Colt Mkiv Series 80 Mustang 380 Serial Numbers

Good evening, fellow NCGOs! I made my weekly pilgrimage to my local gun shop today and found this neat little.380. However, I have a few questions about it before I potentially make the purchase.

Colt's first.380 was in 1908 for the locked breech design. The particular.380's inquired, were made from 1984 to 1997, with models beginning with the MK IV Series 80 in 1984. Longer barrel and an extra round. From 1986-1997 along came the Mustang, followed by (in no order) the Mustang II, PocketLite, Pony and NiteLite. Mar 24, 2007 - Colt MKIV/Series 80 Gov 380 ACP Auto. Mustang Pocketlites in great condition start at $575.00 plus around here.

I've attempted to look up the serial number but to no avail. I know this gun isn't too old, but I would like to know approximately when it was manufactured. If anyone would like to try it as well, the serial number is RC07966 (Which is clearly shown in a picture below). Secondly, the price is only $399. To me, that seems a bit low for a Colt such as this one.

Is there something I need to look out for on this gun as to why it is priced that low? Also, is there any investment potential in this gun? Here are a few pictures I took today.

To my eye (excellent pics, btw) the condition of the gun more than explains the 'nominal' $400 price tag.. I would not look at this purchase as any form of 'investment,' at least not any I would ever expect any'dividends' from.

But then, the world is full of pleasant surprise every day! Biggest concern I'd have would be, 'Does it / will it feed and function 100% reliably?' Having recently been in the market for a.380 on behalf of a family member, I passed on too many similar $400 'bets' and went with a Glock 42. That has been a good bet: 100% reliable through 500+ rounds, to date. Best o' Success!

Telugu books pdf free download. I like the 380 Govt, it is definitely fun to shoot. It used to be collectible until other locked-breech 380s came to market. Nowadays one can buy a new Mustang, Sig p238, or Browning 1911-380 for 600-700, so the prices for the older Governments have come down from where they were maybe 8-10 years ago. Yeah, you can call it an investment as long as your definition of investment includes the possibility that its value can go down If you are looking for a safe queen, the stainless and electroless nickel versions are considered more desirable than the blued ones.

Funtionally, it is still the only all-metal lower you can find in the long-barrel format. The Mustang and the 238 have barrels that are a tad shorter.

The Browning has a similar barrel length but the frame is polymer, which changes the balance quite a bit. Pluses for the browning include a grip safety and (mini)beavertail, minuses include a magazine safety, small sight (although you do get 3 dots) and polymer parts.

The 380 gov't is infamous for the plastic trigger and guide rod. Check these for wear. Recoil springs are available from Wolff. There is a small spring near the slide stop that often gets bent/dinged during takedown, check that too. It's harder to replace.

If the plastic bothers you, there are metal replacement parts around. The sights are tiny, the 238s are available with better ones. The only sight upgrade I have seen for the 380 is to grind in a new dovetail and install lo-mount Novaks. At $399, it's still better than an AMT backup 380 or a blowback 380 (like a bersa) in my opinion. If you want to make it an EDC or something different it's a good start for a custom project - Cylinder & Slide offers lots of tuning and packages for the little colt, although by the time you are done you will have spent enough to buy a nice.45 1911 instead.

It would be something of a white elephant at that point. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so I'd pick it up if you like it and can give it a loving home, but don't count on flipping it to someone else to make quick $$. And yeah, there will always be folks who will say that you can find a 9 mm in a package about the same size and weight as the colt govt 380, but that's another discussion.

Good luck, QuantumRanger. Agree with dorifto - there is a fair amount of fine pitting (great photo, OP) now that I'm looking at it on a bigger screen. Looks like your LGS has a pretty good collection, so if they have a Mustang or a 238 you can see whether the shorter grip length bothers you or not.

The 380 Gov't grip is just a touch longer and gives my pinky finger a more comfortable home. You can get the same length grip in a Mustang II or the new Browning. There is also an extended mag for the 238 that does the same thing.