Colt Model 357

In 1953 Colt introduced two new DA revolvers, the premium Model 357 and the "Budget" Trooper.

The Model 357 was intended to be Colt's premium holster gun, and the Trooper was to be for sales to police and civilians wanting a similar but cheaper gun.

The Model 357 was available with 4" or 6" barrel, blued finish, and choice of Target hammer and grips, or Service hammer and grips.
Caliber was 357 Magnum, only.
The Model 357 had the firing pin mounted in the frame, and was the first Colt made so.

The Trooper was really not much more than an Officer's Model Match with a different barrel.
Calibers were .38 Special and .22LR, only.
Barrels were 4" and 6", with the .22LR being available in 4", only.
Finishes were blue or bright nickel, and choice of Target hammer and grips, or Service hammer and grips.
In these early Troopers the firing pin was mounted on the hammer, like the Official Police and Officer's Models.

The early Model 357 and Trooper had Colt's 1950's finish of a "two-tone" bluing where the sides were polished, but the "edges" of the frame and the flutes in the cylinder were bead blasted to a dull black finish.

Things got complicated in 1954 when Colt's top West Coast salesman convinced Colt that he could sell a "Super Target" revolver, and the famed Python was introduced.
In fact, the Python was simply the Model 357 only with the famous lugged and vented barrel, a super-polished blue job, and a much more hand tuned action.

Problem was, people wanting the best bought the Python, and police and budget minded civilians bought the Trooper.
So, in 1961, Colt discontinued the Model 357.
What they actually did, was discontinue the .38 Special Trooper with the firing pin mounted on the hammer, lowered the finish of the 357 and started selling it as a Trooper with the firing pin in the frame.
After this, the Trooper was available in .38 Special and 357 Magnum.

In 1968/69 Colt realized that they were loosing market share due to the higher cost of their revolvers.
These old style guns all used the same Colt action invented in the early 1900's, and these guns all required extensive hand labor to assemble.

So, in 1968/69 Colt discontinued almost all the older models except for the Python and the small "D" frame guns like the Detective Special and Diamondback.

The old models were replace with a entirely new design known as the "J" frame, Mark III.
Guns in this series were the Trooper Mark III, Lawman, Metropolitan Police, and Official Police Mark III.

The new Mark III "J" frame was first in a number of ways, and set the industry on it's ear.
It was the first revolver that was "machine fitted".
In the pre-Mark III designs, parts were forged and were over-sized.
A Master fitter hand filed and stoned each part to a fit.

In the new Mark III, the parts were manufactured with modern techniques such as "Sintered Steel" an early form of Metal Injection Molding in which powdered steel is injected into a mold, heated, and a near-finished part is made.

With this new manufacturing method, the guns could be assembled by simply pulling parts from a bin and test fitting them until a fit was achieved with little or no expensive hand fitting.

Another first, the Mark III was the first modern revolver to use a transfer-bar ignition system, instead of the older hammer blocking safety system.
This made both a faster to make revolver, and a safer one.

This new design has nothing at all in common with the older Python, Trooper and 357 guns, and is a totally different gun with no parts interchangeability.