1957 COLT 357, refinish or no?

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>>34373030
Heres it right after I traded for it, it was a little dirty, and you can see the nickle is wore off.

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>>34373030
some close ups of where the nickle stops and its bare metal.

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>>34373051
more nickle wear

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>>34373030
After I got it home and disassembled to start cleaning, surprisingly little wear inside.

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>>34373086
the wear after cleaning, miles better I think, but still easily visible to anyone who cares to look.

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>>34373104
other side after cleaning

>>34373030
And of course my favorite part the bore, absolutely no wear I can see, not at the muzzle, or the loading area.

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>>34373158
fuck forgot pic

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>>34373164
If you look closely where I have it marked, It was hard to get a pic of this, but i can even see the tiny striations and tool marks from when they rifled the bore thats not just chatter form teh camera, , which i think is just amazing.

Jeez, that's a nice looking gun

nah it's fine, wear shows character and makes it interesting.

Blue it. Not the whole thing, just where it's worn.

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>>34373030

Cool gat anon. My grandfather carried pic related in Korea on a B17. It's the same exact gun as you can see, except it's blued, and marked as a Trooper. First gun I ever fired. Basically the same gun as yours, including the rare pepe lanyard loop. Yours is marked as a Colt .357 though and not Trooper so it's probably an earlier gun. Coolio.

I don't know if the gun has any collector value left since it has an aftermarket trigger shoe that permanently modified the gun, the finish is not in very good shape, and you're missing the ejector rod cap. As rare pepe as the gun might be, it's not meme or in good enough shape to where it's collector grade or would command a lot of money.

I personally feel like yours is in restoration tier because of it's overall condition. If you do decide to refinish it, be sure to do something classy and have it hot blued or re-nickeled. Do NOT fucking cerakote or NP3 it, as that will surely ruin any value the gun may have. As long as you do something classic and classy that's proper vintage for the gun, you can clean it up and preserve its intrinsic value to a degree. Good luck with it!

>>34373086
>surprisingly little wear inside
Usually the case with police guns, fair to heavy holster wear but little actual use.

>>34373164
Fuck me sideways that is a CRISP bore, they're usually nice on police guns since they're fired seldom, but that is a mirror sheen, must barely have been shot, if everr.

The bore is in exquisite condition, I almost want to say to get it professionally renickled just to match the beautiful lands and grooves.

Get the cap for the ejector rod replaced too, that's missing. Maybe get the trigger fully nickeled as well to match.
Then just enjoy this baby as a very fine shooter, make sure to baby it and clean it every trip, so that it remains pretty.

>>34374916
>>34373864
If I was going to do anything to it Id take it to a shop and get it nickle plated so it would match the factory finish, It is missing the cap on the ejector rod but ive already ordered that part and its not a big deal.
>>34373967
From what I can tell though a bit of reasearch the trooper was the cheaper more mass produced model, the python was the expensive nice model, and the colt 357 was in between the 2, no a cheap as the trooper, not as nice as the python, But yours is way better looking than mine.

Also I dont know if the trigger shoe is permanent or not, its help in place by to alan screws, but like 1/16th alans or 1/32nd, I dont have the right key for that size, but I think it might just be friction fit.
>>34374875
The bore is better in person I can still see tool marks on the rifling so this bore hasent even had enough wear to take those out.

>>34373030
Any refinish will destroy it's value. Leave it alone.

If you want to fuck around with a gun get something else. If you want a gun that looks nice get something else.

>>34376562
I got it with the intent to trade up, but when I looked into it i found it might be worth a lot more than the $380 beretta i traded for it, and maybe even more if I shelled out to make it like it came from factory.

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>>34373030
I have to agree with >>34373967 that the overall condition and the model makes it not worth much as a collector. That said, get it refinished properly (really like the re-nickel idea). I'm in the same boat with a 1912 Colt model 1903 hammerless.

>>34376877
What do you guys think its worth as it sits? Im having a hard time finding a value for it, since only 15 were made and i cant find any for sale, let alone one with 50% finish.

>>34376907
The only one I could find is this, http://www.gunbroker.com/item/651800289, but that is damn near perfect while mine is shooter grade at best.

>>34376562
Breh, the bore of this gun is just too beautiful to let the outside look tarnished and worn.

>>34376907
I don't know what you traded for it but If it was mine and I wanted to sell it I'd put it up on GB starting at $800 with no reserve and see what happens. Finish damage or not it is a rare gun that some collector will want.

>>34378601
Thats my thoughts exactly, the internals are all equally unworn
>>34378631
I traded a beretta 92fs, police surplus, that i bought for 380$ 2 weeks ago, But that is a really good idea. Im going to a gunshow this weekend and i was gonna show it around see if I can get some money for it, or maybe keep on trading up, but that is a great idea

>>34373030
Restore and refinish it anon.
Get a new heirloom in your family.

>>34378689
Make sure you include pictures and description of how nice the internals and the bore are. I bet it does really well.

>>34378871
If I end up listing it on GB I will, i might even post a link here when I list it for anons like you.

>>34373164
By god it can't even have been fired *once* in it's existence. See if you can maybe take a few seconds of video of it with a borelight or something so we can see the light play on the lands and grooves.

>>34378819
This, maybe have your name or initials engraved or plated onto the sideplate, perhaps see if you can find some really pretty and pristine Mother Of Pearl grips, they go really well with a bright and shiny nickel finish.

>>34378885
Honestly, you should hold on to it.

>>34373030
If you have absolutely any intention of selling this thing now or in the near future than do not do absolutely anything to it, anything that alters it no matter how tasteful or subtle will bring down the value significantly.

If you plan on never selling it and keeping it in your family your whole life than I'd say go ahead and make her look nice again, but don't go for a cheapo backyard refinish, get it professionally nickled

>>34379516
I think I can do that, hold on.

>>34379758
>>34379516
So I was able to take a vid showing the rifling, its not super great quality cause its with my phone and the focus likes to change a lot, BUT you can see the rifling and maybe even the existing tool ridges still on it.

Pretty good for a gun made in 1957.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sDt_FJ-hJk

>>34376329

That is true of later Troopers like the MKIIIs, but even those are very nice guns. My grandfather's gun is literally the exact same as your gun part for part, save for maybe the lanyard loop, upon closer inspection. The only difference between our guns is the branding and the finish.

>>34379566

Trooper guy again. The problem is that the gun is in such poor condition that it doesn't command any money as it sits now. With chipping nickel, a replacement part, a trigger shoe, and worn grips, you'd be lucky to get 6-700 for it. I was quoted 1100 for my grandfathers, but even I find that hard to believe. I've seen early Colt .357s and non mark Troopers go for under that much in good condition with no box or papers.

That's a Colt Model 357 as you already know, the story is that Colt came out with this model to be a more "premium" choice to the Trooper as at the time, the Trooper was only chambered in .38. Flash forward to 1955, when Colt came out with their new Super-Premium Python. This was the beginning of the end of the Model 357, because if people wanted a premium handgun, they bought the Python, and if they wanted a little better value, they bought the Trooper, leaving the Model 357 in the dust. They discontinued the 357 in 1961 if I remember correctly, with production at around 15,000. There's a little background on it for you anon.

That was 1969 actually, I apologize for the error.

>>34381108
It's going to go for even less money if you refinish it, at that point you'll barely get anything for it.

>>34381470
>>34381450
Its all good, but I think the python was introduced in 1954, literally 1 year after the tooper and colt 357 were introduced, so for its entire lifetime except the very first year it had very little sales, and only around 15k were made and sold while there were +100,000 pythons made by 1969

>>34381053
>>34381108
I know itll go for less right now because of the poor condition, but i already have the missing ejector cap coming to me, and I still dont know if that trigger shoe is removable without any harm, i think it might be.
>>34381591
Its a 1957 colt 357, at this point with $380 into the cost of the gun I could spend 300 to have it professionally redone by colt themselves and still easily break even, because its a very nice "I" frame revolver in 357 made in 1957, even if its not a python.


Im taking it to a gun show this weekend, im not going to put a price on it, just "CASH/TRADE" and see what turns up. I might even ask around some of the dealer tables with old guns like pythons and see if they can give me more reputable advice than I could get on a siberian ice fishing forum. Definitely not sell to any of those guys, theyd fuck me on price, but they probably know mare than I do.

>>34381653
Python was introduced in 1955, you may be thinking about advertisements, as Colt was taking pre-orders for them. The reason not many were made until 69 is because there were literally 2 people making and assembling Pythons BY HAND until that year. The reason why? Colt was so hell-bent on it being the finest revolver ever made, which it was.

>>34381697
Ive never held a python, but going by the trigger on this colt and the fit on the inside, the pythons mustve been insane to be any nicer

>>34381733
I own a Python. It is my prized possession and the best gun I've ever owned.

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>>34381733
They're really immaculately machined, polished, finished and put together, the goal was DeLuxe and the Python was DeLuxe, the trigger is very smooth and fine.

That said, the lockwork is also sensitive (partially this is what makes it smooth), and the springs and timing is known to wear fairly easily.
The Colt Trooper was much more robust in it's build, and it's reflected in what kind of weapon it was intended to be, a service revolver.

The Trooper is very fine in it's own right, however, and I like how it's more rugged.

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>>34373030
Very impressed. I think you should blue it, any so called value was lost when it got to this state in the first place. True value is in ownership.

My 1964 Official Police, literally owned but never shot for $430.