Colt Mark III .357 magnum

[thebabybrahma]

Picked up one today with a 2" barrel. serial number 01602U. What do I have and what is it worth - other than what someone will pay for it?

New to the Colt world, my only other one is a King Cobra. thanks guys

[TNWNGR]

Colt Trooper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Mark III wasn't well regarded at the time which was a bit unfair as it shot well and was failrly accurate. Collector wise, well it's not a Python and it was intended to compete with the S&W M-19.

[1gewehr]

The MKIII Trooper is an excellent revolver. Mine has an excellent trigger and is as accurate as any S&W .357. They are much stronger than the S&W M19, and capable of handling a steady diet of heavy .357 loads. The Colt double-action mechanism is more complex than the S&W, and doesn't have the two-stage pull. It's just one smooth, steady pull until it fires. Colts like to be clean and lightly oiled inside. Pick up Jerry Kuhnhausen's excellent book on Colt double-action revolvers to learn everything you need to know to keep this example of the gun-makers art running indefinitely. Volume II deals with the 'J' frame (Trooper) and larger actions.

While I am very fond of the S&W revolvers, only the M27 and M29 can really compare to the Colt Trooper III in terms of quality and durability.

[Jimbo100]

Really nice guns. You might want to go to the Colt Forum as well to search MK III models.

New to me Lawman Mk III questions and comments

Only note of caution is don't dry fire without snap caps. The firing pin may break and replacement is a factory job as I understand it.

Edited November 21, 2011 by Jimbo100