I have a Colt Python (4" barrel, stainless steel) which as many here know is a beautiful revolver. I bought it new in '92 when I was living in Oregon and the first thing I did was send it to a gunsmith in Tallahassee, FL who removed the factory seer and installed a roller bearing seer (huge improvement). From day one the cylinder release was often hard to operate and would bind to the point that it was hard to move back (required to release the cylinder). I noticed that this wasn’t always the case and surmised that the release would work better or worse depending on the position of the cylinder in the frame. I haven't shot the Python for a number of years so never got around to resolving the issue. Last night while cleaning a bunch of handguns (and watching The Outlaw Josey Wales), I decided to figure out what the problem was. After removing the side plate and taking a good look at all the moving and non-moving parts, I came to the conclusion that the locking "pin" that's moved forwards/backwards by the cylinder release was binding in the center of the ejector "star". I used a diamond-coated steel with a half-round cross section (intended to sharpen fishing hooks, knives etc) that fit almost perfectly in the center of the ejector "star" and rotated the cylinder to hone off any rough spots, high spots, burrs etc. To my delight, after a few sessions of honing, cleaning, fitting, I now have a very smooth, consistent cylinder release. I feel like I have a new revolver now. I'm very surprised that this revolver passed Colt's inspection process. Anyway, I hope this might help other Colt owners that have sticky or tight cylinder release mechanisms.
