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Colt Monitor Literature


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I've been working with a paper collector for 3+ years trying to get him to sell me some Monitor literature.

He has an original sales brochure and operators manual. Over the years I've been inching up my offers

without much success. This last go around is my last one with him.

 

He admits that I'm now well above the paper collector's value for these items, like (x3), unfortunately he knows that I

own a Monitor and feels like he has me over a barrel. He's stated that the only way he's selling is for me to raise my

offer to a..."silly money" level. Of course I'm not doing that! I think I'm already there:-)

 

I need some help to find a person that may have them and or some leads to investigate. Is there any gun related paper

collector forums out there, I've looked and can't seem to find any?

 

Any help is appreciated,

 

Darryl

Edited by darrylta
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Scratch one off the Monitor bucket list, a board member has given me the opportunity to buy what appears to be an

original minty (R80) operator's manual. Now if I can just find the color sales brochure....

 

Maybe you have one in your paper collection file cabinet, you never know?

 

Thanks,

Darryl

Edited by darrylta
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Ron,

It was me.

 

I closed a deal on the sales brochure today with the seller that I've been working with.

I over paid....but how many brochures have you ever seen for sale?

 

Thanks,

Darryl

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Ron,

I sure will, the sale brochure is only a folded single page with info on both sides

The operator's manual is 4 pages I think.

Here's an example of the Sales brochure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Darryl

images.jpg

Colt_Monitor_Flyer2.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

Isnt the Operators manual for the R80 12 pages plus the pull out/fold out schematic?

 

I bought a bunch of PreWar and WW2 Colt printed manuals from a Gentleman in Connecticut a few years ago and I think I still have the R80 manual and a 1919 Manual.

 

LMK if you still need this.

 

Frank

PS- Congrats on locating the Sales Brochure. Over on the G-Man board there is a PDF file of the original FBI test request and copy of the sales brochure with Quote on the R80's and all the accessories.

 

Here is one of my favorite pics of the old FBI Weapons Vault at the FBI Academy at Quantico

http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y421/Miltech1/FBIGunVaultQuanticoVA_zps877ff508.jpg

Edited by FrankSPPD
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I plan on posting some photos of both the manuals and brochure / flyer.

 

Frank,

I bought a full size manual with foldout from Sig several months ago, thanks anyway. If you

come across any other Monitor stuff, keep me in mind.

 

Darryl

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Only other thing for the Monitor would be the photo proofs for the manuals, which were printed at Colt's in house printing works. Those come up for sale every once and awhile with Colt collectors. I saw a complete set of the proofs in large scale at the Hardford/Springfield Gun show awhile back, so they are out there. The R75 and R80 prints were very nice in full scale.

 

The other one is the Spanish Language manual for the R80. There cant be many of those. I saw one in the pile of old Colt Military stuff that the late Colt VP Rob Roy sold to a Connecticut dealer (Jay Hansen) probably 10 years ago. They were all resold throughout the USA, but the R80 and R75 manuals with a bunch of Colt 1919 BAR stuff all stayed in CT.

 

The stuff is out there. A parked Colt Monitor Cutts Compensator was found at a Flea Market in a Boston suburb by a friend who works at Ops Core helmet manufacturers. He paid $20 for it, and it was sold as a Shotgun compensator! He is now building a custom, short semi BAR as pictured in Jim B's work on the USMC chopped BARs..................................He is a USMC combat vet.

 

Good Hunting

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I've read that the FBI Monitors were issued with a carry case. I haven't been able to find any info

about these cases, Now that would be a find! Even a photo would be great.

 

Larry Wack, the owner of G-Men site, has been activedly beating the bushes for any info on them,

to date, a big goose egg.

-Darryl

Edited by darrylta
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Never seen a leather case from the factory. I saw a high grade leather case for a Monitor, that was Amnesty registered in Washington, DC of all places. I was shown it at the ripe age of 5, but the owner, a Doctor, died back int the 1970's and there are no relatives still around.

 

It was supposedly a test gun obtained from Federal Labs in the 1940's. I remember it being parked finish, since my late father and this Doctor both had Colt Thompsons, with that great blued finish. I was promised that I would get to fire it at the old Park Police firing range, which was then located at the D.C. Arboretum, but that never happened.

 

My family moved to Maryland just after the 1968 riots, and I lost track of that gun. I did get a box of gun parts from a buddy who was a long time DC Police firearms instructor. All the parts were from machineguns turned in or destroyed over the years in DC. Inside was a Colt Monitor Cutts. I may still have the serial number that was on it, but the Cutts was traded to Kent Lomont back in the 1990's for many things. I asked a friend at Colts to check the number, but they did not have the records in a readable condition, since the weapon was made and shipped during a time when there was a hellacious flood in Hartford.

 

You might check with the Texas Ranger Museum for a leather Monitor case. I know they got Frank Hammer's Monitor, which was in truly nice condition, and from my experience, most of those older Rangers kept their serious shooting irons in weapons cases until they were needed. Maybe his was in a factory provided case, since it was supposedly sent to him from Colts.

 

I went through a bunch of Joseph Lorch's personal papers, since I grew up not far from where he lived in DC, and although there was literally a ton of paperwork, old manuals, some spare Colt gun parts and other items, I never did find anything about the US Government orders from Colts in his collection. All of his weapons were already gone, and sadly some were turned in during some Police gun buy back programs.

 

I worked for the DEA back in the 1970's and 80's and got to fire the FBI's remaining live Monitors at the range at Quantico thanks to one of their instructors. They had a rack of them still, but they were going to be destroyed. Most looked like they were never used more than a couple times. I only fired a couple bursts through two weapons they had on the range, which was next to the 50 yard range where a Police PPC match was being held one Saturday. A childhood friend was an agent with the HRT Team and he "duked: me in with their firearms training folks, and thus the tour of the old Gun Vault and the spur of the moment Monitor shootin fest instead of eating lunch.

 

A friend who is up in Hartford has a 1918 Marlin BAR from a CT PD, and he has a still in white 30 round magazine along with a factory cut a way BAR from Winchester's collection. I asked him to contact Ballou about including them in the BAR book, but it was not done for some reason - probably because he did not want to take the time. There was a nice Monitor BAR here in Va Beach back in the day, but I have not seen the owner in years, so figure it has been sold. It was pictured in the Book.

 

The Monitors are great guns, and have a certain cachet.

 

Plus the FBI has some real Bad azzes who toted them and used them against some real scum during the 1930s.

 

Photo credit: Larry Wack's excellent site.

http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y421/Miltech1/1035FBItrainingclass_zps6cc1058c.png

 

Good hunting

Edited by FrankSPPD
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  • 4 weeks later...

FrankSPPD,

 

My Monitor is # 102801 I believe if that rings a bell?

I would post some photo copies of the manuals, there in a large zip file

and I haven't been able to "unzip" them to date.

 

Thanks,

 

Darryl

Edited by darrylta
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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 years later...

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