Back in 1910 John Moses Browning had created two prototype automatic pistols, one was chambered for the 45ACP cartridge, and the other was a scaled down pistol of the same design chambered for the 38ACP, and also for the experimental 9.8mm Automatic Colt cartridge.
The 45ACP version would go on to be adopted by the US Army and become the iconic Colt M1911, the 38 Automatic/9.8mm version would fade away into obscurity despite its without doubt being a perfect .38″ caliber Colt automatic pistol.
Fast Facts
- In 1910 Colt were working on the prototype of an automatic pistol chambered for the 45ACP cartridge, and also on a seven-eighths scaled down identical design for which they trialed chambering in 38ACP (38 Automatic) and also for a new 9.8mm rimless cartridge.
- The 45ACP chambered pistol was adopted by the US Army and became the Colt M1911A1.
- The smaller .38″ caliber version did not gain any military contracts and the project was stopped in 1913.
- Just five prototype .38 caliber Colt automatic pistols were made and these are now some of the most rare variants of the Colt Automatic pistol extant.
- One of these prototypes, serial number 4, is coming up for sale by Rock Island Auction on May 17, 2024.
In the beginning there were two experimental Colt automatic pistols created in 1910: one was the Colt Model 1910 made in 45ACP which would gain US Army acceptance in 1911 and in refined form become the Colt M1911 which went on to serve the US Military for decades.
But there was another Colt 1910 experimental pistol, prototypes were made in 38 Automatic, and in an experimental 9.8mm cartridge. This fascinating pistol was an approximately seven eighths size scaled down sibling of its 1910/1911 counterpart being narrower and smaller with a barrel length of 4½ inches. It was a re-designed “Colt 1911″ made to the best dimensions for a true .38” caliber pistol.
This experimental prototype is known to have been made chambered for the 38 Automatic, and for the 9.8mm cartridge in both semi-rimmed and rimless versions because factory barrels exist for all three.
John Moses Browning’s early automatic pistols were made to be compact civilian, military and police handguns for that age when it was perfectly normal for civilians and travelers to be armed. The list of his designs with Colt includes the 38ACP models 1900, 1902, 1903 Pocket Hammer, the 32ACP 1903 Pocket Hammerless, and the diminutive 25ACP models of 1906 and 1908.
Indeed it may have transpired that had it not been for the Philippine-American War and the experiences the US Army gained in that conflict, that the US Army standard side-arm might have been a .38″ caliber automatic pistol and not the Colt 1911 in 45ACP.
The US Armed forces ultimately reverted to a 9mm caliber pistol in 1985, when memories of the Philippine-American War had long faded: in a sense proving that Browning’s original vision was correct.
As it was however, as a result of their experiences in the Philippine-American War the US Army would countenance nothing less than a .45″ caliber handgun and this led Browning to create the 45ACP version of his automatic pistol, this being the pistol that we now know as the Colt M1911.
But his .38″ caliber 1910 was developed to working prototype stage and thousands of rounds of the proposed 9.8mm cartridges were produced. Five of these prototype pistols are known to have been made.
Work on the design of this pistol began in 1908 and continued through until 1913. Although it was not expected that the US Army might want it there were other prospective buyers such as police departments and civilians. But there was also the possibility that this pistol, either in 38ACP (i.e. 38 Automatic) or in the new and more powerful 9.8mm, might be attractive to European military buyers.
This was a pistol that could directly compete with the Luger and 9mm Parabellum cartridge, and other European pistols.
Four European nations were sufficiently interested in this 9.8mm Colt 1910 pistol to stage demonstrations, Britain, Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania.
Colt sent one of their engineers, Eugene Reising, to demonstrate this pistol and although this effort did not result in sales contracts it did raise Colt’s commercial profile and assisted them in competition with Fabrique Nationale (FN).
This was a highly competitive market environment. British arms maker Webley & Scott was actively developing its own line-up of automatic pistols for example.
As the history turned out the First World War broke out in 1914 and that event ensured that any market that might have been for this .38″ caliber Colt pistol evaporated. The project was stopped in 1913, people all over the world could see the war was about to erupt, and the prototypes languished on factory shelves and would remain there until 1929 when Colt introduced their 38 Super version of the M1911.
At that time the prototype serial number 3 was treated to a commercial finish and given a place in Colt’s factory museum, and that pistol was subsequently sold to a collector. Serial number 1 was also sold and finished up in the hands of a private collector.
There was also an unnumbered and unfinished example which is in the Springfield Armory Museum.
Serial number 4 found its way into the hands of a private collector named Mike Cairnes during the 1980’s. At that time the pistol was in the white as prototype arms tend to be. Mike Cairnes passed the pistol on to author Edward S. Meadows who decided that this rare and valuable pistol should be finished properly: so he put the pistol into the hands of world renowned, gunsmith and restorer Steve Moller of Fulton Illinois.
Pistol serial number 4 is coming up for sale by Rock Island Auction at their Premier Firearms Auction #4091 which will be held over May 17th to May 19th, 2024.
This pistol will be offered on May 17th, the first day of the auction.
You can find the sale page if you click here.
Rock Island Auction describe the condition of this pistol as follows:-
“Exceptionally fine. The pistol retains nearly all of the high polish blue finish with only very minor finish wear on the edges of the slide and frame. The barrel has 85% of the blue finish. The magazine has nearly all of the original blue finish. The niter blue rear sight has some finish loss on the top edge; the other niter blue components retain 98% of the fiery finish. The grips are also near mint with sharp checkering. The markings on the slide and frame are crisp. This is an ultra-rare historic and prize-winning experimental Colt semi-automatic pistol.”
For Colt collectors this sale represents a potentially once in a lifetime opportunity to invest in an extraordinarily rare example of the classic J.M. Browning automatic pistol.
For those of us who are enthusiasts of these Colt classics I guess this pistol represents what might have been. I think this scaled down .38 inch caliber pistol is a pistol that could have been one of the best possible civilian and police pistols extant: its size and the slenderness of its profile look to be about perfect for a side-arm to be carried either openly or concealed.
As such I think its one of the most interesting variants of the Colt 1910/1911, perhaps it would prove to be a strong seller if made today, being more compact and slender than the Colt Combat Commander.
As always, many of the most interesting and desirable firearms also happen to be the most rare.
Picture Credits: Feature image at the head of this post courtesy Rock Island Auction. All others as individually credited.
Jon Branch is the founder and senior editor of Revivaler and has written a significant number of articles for various publications including official Buying Guides for eBay, classic car articles for Hagerty, magazine articles for both the Australian Shooters Journal and the Australian Shooter, and he’s a long time contributor to Silodrome.
Jon has done radio, television, magazine and newspaper interviews on various issues, and has traveled extensively, having lived in Britain, Australia, China and Hong Kong. His travels have taken him to Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan and a number of other countries. He has studied the Japanese sword arts and has a long history of involvement in the shooting sports, which has included authoring submissions to government on various firearms related issues and assisting in the design and establishment of shooting ranges.
