced with fine carbon steel, the Positive Special featured Colt’s characteristic highly polished surfaces and was available with Colt's signature bright

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

blued finish as well as a nickel-plated veneer. Built on Colt’s “D” frame, it was offered in four, five, and six inch barreled models, weighing a scant 23 ounces in the four inch. The Positive Special also incorporated Colt’s “Positive Lock”

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

which prevented the

firing pin A firing pin or striker is a part of the firing mechanism of a firearm that impacts the primer in the base of a cartridge and causes it to fire. In firearms terminology, a striker is a particular type of firing pin where a compressed spring ...

from hitting the primer unless the

trigger Trigger may refer to: Notable animals and people ;Mononym * Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers ;Nickname * Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist * "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster ;Surname * Bru ...

was deliberately pulled. Intended to address deficiencies of earlier models such as the

Single Action Army The Colt Single Action Army (also known as the SAA, Model P, Peacemaker, or M1873) is a Trigger (firearms)#Single-action, single-action revolver handgun. It was designed in 1872 for the U.S. government service revolver trials of 1872 by Colt's P ...

, Colt's Positive Lock prevented an

accidental discharge An unintentional discharge is the event of a firearm discharging (firing) at a time not intended by the user. An unintended discharge may be produced by an incompatibility between firearm design and usage, such as the phenomenon of cooking off a ...

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 Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' ( ...

rear sight, which was a simple V-notch shaped groove milled into the revolver’s topstrap.

Fitz Special

John Henry Fitzgerald first came up the

Fitz Special The Fitz Gerald Special, "Fitz Special", or "Fitz Colt" is a snubnosed revolver concept that was pioneered by John Henry Fitzgerald (also known as "Fitz"), an employee of Colt Firearms from 1918 to 1944. It is generally believed that fewer than ...

snubnosed revolver concept around the mid-1920s, when he modified a

Colt Police Positive Special revolver, whose shortest available barrel length was four inches. Fitz Special revolvers are made by taking any standard size Colt revolver, shortening the barrel to two inches, shortening the ejector rod, bobbing the hammer spur, rounding the butt, and removing the front half of the trigger guard. Reshaping the hammer and the butt allows the gun to be drawn quickly with little risk of the weapon snagging on clothing. The halved trigger guard facilitates quick trigger acquisition, even for shooters with large fingers or gloves. Although some historians disagree, it is believed that somewhere between forty to two hundred Fitz Specials left the factory, made from various Colt revolvers, by Fitzgerald himself. The Fitz Special was the precursor to the modern

snubnosed revolver A snubnosed revolver (colloquially known as a snubbie, belly gun, or bulldog revolver) is a small, medium, or large frame revolver with a short barrel, generally less than 4 inches in length. Smaller such revolvers are often made with "bobbed" o ...

and specifically the prototype for the

Colt Detective Special The Colt Detective Special is a six-shot, carbon steel framed, 2" or 3" barreled, double-action revolver, and the first example of a class of firearms known as "snubnose revolvers". Made by Colt's Manufacturing Company, this model revolver, as th ...

the first production two-inch snubnosed revolver. Even after the introduction of the Detective Special in 1927, Fitz continued to make custom revolvers for special clientele. Colonels

Rex Applegate Rex Applegate (June 21, 1914 – July 14, 1998) was an American military officer who worked for the Office of Strategic Services, where he trained Allied special forces personnel in close-quarters combat during World War II. He held the rank of co ...

and Charles Askins were proponents of the Fitz Special, and it would become a popular after-market conversion for many gunsmiths.

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the '' Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters cr ...

and

Clyde Barrow Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...

were also known to carry Fitz Specials.https://www.guns.com/news/2015/09/02/fitz-colt-snub-nosed-revolver-benchmark The Fitz Colt: The snub-nosed revolver benchmark 9/02/15 by Chris Eger

References

{{Colt's Manufacturing Company Colt revolvers Police weapons