From the Vault: The Colt 9.8 MM/.38 Experimental

Brownells Gun Techs™ Keith and Steve are back at "the gun collector's paradise" - Rock Island Auction Co. - to show us a rare pistol, the Colt Model 1910. "Wait, you mean 1911, right?" Nope, 1910. This particular pistol was a prototype built in the Colt tool room to pursue overseas contracts, which is why it was originally chambered in 9.8mm Colt, though later converted to .38 Auto (.38 ACP). It's more compact than the 1911, with a shorter slide and grip, and a noticeably narrower slide. Why didn't Colt just use the standard 1911 slide and frame? Because it wasn't the standard yet! Colt submitted the M1910 to military trials in the U.K. and the Balkans - and it did well. Colt was encroaching on Fabrique Nationale's turf, Europe, because FN was getting too active in South America for Colt's comfort. An informal agreement between the two firms resulted in Colt withdrawing from Europe and FN scaling back in South America. And the Model 1910 was dead. It did play a role in the Colt Woodsman story, as Steve explains.
Unlike the .38 Special or .38 Super, the 9.8mm Colt cartridge had a .380" diameter bullet, so it was a true .38. It offered 9mm Parabellum ballistics, but the 9mm clearly won that "format war." In terms of size, weight, and pointability, the Model 1910 reminds Keith of the Spanish Star Model B. Coincidence? Maybe not! The gun has all of the final M1911 features, but remember, the M1910 came first. Colt built only about six Model 1910s, and Rock Island's well-preserved example is Serial No. 3.