In 1971 the Colt dealer in Turin, Italy placed an order for 500 Colt Commander pistols chambered for the 30 Luger cartridge. The shipments began in October of 1971 with 150 pistols being sent.
Fast Facts
- In 1971 Colt received an order for 500 Colt Commander pistols chambered for the 30 Luger cartridge.
- In October 1971 Colt sent a shipment of 150 of these pistols to their dealer in Turin, Italy.
- These pistols have “CAL. 30 LUGER” on the top of the chamber area of the barrel and have Italian proof marks on the right side of the chamber area of the barrel.
- A very small number of these 30 Luger Colt Commander pistols were not shipped to Italy but went to US customers – these do not have the Italian proof marks on the barrel.
- One of these 30 Luger Colt Commander pistols that has the Italian proof marks is for sale by Rock Island Auction at time of publication.
Some jurisdictions mandate a ban on citizens owning firearms chambered for military cartridges. For example many decades ago in the state of New South Wales, Australia, it was decided to ban residents from having rifles chambered for the 303 British. This caused a modicum of irritation for the affected Aussie shooters as the surplus Lee Enfield rifles were plentiful and cheap and so was the ammo.
But a creative solution was found to this little problem – New South Wales gunsmiths simply shortened the chambers of surplus Lee Enfields, and ammunition makers invented a new shortened 303 cartridge. It was dubbed the 7.7x54R (also known as the 303x54R).
To convert a 303 British rifle to 7.7x54R the gunsmith would simply remove the barrel from the action and turn it down by one full turn – taking about 2mm off its length- and then re-cut the extractor groove – thus shortening the chamber from the 303 British 7.7x56R to the new 7.7x54R.
Ammunition maker Kynoch were among the manufacturers who made ammunition for this cartridge and it proved to be quite popular.
An old shooting buddy who had one of these rifles told me that in New South Wales back when the ban was in force that police officers would check your Lee Enfield sporting rifle was legal my testing to see if a 303 British cartridge would chamber in it – if the bolt would not close then the rifle was legal.
Italy is another of those places where civilian citizens were not permitted to own firearms in military calibers. As I understand it this has tended to ensure that some metric cartridges have survived where they are uncommon elsewhere. This includes such things as the 7x64mm Brenneke for example.
Italian pistol shooters were among those affected by these restrictions until 2021, so that pistols and ammunition in 9mm Parabellum were not permitted to them. This led to the creation of the 9x21mm cartridge and its commercialization by Israel Military Industries as the 9x21mm IMI.
For Italian pistol shooters back in the 1970’s one of the attractive options to circumvent the ban on the 9mm Parabellum was the 30 Luger (7.65x21mm Parabellum).
Back in the 1970’s when I was shooting ISSF pistol competition I was told that the Centerfire Pistol Match required a pistol caliber not less than .30″ and not more than .40″. So the 30 Luger would have been a perfectly fine choice for that match. The pistol I acquired for that match was a Colt Gold Cup National Match chambered for the 38 Special Mid-range cartridge, which sent a 148 grain wadcutter bullet out of the muzzle at 770 fps.
The Colt Gold Cup in 38 Special Mid-range was a specialized production item, and there were others that were custom made/modified by other gunsmiths.
In the early 1970’s Colt was requested to manufacture a very limited number of Colt Commander pistols chambered for the 30 Luger at the request of their dealership in Turin, Italy. Sources vary but there were about 500 of these pistols ordered in total. The 1971 shipment comprised 150 of these 30 Luger pistols and was sent in October 1971.
Some of these pistols finished up in other European countries such as Germany and bear proof marks accordingly where local law required. German proof marks can be found on the left side of the slide directly above and to the right of the Colt Pony logo.
Some of these Italian contract pistols returned to the United States in subsequent decades, typically brought back by Americans who had been living and working in Europe. But factory originals remain a scarce item in the US: perhaps not made of “unobtainium” but definitely “hardtogetium”
These 30 Luger Colt Commanders were made with the standard alloy frame and have “30 Luger” stamped on the bottom plate of the magazine. The pistols sent to Italy have Italian proof marks on the right side of the chamber portion of the barrel and are marked “CAL. 30 LUGER” on the top.
Grips were checkered wood with the gold Colt pony medallion. Sights were the standard blade front and drift adjustable for windage rear.
A very small number of these 30 Luger Colt Commander pistols were not shipped to Italy and these do not have the Italian proof marks: such examples are rare.
One of these Colt Commander pistols that was a part of the 1971 shipment of 150 is for sale by Rock Island Auction at the time of publication.
Rock Island Auction describe the sale pistol as follows:-
“Manufactured in 1971 as one of one hundred and fifty pistols produced for the Italian commercial market to circumvent the restriction on military calibers. Exceptionally few of these contract pistols have found their way back to the U.S. market, making this a prized and highly exclusive Colt collectors item. Italian inspection proofed on the barrel and inspection dated “XX7” (1971) on the frame. The fitted magazine is marked “COLT/CAL. 30 LUGER”. Import marked on the underside of the magazine well. Includes an unlabeled factory hard case.“
Rock Island Auction describe the condition of this pistol as follows:-
“Very good overall with almost all of the original finish, light wear, and crisp grip checkering. Mechanically excellent“.
You can find the sale page for this pistol if you click here.
Picture Credits: All pictures courtesy Rock Island Auction.
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.
