Colt Police Positive

About the Colt Police Positive

The Colt Police Positive is a six-shot, double-action revolver introduced by Colt for the American law enforcement market. The original Police Positive of 1907 was chambered for short cartridges such as the .32 and .38 Colt New Police; in 1908 the frame and cylinder were lengthened to create the Police Positive Special, which accepted the longer and more powerful .38 Special and .32-20 WCF rounds. Its defining feature was the Colt 'Positive Lock' hammer-block safety, which prevented the hammer from reaching the cartridge primer unless the trigger was fully pulled, giving the model its name. Widely carried by police departments and civilians alike, it became a staple of early- and mid-20th-century American shooting.

Frequently seen on screen in Depression-era gangster films and film noir, the Colt Police Positive epitomized the American police sidearm of its era and appeared as the very first handgun Ian Fleming gave to James Bond before the better-known Walther PPK.

Colt Police Positive specifications

The .38 Special chambering is the Police Positive Special variant (1908 onward); the base Police Positive of 1907 was limited to shorter .32 and .38 New Police cartridges. Grips were checkered hard rubber until 1924, when checkered walnut became standard. The Detective Special (1926) was a snub-nosed development of the Police Positive Special.