Colt Revolvers Are Beginning To.....

[mec]

but you are right that some didn't, especially later production.(carry up)

Very common from the 1960s forward- right from the box. From time to time, Colt has solicited high skill custom gunsmiths to provide input about their revolver line. One such advised them to dump it. The Double action dates from the late 1880s and is problem-ridden. When pythons were popular, the more honest gun scribes would advise that the hand could be peened/streched one time before it had to be replaced- then a skilled gunsmith , and not just a schizoid nut with wierd theories, would have to fit a new hand and go throught the entire action to get it properly timed. Trinidad trained gunsmiths(or at least one that worked here) were told that colt actions had to be retimed every 7500 cycles regardless of ammunition used. That seemed very ambitious at the time.

 

[Old Fuff]

Please post the serial numbers of you Colt's. You can use xx for the last two numbers. I'm interested in seeing when they were made, as that can make a difference.

Also if the revolver is in the condition you describe I'd suggest that you return it to the company and ask for warrantee repairs. It is obviously not what it should be.

 

[Big Wes]

I strongly suggest you just send it back to Colt and they'll hook you up. I have a Det.Spl. that gave me trouble a long time ago the timing was off and the barrel kept coming loose, brought it to a local gunsmith per Colt's recomendation, Local gunsmith shimmed the barrel but it would still come loose. I sent it in to Colt factory, they repaired it and it's been good ever since.

Note to the wise.

Gunsmiths that know how to work on Colt's are hard to find, that's why I recomend sending them back to Colt.

Good Luck Sharp Dressed Man.

 

[GRIZ22]

This holds true for any top of the line piece of high performance equipment. The higher performance comes at a price, and its higher maintenance.

I think your analogy is wrong. People buy high quality to avoid higher maintenance and break down. Compare a Yugo to a Mercedes diesel sedan. Change filters and fluids on the Mercedes and it will last you 500,000 miles plus. I did know one guy who was satisfied with his Yugo.

By the way I'm happy with the Colt revolvers I own but don't think they are the hallmark. I have also seen "handfitted Pythons" come with timing and other problems new.

Gunsmiths that know how to work on Colt's are hard to find, that's why I recomend sending them back to Colt.


This is true.

 

[Old Fuff]

The Double action dates from the late 1880s and is problem-ridden.

In 1889 Colt introduced a new mid-frame hand ejector revolver that was quickly adopted by the U.S. Navy. In 1892 they improved it, and it was adopted by both the Army and Navy. With various internal improvements it remained the official U.S. Service revolver until the adoption of the 1911 Pistol. Even so these .38 revolvers remained in limited service well after World War One.

In or about 1908 Colt completely redesigned this line of hand ejector revolvers, and this basic format was incorporated into all Colt hand ejector revolvers made from then to 1970, when again they started with a clean sheet of paper. The two exceptions that remained were a revised Detective Special, and of course the Python.

While these revolver, especially those made between 1889 and 1908 had problems, they were not serious enough for the U.S. Armed Forces to abandon them, even though the Smith & Wesson Military & Police .38 was available. Both the Army and Navy bought 1000 of the new Smith & Wesson's but then didn't go any further.

While the revolvers under discussion do have issues, it should be remembered that most of them were discontinued in 1970, some 40 years ago. Without question new parts and skilled repairmen are important issues. But if these revolvers were so fragile and prone to go out of time as some suggest, it seems unlikely that the early ones (1889 - 1908) would not have been quickly discarded and replaced by a superior S&W, nor would the 1908-1970 models remained in production for as long as they did.

 

[Sniper X]

post by SaxonPig, The Colt revolver was not meant to be fired in "slow DA." Slowly pulling the trigger in DA mode or slowly cocking the hammer to full cock will often result in the cylinder failing to fully index. Try using the guns as intended.


I have had Colts all my life and never heard that. Plus you stated it in a bit of a matter of fact way.....can you provide ANY documentation on this?

 

[Magnumite]

Ever have an older souped up or original musclecar? Those required at least monthly attention to stay in peak form. Been there, done that.

New technology...longevity and state of tune is much better. But....power = wear. You can have similar quality for lower end and high end performance...but the great power always wears out first when it is "used".

 

[BUFF]

Wow!! You guys are making me completely paranoid in regards to my python...Should I lock it away never to be fired again? I treat it like a Faberge egg as it is..A few rounds occasionaly (.38 target loads only), clean, back in the rust prevent bag, etc. How do you know when it may be slightly out of time? My cylinder has very slight play at full cock and zero play as the trigger is pulled. The strike on the spent casings seem closer to center than anything else I own. I would hate to have to ship it to anyone (including Colt).

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

This has been a wealth of Colt info. As I stated, some of my guns are starting to make me wonder. I will let Colt sort some of it out. I think I am going to get Cylinder and Slide to do an advanced action job on the Python, as I was intending to keep it as my sole .357 (I find .44's & .45's work better for me in the self defense role). I have two Detective Specials, and a S&W 10 for .38 plinking and for a smaller SD gun. I know I would dearly love the Colts to have perfect timing. There was a time when people just bought a gun, shot it a little, then it served them for 20-40 years. I think we do a lot more recreational shooting these days. I know I have a lot more "disposable" ammo than my dad ever did. I reload, and am an avid shooter. He did not reload, hunted occasionally, and didn't plink that much. I think the war probably made him like guns less than he would have if war had never become a part of his life experience. I imagine there were a lot of people like that after each big war. His guns easily lasted his lifetime.

 

[BUFF]

Great points SharpsDressedMan..sounds a lot like my uncle talking. He has a great, yet smaller collection of guns that get fired very little. It's just a different generation, I guess, they didn't waste ammo and took care of what they had. He hunted and that was what the ammo was for...food!

 

[Hawk]

There was a time when people just bought a gun, shot it a little, then it served them for 20-40 years. I think we do a lot more recreational shooting these days. I know I have a lot more "disposable" ammo than my dad ever did. I reload, and am an avid shooter.

My search-fu is weak this day but I believe you'll find a very similar observation posted on Cunningham's site. It seems intuitively plausible that a "Joe Average" shooter in 2000 fires more rounds than his grand dad did. Grant, IIRC, actually had some back-up for the notion.

It's probably not altogether unreasonable to suppose that the "rough and tumble service revolver with bank-vault lock-up" was a happy confluence of being made when Colt still had the juice to execute them not only properly but consistently and the fact that the uncommon marginal product was simply not stressed to the point that a problem would surface.

Post the serial numbers - when I posted numbers on a problem child S&W, Old Fuff had some startling input on what exactly was going on when mine was built - he claims not be psychic but sometimes I wonder...

 

[Old Fuff]

Old Fuff had some startling input on what exactly was going on when mine was built - he claims not be psychic but sometimes I wonder...

Sometimes yes and sometimes no.

In the case of these Colt's under discussion, it has to be admitted that during recent memory the company had some pretty inept management. Many of the top dogs were either MBA's or bean counters with no firearms industry experience.

So they tried to improve they're spreadsheets by laying off or firing experienced assemblers and other long-time employees who knew what they were doing so they could be replaced with new hires for less money. Considering the nature of their products this was an exceptionally foolish move, but the ones who made the decisions knew next to nothing about guns, and I know because I talked to some of them.

Then those experienced workers that remained were pressured to turn out more work in less time, which was something that didn't work well when the nature of the product made it labor intensive. It didn't help when worn tooling wasn't replaced when it should have been.

If one has the opportunity to disassemble and examine Colt hand ejector revolvers made over a long period of time it becomes obvious that all weren't created equal. There are of course exceptions to the rule.

Also Colt's weren't the only ones that slid down a slippery slope, it's just that they're products were the most vulnerable.

 

[PRM]

When I became a LEO in 1977, we had to furnish our own weapons. We also had specific guidelines - they had to be a S&W or Colt, 4 inch, 357 or .38 Special. I have been carrying and shooting Colt revolvers for over 3 decades now and have experienced very few problems. I still carry a Detective Special on a daily basis.

They were made to use - shoot them - shoot them often - use the ammunition they were designed for and they will last you a lifetime.