The Colt 1905 45 Auto was the first pistol chambered in .45 Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP). These were designed in the first years of the 20th century - the Colt 1900 and 1902 Sporting were chambered in .38 Automatic Colt Pistol, and Colt/JMB had 'inside' knowledge that the US Army was considering switching to a larger caliber.
So John Browning took the design of the 1902 (starting with 2 1902s shipped to JMB with the purpose of converting them) and beefed it up some. Instead of relying solely on two parallel barrel links connected to the main springs to absorb the recoil (which were prone to shearing and breakage), he used three locking lugs on the barrel, which cammed the barrel into the frame and directed recoil stress off of the small, relatively delicate barrel pins/links. The single-action 1905 features a slide lock/hold-open, a spring-loaded slide release, a 7-shot magazine (nearly identical to the later 1911 magazine) with a heel release, and no manual safety.
The design was patented 25 May 1905 and production began in December. 6,210 Colt 1905s were made between 1906-1912ish, and all were hand-polished and blued in an extremely labor-intensive, oil-soaked, charcoal fired oven baking process, which produced what many say is the most beautiful finish ever seen on a firearm. However, this charcoal finish was also exceedingly delicate (causing the US Army to force Colt to switch finishes after only a few thousand 1911s) and as such, high-condition 1905s are rarely seen. The result is a nearly mirror-like finish, and an almost three-dimensional aspect to those examples still in relatively high condition.
The pistol has hand-checkered walnut grips, and up to SN#~3600, a hand-checkered, rounded 'stub' hammer was used. 440 examples out of the 6200 were cut to fit a shoulder stock, and a combination stock/holster was sold for an additional $25 for those models. However, only 408 were shipped with a stock, making stocks extremely rare out in the wild, often commanding five figures when sold.
This pistol is SN#2750, made in 1908, and in ~90%+ condition. The finish one these make it difficult to judge remaining finish, but I've been told this is one of the nicer ones out there. There is a wear spot on the top-left area of the slide, above the roll mark. Otherwise, the fire bluing is still very much intact on the small parts, the case hardening on the hammer, and the charcoal blued finish on the rest of the pistol.
It originally came from a local gun shop, where the owner got it in trade about 6-8 years ago. The previous owner had disassembled it to have the small parts duplicated (parts are practically non-existent for these) and in the process, lost the hammer. So it was sold to me with the understanding I may never find the hammer, and the price was adjusted accordingly (otherwise I never would've been able to afford it).
I put a WTB ad up on the Colt Forum and to my amazement, got a response a few days later!! So I ended up with an original hand-checkered round 1905 hammer in excellent condition (possibly this one's original hammer?). The Colt Archive letter soon followed and I discovered an interesting note... the firearm was shipped 'on loan account' to a Frank C. Nichols, who happened to be the Vice President for Sales at Colt at the time. An interesting fact that adds to this beautiful 1905's appeal. This is certainly one of the jewels of my collection, and has ignited a fervent interest in early Colt Autos
Enjoy!
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
So John Browning took the design of the 1902 (starting with 2 1902s shipped to JMB with the purpose of converting them) and beefed it up some. Instead of relying solely on two parallel barrel links connected to the main springs to absorb the recoil (which were prone to shearing and breakage), he used three locking lugs on the barrel, which cammed the barrel into the frame and directed recoil stress off of the small, relatively delicate barrel pins/links. The single-action 1905 features a slide lock/hold-open, a spring-loaded slide release, a 7-shot magazine (nearly identical to the later 1911 magazine) with a heel release, and no manual safety.
The design was patented 25 May 1905 and production began in December. 6,210 Colt 1905s were made between 1906-1912ish, and all were hand-polished and blued in an extremely labor-intensive, oil-soaked, charcoal fired oven baking process, which produced what many say is the most beautiful finish ever seen on a firearm. However, this charcoal finish was also exceedingly delicate (causing the US Army to force Colt to switch finishes after only a few thousand 1911s) and as such, high-condition 1905s are rarely seen. The result is a nearly mirror-like finish, and an almost three-dimensional aspect to those examples still in relatively high condition.
The pistol has hand-checkered walnut grips, and up to SN#~3600, a hand-checkered, rounded 'stub' hammer was used. 440 examples out of the 6200 were cut to fit a shoulder stock, and a combination stock/holster was sold for an additional $25 for those models. However, only 408 were shipped with a stock, making stocks extremely rare out in the wild, often commanding five figures when sold.
This pistol is SN#2750, made in 1908, and in ~90%+ condition. The finish one these make it difficult to judge remaining finish, but I've been told this is one of the nicer ones out there. There is a wear spot on the top-left area of the slide, above the roll mark. Otherwise, the fire bluing is still very much intact on the small parts, the case hardening on the hammer, and the charcoal blued finish on the rest of the pistol.
It originally came from a local gun shop, where the owner got it in trade about 6-8 years ago. The previous owner had disassembled it to have the small parts duplicated (parts are practically non-existent for these) and in the process, lost the hammer. So it was sold to me with the understanding I may never find the hammer, and the price was adjusted accordingly (otherwise I never would've been able to afford it).
I put a WTB ad up on the Colt Forum and to my amazement, got a response a few days later!! So I ended up with an original hand-checkered round 1905 hammer in excellent condition (possibly this one's original hammer?). The Colt Archive letter soon followed and I discovered an interesting note... the firearm was shipped 'on loan account' to a Frank C. Nichols, who happened to be the Vice President for Sales at Colt at the time. An interesting fact that adds to this beautiful 1905's appeal. This is certainly one of the jewels of my collection, and has ignited a fervent interest in early Colt Autos
Enjoy!
