Colt Pony

This Colt semi auto pistol chambered in 380 acp caliber has been discontinued from the Colt line of current production models. The Colt Pony was a Double Action Only (DAO) version of the Colt Mustang. The internal design in the frame is not similar at all other that a few parts.

The Colt Pony is a problem pistol and in this commentary which is my opinion only, I will explain why it is not a trouble free design. It is not as reliable as a Colt Mustang which is a similar pistol but it is the single action version. The Colt Pony was first introduced in 1997 by Colt. It became a very popular pistol chambered in 380 acp caliber and was about the very same size as the Mustang. It has an internal extractor system, identical to the Mustang and similar to the 1911 pistol. The main design flaw of the Colt Pony is the light weight hammer that lacks weight and mass, its design lacks the rotational arc to give you enough of a hammer hit on a hard primer. The hammer itself has a plate insert that interfaces with the trigger bar and as its used and wears the rotational arc decreases with use. As you pull the trigger, the trigger bar is not stable enough to stay where it is supposed to be on the plate which is a press fit in the right side of the light weight hammer.

Many times I have made a stabilizing plate that I installed over the exterior side of the trigger bar and the used screws to install this tiny plate to the frame under the right grip panel.
This helped maintain correct repeatable exact location and position of the trigger bar.

I have also seen a lot of internal extractor problems on these Pony's that would not work consistently and I have always suspected that many extractors were never heat treated or never heat treated properly. I must say that I can never prove this as I am not privileged to that kind of Colt insider information. Colt of course would deny any of this.
These problems occurred to often to just have happened and I do not believe in coincidences.

I have worked on an awful lot of Colt Pony pistols and I can get a very good decent DAO trigger pull but with the ultra light hammer its usually a no win situation if you use hard primers and cheap ammunition. I can never go any lower than 9 lbs DAO. This pistol has been customized by many people and people that own these Pony's and have spent quite a bit of money doing this but its the old story, always follow the money trail, this is a daily pocket gun and you can not make a Rolls Royce out of it. "IT IS WHAT IT IS"

For the sights I drill 2 dots in the rear sight and I either cut a channel or serrate the crooked front sight blade and paint them with fluorescent paint and seal them. This pistol comes with plastic grips as does the Mustang. At one time Colt offered Wood grips as an option.
If I remember right it lacks a top grip screw on each grip panel as the Mustang has two, just another very bad Colt idea. Missing the top screw to save money caused insufficient grip pressure to hold the trigger bar in place.

If you have a Colt Pony that works well, I suggest you leave well enough alone. If you need help please feel free to call me and I will discuss your options. I suggest you install a stronger magazine spring in each of your magazines made by the W.C. Wolff co. This is not a pistol for an inexperienced Gunsmith or Pistolsmith to work on as you will be looking for more trouble than you bargained for in trying to achieve a lighter DAO trigger pull with total reliability.


Authors Personal Notation: This commentary as well as all my previous commentaries are my opinion only. If these commentaries offend you please do not read them and go some where else. If you know so much please start your own Blogger site and we will the see how much you really know. I mean what I say and I say what I mean.


Teddy Jacobson / Pistolsmith
www.actionsbyt.com
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tjacobson@houston.rr.com
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