Colt Model 1900

About the Colt Model 1900

The Colt Model 1900 was the first commercial semi-automatic pistol made by Colt and the first of John Browning's locked-breech automatic pistol designs to reach production, chambered in the new .38 ACP cartridge. It used a short-recoil action with a twin parallel-link tilting barrel that drew the barrel straight down to unlock the breech. Its most distinctive feature was a pivoting rear sight that doubled as a manual safety: pressing the sight down locked the firing mechanism. Tested by the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy in 1900-1901, the Model 1900 established the mechanical lineage that led through the Models 1902 and 1905 to the M1911.

The Model 1900 was Browning's first locked-breech automatic to enter production and Colt's entry into the self-loading pistol market. Its quirky pivoting sight-safety made it a transitional design; combat lessons and trials pushed Colt and the U.S. Army through successive refinements toward a larger .45 caliber, culminating in the M1911.

Colt Model 1900 specifications

The sight-safety was mechanically sound but impractical, as it could not be reached by the firing hand in a normal grip; later Model 1900 examples and the follow-on Model 1902 dropped it. Weight (~990 g / ~35 oz) and overall length (~229 mm) are approximate, as early production specs varied. .38 ACP muzzle figures here reflect the original 130-grain Colt load (~1,260 fps / ~460 ft-lbs).