Bore bulge 44 colt navy

Can you feel the "bulge" in the barrel with a tight fighting patch on a cleaning jag?

Sburk1993 said:

So I ordered this f i e 1851 Colt Navy off GunBroker cuz I'm very bad at impulse buying.
It has a few problems. the least of the problems is it needs a new wedge and it needs a loading lever. It appear the loading lever has been bent and ground down to try to make it fit under the barrel. But worst of all is the stamped fie logo was double stamped. it looks like it made a slight bulge or ripple on the bore pictures below. what you guys think. Also I have shot it wedge has to be inserted from the right to keep the assemblies tight. Loading lever falls down with every shot. Photos of the bore don't show the bulge as good as I can see it.

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Wow. It looks as though the seller didn't list it correctly with all the problems. The ripple in the bore is visible and I would not shoot it this way just to be safe. I would send it to a gunsmith and see what can be done about it. There are many out there who can make that gun as pretty as it was originally. I have only talked and emailed with Mike from Goonsguns to get my '58 Remington to a well oiled machine so he is my reccomendation.

This website has some information which may apply to your revolver.

https://www.gunvaluesboard.com/what...seem-to-find-any-other-info-on...-354537.html

Apparently FIE was not known for importing quality firearms. I would definitely not spend money on upgrades other than what is need to make it work. It was a low end firearm to begin with and making it "as pretty as new" is not worth the time and money. I assume it has a brass frame which is not original to Colt Navy revolvers, nor is caliber .44. They were all .36 (actually .375).

Finding replacement parts could be difficult although the wedge might not be model specific. The Colt Walkers were prone to dropping the loading lever with every shot. Creative frontiersmen solved that problem with a rawhide thong holding the lever to the barrel. Not elegant, but it worked. If your revolver functions with the barrel bulge, I would shoot the thing as is while not expecting gilt edged accuracy. It's a range toy.

Sburk1993 said:

I didn't really notice it but I have only cleaned it twice.

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If you didn't notice it when cleaning the barrel, and based on what you have said, I wouldn't worry about it.
What I've seen of FIE imports have all been on the rougher side

The lever was ground down because it was made for another brand. The wedge spring is missing. I wouldn't worry about the bulge if it shoots good. FIE imported a lot of cheap stuff that hasn't been made since the 70's and 80's. The arbor is probably short and will need correcting. If it doesn't shoot good it's a paper weight. I doubt you'll ever find another barrel that will fit.

The leaver notch can be shaped to hold better, I have also driven out the pin that holds the latch and lengthened the slot for more travel.

I owned several FIE imports in the 70's, mainly brass frame '51 Navy copies. I can attest as to their quality, which was not very good. The steel was very soft and that contributed to their low shot count to failure rate. Seeing a bowed wedge brings back fond memories

At that time (mid to late 70's) I had no source for spare parts so a friend of mine made one by hand, and we tempered it by oil quenching, and it worked great. I don't know which would be the better fit for those models, unfortunately.