Help save a cool old colt

[MikeJackmin]

Here's the good news - a Colt Officers Target .38 Heavy Barrel, with a splendid trigger and a cylinder that locks up like a bank vault.

The bad news? Three of the chambers are grossly oversize - they had some pitting in them, and I think somebody was *much* too aggressive when trying to smooth them out. One is so bad it will (barely) chamber a .38 S&W! Regular .38 special cases split and have to be ejected with a hand tool.

The last half-inch of the muzzle is ruined, too, but the rest of the bore looks perfect.

I see two ways to save this gun - recut the chambers for .38 S&W and counterbore the barrel, or reline it to either .38 special or even .22 rimfire. (Given the cost of ammo, I'd rather reline than recut). I suppose I could just replace the cylinder, but I couldn't expect to reproduce the perfect lockup that the gun displays now.

How to save this thing? I do not have the heart to sell it for parts, but I can't put a ton of money into it, either. Any suggestions as to what to do, and who could do the work?

Thanks.

 

[dfariswheel]

Probably the best approach would be a new cylinder.
If done by a PRO like Pittsburgh Handgun Headquarters or Cylinder & Slide it would probably lockup as good, if not even better.

A .38 Special cylinder and ejector can be bought from Gun Parts Corporation:
http://www.e-gunparts.com/
Price is about $48.00.

The also sell barrels.

NOTE: The Officer's Model Target uses the same cylinder as the Colt Official Police and all other mid-frame Colt "E & I" revolvers. Cylinders were not model-specific.

Since your gun is a 1950's "E" frame, any mid-frame Colt cylinder from that era will fit.

I strongly recommend letting Pittsburgh or C&S do the work, since the cylinder MUST be carefully fitted, and there's a LOT more to this than you might think.

 

[MikeJackmin]

Thanks - I'll get a new cylinder, that seems to be the way to go. With any luck I'll make a decent shooter out of it for $150 or so.

 

[Old Fuff]

Well dfariswheel neatly solved the cylinder problem. I believe that G.P.C. also has the correct barrel. Or when the cylinder work was being done you could have the barrel cut back to 5 1/2" (I believe it is 6" now) and the front sight remounted.

You have a fine gun, that is well worth the restoration effort.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I suppose I could just replace the cylinder, but I couldn't expect to reproduce the perfect lockup that the gun displays now.

I've seen cylinders replaced on a couple Colt revolvers with perfect results. Quick, cheap, and easy? No. Worth doing? Yes.

 

[Old Fuff]

Standing Wolf is right. If a new cylinder is correctly fitted there is no reason the timing and lock-up won't be the same as it is now. But the key term is "correctly fitted."

 

[MikeJackmin]

Any opinion of gunsmith David Clements?

http://www.clementscustomguns.com/

Seems like a good guy to me.

 

[GaryK]

I had Dave Clements to build me a custom Ruger Blackhawk a couple of years ago with excellent results. I highly recommend him. He is usually pretty busy so you might want to ask about turnaround time before you ship.