CraigC
Sixgun Nut
I wish this was a good story but it ain't. Six months ago I sent this thing to Gary Barnes for conversion to .45Colt, along with $1000 and a $500 order for Kirst conversion parts. There was a slew of work to be done, including action tuning, fire bluing the screws, a dovetail front sight, engraving the cylinder and a reblue.
A week ago Friday I got it back. The gun is gorgeous but what a mess underneath. The first time I cocked it, I thought I had put it back together wrong. Nope, the action feels like greasy sand has been dumped in it. It would barely function and the hammer wouldn't go all the way down. I thought, maybe it just needs cleaning. I took it completely apart and found a black, gritty metallic substance all in the action. It looked like carbon but it had never been fired until afterwards, so I can only conclude it was steel particles from the machine work. It was all in the hand raceway as well. I cleaned it up and while it was better, it was still atrocious. I thought at first it was the chintzy hammer spring he had installed/modified and replaced it with a factory take-off I had from a USFA. Better but still quite bad.
While I had it apart, I also found that the new two step hand from Kirst does not fit the hole in the hammer. The pin is too small and it allows for a lot of slop in the movement of the action. I put it all back together and the hammer still does not go all the way down. It has to be pushed down for the action to reset. You'll see this in the video. It is common practice to stone the hand raceway in the frame and that did not appear to have been done.
The conversion ring is very loose in the frame. There is a flat at the bottom of the ring that is supposed to rest against the water table. It should not move. Mine rattles.
The dovetail front sight was supposed to fit like dovetails are supposed to fit. I was told it moved halfway into the slot with thumb pressure and that I would be able to center it as I zeroed it. The sight moves freely in and out of the slot with no resistance.
The wedge is supposed to be fit where it pops in with thumb pressure and stays put. This one feels loose and rattles with thumb pressure. It needs a couple taps with the hammer to stay put and that is only temporary.
The gunsmith's response was to blame me for not knowing how to operate it, Kirst for making shoddy parts and Pietta for changing their guns. Never at any time did he take ownership of it and only after 30mins of talking down to me did he offer to take it back. He said the parts needed to be "broken in". I never heard of an action job needing a break in. What's the point of an action job? I declined and will either fit these parts to a different gun or find another gunsmith who knows something about customer service. It's a shame that my first gun video had to be about this.
A week ago Friday I got it back. The gun is gorgeous but what a mess underneath. The first time I cocked it, I thought I had put it back together wrong. Nope, the action feels like greasy sand has been dumped in it. It would barely function and the hammer wouldn't go all the way down. I thought, maybe it just needs cleaning. I took it completely apart and found a black, gritty metallic substance all in the action. It looked like carbon but it had never been fired until afterwards, so I can only conclude it was steel particles from the machine work. It was all in the hand raceway as well. I cleaned it up and while it was better, it was still atrocious. I thought at first it was the chintzy hammer spring he had installed/modified and replaced it with a factory take-off I had from a USFA. Better but still quite bad.
While I had it apart, I also found that the new two step hand from Kirst does not fit the hole in the hammer. The pin is too small and it allows for a lot of slop in the movement of the action. I put it all back together and the hammer still does not go all the way down. It has to be pushed down for the action to reset. You'll see this in the video. It is common practice to stone the hand raceway in the frame and that did not appear to have been done.
The conversion ring is very loose in the frame. There is a flat at the bottom of the ring that is supposed to rest against the water table. It should not move. Mine rattles.
The dovetail front sight was supposed to fit like dovetails are supposed to fit. I was told it moved halfway into the slot with thumb pressure and that I would be able to center it as I zeroed it. The sight moves freely in and out of the slot with no resistance.
The wedge is supposed to be fit where it pops in with thumb pressure and stays put. This one feels loose and rattles with thumb pressure. It needs a couple taps with the hammer to stay put and that is only temporary.
The gunsmith's response was to blame me for not knowing how to operate it, Kirst for making shoddy parts and Pietta for changing their guns. Never at any time did he take ownership of it and only after 30mins of talking down to me did he offer to take it back. He said the parts needed to be "broken in". I never heard of an action job needing a break in. What's the point of an action job? I declined and will either fit these parts to a different gun or find another gunsmith who knows something about customer service. It's a shame that my first gun video had to be about this.
