![fn 1905 vs colt 1908 fn 1905 vs colt 1908](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b8/8e/76/b88e7676d78dc723175dd301b856f4be.jpg)
The Colt 1902 Sporting Model was very similar to the Sporting Model but it did incorporate additional changes suggested following US Army trials of the Colt Automatic Pistol. Almost 7,000 1902 Sporting Models were produced up to July 1907. We now take it for granted that the slide on any semi-auto pistol can be removed without using tools, but this was the first John Moses Browning design (and one of the first semi-auto pistol designs) where this was possible. However, the single most significant change was the introduction of a spring-loaded plug in the end of the recoil-spring housing to allow for field stripping without tools. All Sporting Models were finished using Colt’s charcoal blueing process which involved placing the parts to be blued in a large coal-fired oven and both wood and black hard rubber grips were used. Slide serrations were now deeper and at the front of the slide and many 1902s had a smaller, rounded hammer following criticism that the hammer on the Colt Automatic Pistol was so large that it obscured the sights. The only way to safely carry a 1902 when a round had been chambered was to manually lower the hammer to a half-cock position, something that led to all too many accidental discharges.
#FN 1905 VS COLT 1908 MANUAL#
The sight safety was removed though it wasn’t replaced – neither version of the Model 1902 had any form of manual safety. 38” ACP round but the 1902 did introduce a number of small improvements and refinements. The Colt 1902 Sporting Model was overall very similar to the original Colt Automatic Pistol (many of the same jigs and dies were used in manufacturing). The Model 1900 was produced in two versions The Sporting and the Military Models which I’ll discuss separately. Now, this wasn’t really a new pistol, it was just a development of the original Colt Automatic Pistol but it did introduce new features which make it worth looking at in detail. The original Colt Automatic Pistol achieved some sales but nothing to equal the success of the FN M1900 in Europe and Colt continued to refine and improve the basic design.