Loose revolver barrel

[saaman]

A nice engraved nickel Cimarron Cattleman, but the barrel is not tight. To get it tight the sight would be way past vertical. I'm thinking of using a thin piece of wire as a shim--would that work?

 

[Brian Williams]

TAKE IT BACK.

Or get a smith to turn the shoulder to allow it to go one more turn before lockup, might also have to trim the barrel so it will not rub the front of the cylinder.

Take it back.

 

[saaman]

Both are good suggestions, Brian--thanks. The gun was made in 1998 and I bought it at a pawn shop so I don't know if Cimarron would take it back or repair it.

 

[Onmilo]

Cimmarron tends to back their stuff fairly well and they keep a couple of very competent gunsmiths on staff.

What exactly do you mean by the barrel not being tight?
Do you mean the cylinder gap seems excessive to you or do you mean the barrel is grab ahold and screw it off loose?

A shim will not work regardless.

 

[saaman]

Onmilo, the barrel wasn't even finger tight--it just screws right off.

 

[Onmilo]

OK, box that puppy up and send it back.
Call Cimarron first and let them know what you are doing.
http://www.cimarron-firearms.com

 

[saaman]

Talked to Robert the gunsmith at Cimarron and he said they only warrant their guns for one year--would cost me $150 to reset the barrel and re-nickel.

 

[asknight]

Note to self: Never buy a Cimarron product.

 

[saaman]

I found a simple fix for the loose barrel--just used a punch and peened around the inside of the frame where the barrel enters. That upset the metal enough that the barrel begins tightening up before the sight hits vertical. The sight is now regulated and the barrel is tight.

 

[jondar]

Kudos! Proving once again that "Necessity is the mother of invention.

 

[saaman]

Thanks, jondar. Here is a picture showing where I peened to get the barrel tight, and a target Cumpston shot with the gun afterward. It shoots right to point of aim with my favorite load.

 

[jondar]

saaman,
Would you share your procedure you used to make sure the front sight was 100% vertical? My reason for asking is I built a firing model 1812 Naval cannon (.50 caliber) of bronze. I mounted it in the oak carriage before I drilled the touch hole. I had trouble making sure the touch hole was exactly in the center of the tube looking down from above. Sounds simple to do but it wasn't for me.

 

[saaman]

I primarily work on single actions and muzzleloaders and I just eyeball the sight until it appears to line up. This time, though, I went a step further and bought a laser sight-in tool from Walmart (Laserlyte)--then tightened the barrel just a little more so the sight matched where the laser pointed.
When I fired it, the Black Hills .45 ammo hit about 5 inches left at 25 yards. My handload with a Lyman 454190 and 5.5 gr Titegroup hit right to point of aim for me and a few inches low for Cumpston.
Finding the center point of a cannon barrel sounds a little tougher--maybe using a couple of carpenter's levels to find top center. I would probably just eyeball it and mark it several times until it looked centered.

 

[jondar]

OK thanks. I did use the eyeball method and think I came about 99% close.