One of the most interesting and perhaps underrated handguns of all time is the Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless. The 1903 is a product of John Moses Browning’s engineering genius. The pistol is attractive; it is so thin it is downright svelte. The pistol was called the Model M internally at Colt and the Pocket Hammerless in advertising. The pistol isn’t a true hammerless pistol as the hammer is simply hidden from view. Browning designed a .45 Auto with a hidden hammer along with many other prototype pistols indicating the 1903 pistol is an example of his thoughts at the time.  The 1903 had in place many of the advantages of the later Colt 1911 .45 automatic. These included a removable box magazine, a slide lock safety that made the pistol safe for carry with the hammer cocked and to the rear, and a grip safety that prevented the pistol from firing unless the grip were firmly depressed. The pistol fit most hands well and was no larger than needed for the .32 Automatic Colt Pistol chambering. While similar to FN produced handguns the Colt seemed to have an American profile in comparison to the Browning 1910 pistol.   

The Colt 1903 is a straight blowback handgun without the complications of a locked breech. It was popular when introduced and  Americans widely accepted the new self loading pistol. While the impression exists that the revolver was more popular in America and the self loader practically universal in Europe quality self loading pistols were very popular in American. The flat profile and increased number of shots over the revolver was appealing. The small caliber .32 ACP was much more powerful than the .32 Smith and Wesson revolver cartridge. As an example the 71 grain full metal jacketed .32 ACP breaks about 1,000 fps from the Colt while the .32 Smith and Wesson Long’s 98 grain round nose lead bullet exhibits 680 fps in a four inch barrel hand ejector revolver. Penetration, the single most important component of wound potential, was better with the .32 ACP round. The Colt with its nine rounds of ammunition was obviously the better personal defense handgun than a small .32 caliber revolver.  During the life of the Colt 1903 some 572,000 were manufactured. In addition another 134,500 Colt 1908 models were sold. These were the Colt 1903 in .380 ACP caliber. The 1903 Model M handguns were produced in four variants. They were popular with cops, especially detectives, bad guys and civilians. While I prefer more smash than offered by the .32 ACP cartridge it was more powerful and with more penetration than the common .32 revolver cartridges of the day and the .380 ACP even more powerful. When armed with a Colt automatic you had a fine handgun well worth the price.

Colt was a pacesetter in the introduction of reliable self loading handguns. Colt’s pistols changed the handgunning world forever. Smith and Wesson offered the oddball .35 Smith and Wesson, which was really a generation behind the Colt 1903 when introduced. Savage claimed Ten Shots Quick with their pistol and the Savage .32 was interesting, but it did not handle as well as the Colt. Colt manufactured excellent double action revolvers and the 1911 .45 but did not neglect the small pistol market either. The Colt was most famously carried by NYCPD detectives. It was a favored lady’s gun and was the piece carried by Eleanor Roosevelt during her travels. Fictional characters also used the Colt 1903. Humphrey Bogart hefted either a 1903 or 1908 in Casablanca and early Dick Tracy detective comics had the fearless detective armed with a Colt 1903. Real bad buys such as John Dillinger and the very bad girl Bonnie Parker, from the other side of the fence, carried the Colt 1903 as a backup. 

The Colt 1903 was very popular worldwide. Records show that dozens of Japanese Army and Navy Officers ordered Colt automatic pistols for personal use. Considering the size and weight of the underpowered 8mm Nambu I would have preferred the Colt as well.

The pistol was issued to general officers as the official sidearm, along with a holster and spare magazine. The 1903 saw use with CID personnel. The 1908 handgun was purchased by the Shanghai police and saw a great deal of action. The pistol was air dropped into Europe and snuck in by OSS agents. Many resistance fighters were armed with the Colt 1903 pistol. The movie Operation Anthropoid depicts this use accurately, and the price many of these brave men and women paid. The pistol was trusted worldwide as a reliable accurate and lightweight handgun. After the end of World War Two the Model 1903 was no longer manufactured but remained in use for decades longer, including serving as the General Officer’s Pistol until the 1970s. Today a modern replica is licensed by Colt and manufactured by Advanced Armament Corporation. This pistol follows the General Officer’s Pistol pattern, with a parkerized finish and wooden grips.    

The Colt Model M as the factory referred to it was among the lightest Colt self loading pistols at 24 ounces. The pistol is 6.75 inches long and only 1.15 inch wide. No wonder John Dillinger had one under his shirt on that hot and sultry day when he was shot dead by FBI agents. The pistol features a grip safety and a slide lock safety. The handgun was touted by Colt as safe with only the grip safety in use as a safety measure. The ‘flipping sear’ arrangement indeed made for a very safe handgun. I have carried the Colt 1903 as a backup to the Colt 1911 and find the similarities in handling make for a very nice pair. While there are more modern choices the Colt 1903 is well made of good material and I would not hesitate to trust an example in good condition for personal defense. Modern lightweight 9mm pistols caused the retirement of my 1903 for this purpose some time ago.

When the new breed of ultra compact .32 ACP pistols was introduced beginning with the Kel Tec polymer frame pistol it was fashionable to provide an illustration of the new pistols beside the larger Colt 1903. While there is a size difference there is also a difference in combat ability. The .32 ACP pocket pistols basically fill the niche once owned by small .25 ACP pistols. They are difficult to hit with past a few yards. The Colt 1903, in comparison, is as accurate as many service pistols. I have fired mine extensively. With the CCI Blazer 71 grain practice load I have fired a five shot group into a spacing of less than two inches at 15 yards. The pistol’s practical accuracy is limited by the small sights but then they were the norm for the day. In fast paced combat drills such as the Applegate Point, in which the pistol is quickly brought to bear and fired as soon as the slide breaks the plane between the eyes and the target, the Colt 1903 is a very fast handling pistol with a high hit probability. The Colt 1903 is a great handgun, with a rich history and much practical value.    

Variations – There are four primary variations of the Colt 1903, not counting military versions that were parkerized. The first model featured a four inch barrel and barrel bushing. The next model, beginning in 1908, has a 3.75 inch barrel with barrel bushing, the third type have the short barrel but no barrel bushing. The final version introduced in 1926 has the same 3.75 inch barrel and bushingless barrel and also a magazine safety that prevents the pistol from firing if the magazine is not in place.

Leather for the 1903 – There are a number of custom makers that offer good quality leather holsters for the Colt 1903. World War Supply offers a replica of the original military flap holster, complete with a cleaning rod as originally issued. This is a good addition to an original Colt pistol. Wright Leatherworks is among a very few makers offering quality leather for the Colt 1903. I have used the Wright inside the waistband holster for the Colt 1903 pistol. Well made and with an excellent fit and finish this holster allows good concealment of the flat and light Colt 1903. This holster is still ordered occasionally and the company keeps a mold available, indicating that folks are still using the Colt 1903 as intended.

The SIG P365 has earned a reputation as a reliable and useful concealed carry handgun. It isn’t useful for competetion or service use but it is a purpose designed concealed carry and protection handgun. The P 365 has a small foot print and is easily concealed in a quality holster. If you enjoy firing the SIG P365 you will enjoy the P365 XL even more. The XL variant features a longer barrel and slide than the P365. The result is a pistol with more weight a better balance and a longer sight radius. In some situations you may really need the edge in concealment offered by the P365, but for most of us the P365XL is easily concealed. The pistol is optics ready and also has a taller grip that accommodates a 12 round magazine compared to the original ten round magazine. This long slide version of the popular P365 9mm isn’t a large handgun but per my testing it shoots like a big gun.

The gripping surface officers a good balance of adhesion and abrasion offering a solid gripping surface when the hands are cold, wet or sweaty. A good feature is that the pistol offers a rail for mounting combat lights, a big improvement over most small handgun. The pistol features a straight trigger an improved design over previous P 365 pistols. The slide features cocking serrations both forward and rear. The extractor is a robust design while the ejection port is generous. The magazine release is an unusual triangular design. A tapered magazine and generous magazine well makes for rapid speedloads. The slide release is easily reached. Takedown is simple enough and the pistol is easily maintained. The sights are SIG’s XRAY type three dot tritium night sights. Night sights or self luminous iron sights are essential to all around the clock defense. All in all this is a credible capable and nice looking package.

The pistol was lightly lubricated on the long bearing surfaces and barrel hood before firing. The magazines are well designed and reliable units. However they are very difficult to load to full capacity. Loading to ten rounds isn’t difficult. Stiff springs are essential to reliable function. The eleventh and twelfth round, however, were pressed in only with difficulty. I would recommend loading 12 rounds, locking the slide to the rear, and dropping the slide to give the shooter a total 12 round capacity. For most of the test I loaded ten rounds in the magazines for convenience. Most of the loads used were Winchester Ready 115 grain FMJ along with some Browning FMJ loads. The pistol was fired at 7, 10, and 15 yards. Most of the firing was accomplished in quick down and dirty drills. I drew quickly from concealment and quickly getting on target. I fired double taps, hammers, and controlled pairs depending on the range. The pistol gets on target quickly. Good accuracy is a result of the excellent trigger and sights. I did not explore the red dot option. For those who prefer optics the SIG P365XL will accommodate.  

The pistol never failed to feed, chamber, fire or eject. The SIG P365 gets on target quickly and good center of mass hits are easily obtained at 7 to 10 yards for those who practice. The pistol isn’t useless at 25 yards it simply demands attention to the sights and trigger and more time in affirming the sight picture. I fired the pistol with the Winchester 124 grain +P hollow point a modern loading with excellent wound potential. At nearly 1200 fps this is a hard hitting load. Recoil is there but the pistol isn’t difficult to control. I finally settled down to fire the pistol for absolute slow fire accuracy. Firing from the MTM Caseguard K Zone firing rest at 15 yards I fired the Winchester 124 grain +P and the Winchester 115 grain FMJ, firing five shot groups. The FMJ loading put five into two inches and the +P put five into just a little smaller group. The SIG P365 XL is among the most attractive concealed carry pistols. It is worth a hard look.

During the test I used a DeSantis Mini Belt Slide, using it for an original P365 fired for comparison and the P365XL as well.

SIG P365 XL 9mm

Length: 6.6 in.
Height: 4.8 in.
Width:  1.3 in.
Weight: 21 oz.
Barrel Length: 3.7 in.
Capacity: 12 rounds

Author’s note: I just want to be clear that I’ve had this particular draft saved on my computer prior to Mr. Hackathorn’s October 19, 2022 YouTube video hosted on Wilson Combat’s channel concerning red dot and iron sights on handguns. This piece has nothing to do with that, and timing is just coincidental.

I am writing this in annum 2022, in which in the Internet firearms landscape might appear to be divided by the boomers and the zoomers. Boomers are presumably laughed at for their lack of self awareness in their admiration over what are technically more fickle firearms designs with lower capacity that use more cumbersome and expensive cartridges. The zoomers are the younger camp that epitomizes the attitude of “the future is now, old man.” Zoomer guns are made of plastic, hold 24 cartridges, have a mounted dot and weapon light, and strikers because ain’t nobody got time for hammers. Zoomer designs, materials, carry methods, holster choices and all manner of accouterments are a sharp contrast from the wood, steel, and leather aspects of the past.

I must confess that I have a deep appreciation for old guns, their designs and their contextual use continues to this day and is one of my favorite topics to keep discovering. The more I learn about shooting today, the more interesting drawing connections and analyzing the past becomes to me.  

One cannot understand the present without studying the past.

The impetus for this article comes from some of the insights I gathered after I wrote the Stakeout Unit piece. Jim Cirillo preferred a .38 Special K-frame Smith & Wesson while Bill Allard preferred his tuned 1967 National Match pistol. One man preferred a revolver and another man preferred a 1911. Simple enough, right? On today’s Internet, either man would be dismissed as a grandpa who needs to chill. But giving the topic more thought, it dawned on me: for basically four generations, the American shooter, regardless of their occupation as soldiers, cops, competitive shooters, or regular people– they all either carried and shot revolvers or a 1911 pistol.

And yes, you had those who preferred the Hi-Power but I’d argue they were the CZ hipster shooters of their day.

Four generations covers an entire century, so it is no wonder these weapons have permeated deeper cultural layers and became things of legend and tradition. I am not saying that there aren’t boomers out there who miss the point entirely and don’t get it, but it’s easy for zoomers to laugh at a boomer who shoots a revolver or 1911 seriously without realizing that this boomer came up shooting guns like that for their entire life. The same way their fathers and grandfathers did before them. Like the gentlemen from the Stakeout Unit mentioned above, clueful shooters understood and worked around their guns’ limitations. This is why Stakeout Unit members also carried extra pistols with them and brought shotguns on stakeouts as well. They made use of what was available at the time to the best of their ability. This is the kind of familiarity that brings forth comfort and thus confidence with chosen gear. It is difficult to blame a shooter that has put in the time and work and smartly understands their chosen firearm for sticking to it in spite better options being available. Like with everything, context is crucial.

Legacy and tradition never stopped yesteryear’s shooters from moving forward and finding better ways to do things. The shooting thought leaders of the era rightfully continued to think outside the box and developed better support gear like speedloaders or better holsters. There is a reason why the photo of Milt Sparks and Bruce Nelson is the first thing you see when you click on this article.

Incidents with criminals, such as the aftermath of the 1986 Miami shootout, the US military switching to the M9 pistol and regular innovation also propelled the state of things forward as well. But so ingrained was the generations’ old legacy of revolvers and 1911s that during the early days of the 9mm Luger “wondernine” revolution, many of the big gun companies offered double-action only variants of their models in order to court shooters who had already spent their entire lives shooting revolvers. The venerable Beretta 92 D comes to mind, for example.  

Understanding the complications of a revolver’s timing or the fragility of the 1911’s internal extractor makes me appreciate my Glock 17 even more so. In the same way, modern shooters are embracing positive aspects from old wheelguns or single action 1911s. More than a century later, shooters are still obsessed with the pull and break provided by a well tuned 1911 style trigger. They see the performance benefits and so 2011 style pistols are soaring in popularity now. These guns take the best benefits that a 1911 offers and address other shortcomings, like the lack of capacity, for example. Similarly, while duty size revolvers are not as popular as they once were, the American consumer still likes to buy compact sized carry-friendly revolvers as they excel in certain self defense niches.

By the way, the boomer and zoomer memes are funny. Don’t stop sharing them.

Is it a return to the moon missions?

Not quite that exciting, but close.

The Apollo series from Dark Star Gear is the essentials you need to start carrying with any of the four most popular slim-9’s as soon as it arrives. It is meant to take the guesswork out of the holster selection and accessory process and do the one thing you’re buying the holster to do, carry your gun.

From DSG,

Introducing Apollo! 

With what we learned from the years of feedback from our Orion and Hitchhiker holsters, we’ve packaged the most desired features into one new offering. We noticed a pattern for the current generation of concealed carry pistols and their buyers. I don’t want to say we’ve taken the guesswork out. But we’ve taken out the confusion/analysis paralysis/FOMO. You get a holster that lets you get rockin’ and rollin’, locked and loaded, right away. You can still adjust it easily to your needs.

The Apollo is optic cut, has dual 1.5” belt clips, and adjustable ride height all as standard. Ambidextrous for all users, without any of the drawbacks or feature limitations found in other holsters. And before you ask, yes it is Enigma compatible.

With an initial launch covering the Glock G48/43X/43, SIG P365/P365X/P365XL, Smith & Wesson Shield Plus/1.0/2.0, and Springfield Armory Hellcat RDP we are focusing on the most popular and comfortable carry guns selling to most new owners. But don’t fret, following this launch Apollo will have plenty of your old favorites as well.

Now for the best part, especially for anyone who has waited to order previously when they saw that cart total. MSRP: $49.99, but this Black Friday launch features an introductory 20% off bringing it to $39.99!  

They’re in stock!  If you can place the order, they’re in stock.

In the last two weeks I happened to stop at two different big box outdoor stores for some reason or another. Honestly, it was primarily to check out the used gun counter. Especially because I like to gawk at the retail prices for used vintage Smith and Wesson revolvers or Colt 1911 autos and especially anything that is a USGI firearm. You’d think that the person responsible for pricing every M-1 Garand, M-1 Carbine or USGI M1911-A1 takes a hit from a crack pipe each time they fill out a new price label. Other times, these “gun rooms” just happen to have neat things that you don’t see every day, like a museum exhibit.

After I was done “browsing” at one store, I could not help but to notice the fact they had actual smokeless powders and also primers in stock and readily available. These weren’t behind any glass display case or out of reach to the public either—they were just on the shelf like the before times. Out of shock, I even picked up a one pound container of Hogdon H-335 just to make sure it wasn’t some empty display. No sir, when I picked it up I felt each of those seven thousand grains in that container. Then I grabbed the container of HP-38 next to it make sure it wasn’t a fluke. Same thing. All right, how about the 8lb jug above? Full. Damn.

The other store was much smaller, but I was also surprised to find containers of smokeless propellant freely available for purchase. I could not remember the last I saw something like that where it was not a coincidence.

And the primers! The first store I am referencing had actual primers there. Several one thousand count cartons. Not surprisingly, small pistol primers were sold out. I did notice small pistol magnum, small rifle, and small rifle magnum along with CCI BR-4s and Federal Small Rifle Gold Medal.

Nature is healing.

Seeing powder and primer on the shelves is a welcome sight to my weary eyes, but the downside are the new “stable” prices. The average price of a pound of powder is now $39.99, with a $12 difference from the last time I purchased any in early 2021. As for primers, it wasn’t long ago that a one thousand primer brick retailed for only $35-$40 dollars. The average price is now $89.99 be it small rifle, small pistol, etc. I noticed that the CCI BR-4s were selling for $149.99 while the Federal Gold Medal small rifle brick was now $99.99. While the new prices are a bummer to any of us who have been reloading, the bright side is that these supplies are now becoming easier to find.

From reports this morning a disgruntled employee at the Walmart in Chesapeake Virginia open fired on his coworkers last night, killing 6 before killing himself. Unlike the Club Q shooting, the details coming out of this one appear to be tragically straight forward. An employee of the company felt wronged and chose violence as his method of retribution rather than quitting.

‘Disgruntled Employee’ won’t make as many headlines for as long as ‘MAGA Republican lawmaker’s Non-Binary Grandson attacks LGBTQ Club’ and the fact the employee apparently used the three times as common, and therefore more boring, handgun will also result in a quickly fading national interest beyond what can be leveraged for more gun control.

Nothing will be widely delved into about the employee’s alleged grievances, nothing will emerge on to what extent they were valid or exaggerated. Nobody will acknowledge that the media frenzy around events like Club Q, and now Walmart, will remind people, including those who it is dangerous to remind, that violence is a very attention grabbing option and that choosing it grants infamy. Infamy is enough for those dangerous few.

But what we’re seeing here is a dangerous inversion of the threat matrix. Being shot on any given day, especially in a mass shooting is an unlikely event. But it is a highly dangerous one, more so than tripping and twisting your ankle walking around your pet. The pet is a much more present hazard with a low probability of death, but they represent a substantial amount of the trip injuries that ERs see.

What I am getting at is the threat matrix, also known more broadly as risk assessment. While risk assessment can be used for all physical, social, and financial risks, a threat assessment is more focused on actual physical threats to you or your entity.

What is the risk a car crashes through the front of the store? What are the odds it is accidental vs deliberate? What are the odds someone shoots at you at work? What is the breakdown on the odds that the shooter is an employee, a known customer, or a random? These are all threat matrix type questions and anyone who has worked in business and professional safety for awhile will acknowledge that the people you know, employees and customers, are the higher threat when it comes to violence in the workplace. But that said, the overwhelming majority of your efforts will be spent preventing accidents and not assaults. That is how the threat matrix breaks down.

The biggest enemy of the publicly accessible space is the preventable injury, not a crazy customer or an angry employee.

Appropriate Appreciation of the Threat

The media is going to continue to make Colorado the scarier event, propping up their pet theory for why a prominent locale that supports a media relevant and controversial current hot button like drag was attacked. This puts the weight of the ‘next’ attack seem like it will be more LGBTQ clubs, and there is an appreciable threat there from the attention, the attitudes, and the current interest from various extreme elements.

But for Pulse and Club Q, how many workplace violence incidents do we have? How many disgruntled employees who resorted to homicide, maybe not to a mass shooting level? At the mass shooting level I can think of about a half a dozen, probably more given time to go through a list.

The risk of the Walmart type event is much greater than Club Q, and just as dangerous.

That said, the risk of either event is both low and yet appreciable. The risk of deliberate violence should never be downplayed, which is what CNN seems to mistake here,

The shooting, which came two days ahead of Thanksgiving as customers were doing last-minute shopping, is yet another instance of how gun violence erupts in American life in places traditionally seen as safe, from schools to stores and even hospitals.

Places traditionally seen as safe are far from it, we just do not pay attention. They are safe in scale, they are reasonably safe, they certainly aren’t at the risk level of a drug house about to be raided by the police or the streets of Iran filled with protestors. But they are not and never have been ‘safe’ in the objective sense, only in the relative. It can only ever be in the relative sense, true objective safety where nothing bad can occur is impossible.

Yet we still parrot the line and pretend that it is, because it is inconvenient to all involved to worry about the reality that it isn’t.

Should you be concerned about being shot today? Yes. But with very likely the same risk you had yesterday and tomorrow, so take prudent steps. You should also worry about tripping over your pet with very likely the same risk window. That is how risk works.