[Mountain Jim]

i just bot a new gun , a 60 colt army revolver. i got it off gunbroker's. igot it in the mail, and when i was looking at it i noticed that the rifeling at the end of the barrel looks to be uneven. is it supposed to be this way? here's a picture of how it looks
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=108502&stc=1&d=1257309041

Is this how this is supposed to be? the gun is a signiture series 1860 Colt.
did i get a bad gun?

Jim

[Smokin_Gun]

That don't look promising...but I'd swedge the barrel at differant places(bumpin' the lead up from both end as you go)down the length of the barrel, go from there on the dimensions of the riflin'. That is if you are keepin' it.
What Mfg. is it? How old a gun?(date like AB or XX) left side of frame.
I guess the proof would be in the shootin' ... hell it may shoot alright.
Most sellers give you a 3 day inspection period to notify them of a discrepancy.
Hope this helps some I can't answer your question directly but I tried to help :O)

[BlackNet]

Check the other side and see if it's the same way. Might be ok, can always fire it and see what it does.

[Gatofeo]

Uneven how?
From your photo, it appears that the lands on the left side are shorter than those on the right side, but I suspect that's due to an illusion in the photo.
Could the barrel be poorly crowned, or cut off at an angle?
My own Colt 2nd generation 1851 Navy does not have a crowned muzzle, it's just cut off straight. Could your muzzle be cut at a very slight angle?
The Colt 2nd generation black powder revolvers are pretty much noted for high quality.
However, the Signature Series saw more guns of poorer quality, for whatever reason. Some were very good, some were abysmal. It was just luck of the draw with the Signature Series, whereas the 2nd generation that preceded it had very few reports of bad guns.
But it's difficult to determine your problem with that photo. I'd suggest you take it to a gunsmith and have him look at it. Even if there appears to be a problem, you might want to shoot it for accuracy first. It might not make a difference, or there could be a defect that causes horrible inaccuracy.
You won't know until you load it carefully and shoot it from a benchrest at 25 yards, against a real target. Shooting at tin cans from an unknown distance won't tell you a thing.
If the muzzle is not cut straight, a good gunsmith could chuck it in a lathe and cut it straight, fixing the problem. If this is required, have him crown the muzzle too.
Colt went out of the black powder business years ago. I don't believe it will work on it. However, you may wish to go online and contact Colt, to ask who might be recommended to look at it, and whether you're covered by the warranty.
Sorry I don't have a definitive answer for you.

[Smokin_Gun]

You're right on the cans ... my bean cans are all set at a predetermined calibrated distance measured with my boots from 10, 25, 50, 75, and 100 paces.
All my cans are fired at as a prerequesit to puttin' cloverleaves on paper.
You ain't gonna know where the boolit is hittin' if you miss a target board ... miss a can in the dirt/Desert you'll see it. Then go bench and/or duelist to your hearts content.
That's how I've done it anyway... it can take less boolits and is more fun... :O)

[Mountain Jim]

From your photo, it appears that the lands on the left side are shorter than those on the right side, but I suspect that's due to an illusion in the photo.


Well,that's why i posted and its not a illusion. Thats what i'm asking about. Here's some more picture's but my camera wont take no better then this

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=108547&stc=1&d=1257381847

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=108548&stc=1&d=1257381869

There is no crown just a flat face on the end of the barrell. Can I get a replacement barrel? Arent these gun's just Uberti's? Could I get a Uberti barrel to replace it with or am I just screwed?

P.S. What's a Boolit?

[PRM]

Those barrels are not crowned - I would shoot it first and see if it is a problem or not before I bought another barrel..

[Das Jaeger]

Flat crowned , radius ( round ) , or degree cut crowned , all barrels are crowned to one extent or to the other , its just a term to describe the muzzle of your barrel anyway . As long as your crown is cut flat and sharp it theorhetically should be accurate . What you got going on that Sig Series is NEVER good . To what extent , only shooting is gonna tell ya . I guarentee it won't be as good as a properly rifled barrel though , never gonna happen .
And you should be able to swap out a Uberti Barrel set up for yours easilly . The only thing you won't get is the brillaint Colt Blueing on it , but so what .
I am sure that is why they sold it to you anyway is the sloppy rifleing.

Das Jaeger

[mykeal]

Boolit=bullet

[madcratebuilder]

There is no crown just a flat face on the end of the barrell. Can I get a replacement barrel? Arent these gun's just Uberti's? Could I get a Uberti barrel to replace it with or am I just screwed?

A flat cut or 90* cut barrel is normal for the Colt. Your barrel was made from a unfinished part, I doubt it has the same dimensions as a Uberti finished barrel. If you could find one you could give it a try.

I have seen this on other replicas before. The ends of these barrels are finished with a grinding wheel and it can roll the metal. If that's the case you may be able to clean that up with a jewelers file. How deep does that shallow groove go into the barrel? It is possible it's cut that way. Having a crown cut may take care of it if it's just at the very end. Slug the barrel and see if that shallow groove is the full length of the barrel.

If you bought it for a shooter, go shoot it and see if it is accurate or not. If you bought it as a display piece don't worry about it.

Is it possible it's an optical illusion? When I look at the end of my 3rd gen 1860 barrel slightly from the side, it appears the side away from me is cut shallow.

Can you post a pic of the barrel with a light at the breech end and a straight on angle?

[rcflint]

I have seen that kind of rifling before, once in a SAA by ASM/EMF, that I returned for a replacement, the bore in that one actually lacked rifing on one side and was deep on the other. The question I have in both cases is: How? Rifling is normally cut with a cutter or broach that has a bore diameter pilot to keep it centered, so I'm not sure how it gets cut deeper on one side than the other except for faulty tooling of the cutter.

As a cap & ball revolver, it may not make a lot of difference, especially at CAS ranges on steel, but as a target pistol, it may not be the best.

An Uberti barrel would most likely fit, or can be fitted if you need a better bore, but as someone or two mentioned, shoot it first to see if it is really hurting the performance for your intended use...

An off center crown (also hard to get) coulkd give the appearance you show, but it doesn't look crowned at all. and if the muzzle is not square, it would still not look off center as the grooves do on your barrel.

[arcticap]

Measurements need to be taken to see what the land to land dimensions are.
Some of the Colts look like their barrel was cut with a hack saw, and maybe that primitive method distorted the shape of the grooves as the blade cut through. Or maybe a worker either caused or tried to cover up their bad workmanship by filing or grinding it unevenly.
But if the land to land diameter is okay, then the groove distortion might be limited to the lip of the crown and not very deep, which means that it might be fixed by recrowning it.
But if the land to land diameter is off, then there's a chance that the rifling is defective.
Since you have a 3 day inspection period through Gunbroker, why not contact the seller and either return the gun or work out a partial refund in lieu of returning it.
Even assuming the best scenario, to properly fix it will cost some money so some kind of an offset should be requested. Or just return it and complain to Gunbroker if he doesn't refund your money.
What's the seller's feedback rating like?
Have you contacted him about it?
You do have pictures as evidence.
I once bought a pistol advertised as factory new & unfired through Gunbroker that was used, dirty and had multiple scars & defects. I paid to return it but I insisted that the seller reimburse the original shipping cost which he did do. But he never admitted that it was a used gun even though it clearly had been, and he wouldn't give me any discount as an offset in lieu of returning it.

[Mountain Jim]

Thanks for all the replys. I have contacted the seller, but he refused to aknowlege the problem. This is a lot of money to pay for a POJ. I may go ahead and try it out like has been suggested. I'm not sure what to do about this. I will make some measurements. Thanks again.

[Hellgate]

I noticed a similar depth of rifling inconsistancy on one of my Uberti Walkers but it shot & grouped just fine. So, I decided to FUGGETTABOUTIT.