Several years later I finally got my British Contract Colt OP

[Nyles]

Originally Posted by Jcordell

The more I read about Smith & Wesson and Colt the more I realize that Smith was just a better run company. The people running Colt never seemed to make the best decisions. That might of been the reason that Smith got the corner on revolvers during WWII. I'm firm believer that tens of thousands of men in the American military got their first exposure to revolvers during the war and that revolver was the S&W Victory model. There were other reasons behind Smith overtaking Colt in sales in the years following WWII of course, but I think a big one was the Victory model. Similar to how Americans took a liking to the bolt action rifle after WWI. Colt made a good revolver and the company's steel was supposedly a higher grade, but the management wasn't.

I read an article, I think by Paul Scarlata, awhile back saying basically the same thing - guys bought what they knew. The other part of it was supposed to be the shift to double-action focused training for police, since Smiths have a consistent pull and Colts stack. That said, I just love the feel of an old Colt - I have a lot of handguns but the only one that never gets left behind on a range trip is my Police Positive Special.