We are offering for a sale a 1971 Colt AGENT revolver chambered in.38 special caliber. This is an original, unmolested example in for sale by baystategunbuyers on GunsAmerica - 909982953. Technically speaking, Colt serial numbers tend jump all over the place with no set pattern. That’s why it’s difficult to understand them without a point of reference. Design changes can also change the look of the serial numbers. For example, there is the issue of the 1970s Colt M1911’s commercial production.

.38 Revolver Gun
Colt 38 Special Agent Revolver Serial Numbers
Colt Agent 38 Special Revolver Serial Numbers By Year
Colt Agent 38 Special Revolver Serial Numbers Lookup
Colt Agent 38 Special Revolver Serial Numbers For Sale

Colt Police Positive.38 Special Production Information: Year: Serial Number Range: Year: Serial Number Range: 1908: 1-12999: 1941: 499: 1909: 9.

Detective Special
A Colt Detective Special, Fourth Series, with rubber grips and a shrouded ejector rod
Type	Revolver
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Manufacturer	Colt
Produced	1927–1986 1992–1995
Variants	Banker's Special Commando Special
Specifications
Mass	21 oz.
Length	63⁄4 in
Barrel length	2 in 3 in
Cartridge	.32 New Police .38 New Police .38 Special
Action	Double-action
Feed system	Six-roundcylinder
Sights	Fixed open sights

The Colt Detective Special is a six-shot, carbon steel framed, 2' barreled, double-actionrevolver, and the first example of a class of firearms known as 'snubnose revolvers'. Made by Colt's Manufacturing Company, this model revolver, as the name 'Detective Special' suggests, was intended to be a concealed weapon used by plainclothes police detectives.

Introduced in 1927, the Detective Special was the first short-barreled revolver produced with a modern swing-out frame. It was designed from the outset to be chambered for higher-powered cartridges such as the .38 Special, considered to be a powerful caliber for a concealable pocket revolver of the day. The Detective Special uses a slightly smaller frame than the Colt Official Police or Smith & Wesson Model 10 (K-Frame) revolvers, but is larger than the five-shot Smith & Wesson Model 36/Model 38/Model 42 (J-frame) revolvers.^[1]

Although the Detective Special proved to be an instant success when first introduced,^[2] lackluster sales saw the elimination of the Detective Special from the product line in 1995.

Design development[edit]

The Fitz Special[edit]

Fitz Special

John Henry Fitzgerald, an employee of Colt Firearms from 1918 to 1944, first came up the Fitz Special snubnosed revolver concept around the mid 1920s, when he modified a .38 SpecialColt Police Positive Special revolver,^[3] by 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.^[4]

Although historians disagree, it's believed that somewhere between 40 and 200 Fitz Specials left the Colt factory, made from various Colt revolvers, by Fitzgerald himself.^[5] The Fitz Special was the precursor to the modern snubnosed revolver and specifically the prototype for the Colt Detective Special, 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.

The Detective Special[edit]

A Colt Detective Special, Second Series on display

Colt was so impressed with the Fitz Special that they decided to produce a sightly less radical version, the Detective Special, which is simply a shortened and somewhat streamlined Colt Police Positive Special. The Detective Special proved to be an instant success and was made until 1995.^[2]

Colt's Detective Special went through several issues or series.^[6] The First Series was produced from 1927 until 1946. Compared to later production models, the First Series used a narrower frame, with reduced clearance between the frontstrap of the gripframe and the rear of the trigger guard. Other distinctive features included a shorter ejector rod with an ungrooved, knurled tip; a checkered hammer spur and cylinder latch, a 'half-moon'–shaped front sight, and an overlapping screw and locking pin set-up on the right side of the frame. Grip panels were wooden. A rounded butt on the metal frame became standard in 1933, but pieces with the original square butt (like that of the Police Positive Special) continued to be produced into the 1940s.^[1]

The Second Series ran from 1947 to 1972. The ejector-rod was longer and had a groove in its knurled tip; a three-inch-barrel variant was offered, with a yet longer ejector rod. The cylinder latch was smooth, and the trigger spur serrated. The right side frame screw has no locking pin, and the rear half of the front sight is a serrated ramp. The grip panels were plastic in 1947, but were changed back to wood starting in 1955 (first with a silver-tone Colt medallion, and later a gold-tone). An optional hammer shroud was available from the factory to prevent the hammer from catching on clothing.^[1]

Transition from the First to Second Series was gradual, with some post-WWII Second Series guns retaining short ejector rods and checkered hammers. Because of this, assigning a given revolver to a particular issue is best done by serial number.

A Colt Detective Special and a Smith & Wesson Model 36 showing the differences in size between the two models.

During the 1960s, the grip frame of the Second Series Detective Special was shortened, matching that of Colt's other snub-nosed pistols, the Cobra and Agent. Despite this alteration, the Detective Special's overall grip size remained unchanged, as Colt fitted the Second Series with new, lengthened gripstocks that extended below the frame.^[1]

The Third Series ran from 1973 to 1986. A new shroud extended down from the barrel, enclosing and protecting the ejector rod, and the front sight was changed to a full ramp. New, oversize wood gripstocks were introduced that covered the front frame strap. The Third Series featured improvements to the revolver's internal lockwork as well. As with the previous two Series models, a few nickel-plated guns were produced, and a 3-inch-barrel variant was again offered. In 1986, facing stagnant sales numbers as well as rising production and labor costs, Colt discontinued production of the Detective Special.^[7]

New Colt Detective Special in factory box with manual and extra grip

Colt stainless-steel SF-VI

Colt filed for bankruptcy protection in 1992. After reorganization, the company restarted production of the Detective Special in 1992. The post-1991 Detective Special is sometimes called the Fourth Series, and featured 'composite' (rubber), wrap-around grips with a gold medallion. Only a two-inch barrel was offered, in blue or hard chrome finish. The new production run continued only until 1995, when Colt introduced its stainless-steel SF-VI as a replacement for the Detective Special.^[1]

From its introduction, the Detective Special used Colt's ‘Positive Safety Lock’ (hammer block), first featured on the Police Positive; the mechanism interposes a bar between hammer and f

Colt Agent 38 Special Revolver Serial Numbers