Colt 1911 National Match in .38 special

They used to be fairly common in the target shooting world. Moreso in the U.S. than here. Gold Cups came in .38 special too. Different mag and slide than a .45, of course. Reputedly very accurate. Both set up for WC's only. Most National Match Pistols were chambered in .45 ACP though. There were some built by Colt for the U.S AMU that used a rimless .38 Special cartridge.
This is a fairly comprehensive history of National Match pistols.
http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/history/nm.htm
 
Colt National Match .38 Special....

Paulinski said:
I'm sure NAA will chime in here soon.
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NAA will chime in to say he doesn't particularly know much about these kinda rare Colt National Match pistols..... :redface:

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Now, now. NAA is young, he can't help that. LOL. (I'm just jealous, I wish I was young again myself, most mornings. They were made for the bullseye set, as it was once a fairly popular sport. S&W made their 52, Colt had their National Match and then the Gold Cup, all for this particular sport. The oddball 38 mentioned (38 AMU, which stands for Army Marksmanship Unit) was only made for a very, very short run. These are different cartridges then the 38 Super, which is a semi-rimless round (38 Special is rimmed, 38 AMU is rimless). As to the value, in my experience they don't command much of a premium (if any) over the 45 versions. I had one years ago, and it was fussy to load for. Very accurate pistol though. Figure around 1k more or less, unless it's an original 38 AMU unit, FWIW - dan
 
Cheeky Munkey said:
Early 60's mfg'r. Anyone know anything about them?

So far all I've gleaned is they were produced in limited numbers between '60 and '73.

Anyone know more?
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For the longest time there was one for sale in the EE. I think it was KindlyOldCoach that was the seller. Don't know if I spelled his name right or if the gun is still for sale.
 
The pistol that you are probably referring to is a Gold Cup MK111 National Match. It is identical to the Gold Cup .45 except that it is chambered for the .38 Mid-Range Wad Cutter round. It was manufactured from 1961 until 1974.
 
Strangeday said:
Smith also makes a semi for 38special wad cutters
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Boltgun said:
they still make them to date? I thought mod 52 was phased out?

Boltgun
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The S&W Model 52 (which was based on the S&W Model 39) has indeed been phased out in favour of the Performance Center Model 952 chambered in 9mm.

Here's a photo of my S&W Model 52-2:
SW52-2.jpg



It's a real sweet and insanely accurate shooter. I wish I had for time to get into bullseye style competition. :(
 
dan belisle said:
Now, now. NAA is young, he can't help that. LOL. (I'm just jealous, I wish I was young again myself, most mornings. They were made for the bullseye set, as it was once a fairly popular sport. S&W made their 52, Colt had their National Match and then the Gold Cup, all for this particular sport. The oddball 38 mentioned (38 AMU, which stands for Army Marksmanship Unit) was only made for a very, very short run. These are different cartridges then the 38 Super, which is a semi-rimless round (38 Special is rimmed, 38 AMU is rimless). As to the value, in my experience they don't command much of a premium (if any) over the 45 versions. I had one years ago, and it was fussy to load for. Very accurate pistol though. Figure around 1k more or less, unless it's an original 38 AMU unit, FWIW - dan
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My experience with National Match pistols is generally to the modern stuff and chambered in .45ACP. I did actually once have an original 'real deal' USGI military National Match .45ACP pistol but let it slip away ~ 10 years ago... :redface: :(

On the .38 AMU.... never actually have seen a complete pistol in person. But many years ago I picked up a real factory marked & chambered .38 AMU barrel at a giveaway price.... I sold it Stateside back in the day way before 9/11 and all this import/export permit situation. The person who bought it was a 1911 collector who appreciated what it was and paid quite handsomely for it.... :cool:
 
I had a Colt National Match in 38 mid range and it would shoot one hole groups if you did your thing. Like a fool I sold it and in later years replaced it with a S&W 52. Both were/are top end wadcutter autos but for some reason I could shoot the Colt way better than the 52.
You will not go wrong with either.
Happy Holidays to all
k hornet
 
Thanks for your input, gents.

Interesting you should all mention it's inherant accuracy. I'm a noob shooter with old eyes and a ton of learning to do, but the other day when I fired the .38 N.M. alongside several other pistols and revolvers, including a 1911 National Match in .45ACP and a High Standard Supermatic .22, my best results were achieved with the .38 N.M.

I like it.
 
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