MR_A
Member
I have been carring one since 1982, I like the older s&w but i love my colt carried the trooper iii and v and a phython during my ploice years, you got a fine revolver. Simply rugged makes great cc holster for you colt.
see if you can find a way to hit the rod without the barrel blocking the blow
After checking the chambers to be sure they are unloaded, look at the ejector rod from the front and see if you can find a way to hit the rod without the barrel blocking the blow...
How about straight up from 6 o'clock?
For instance, shooting over the hood of a vehicle.
They added the shroud and increased the diameter of the barrel, while adding a rib and lowering the front sight; because this particular style had become popular on other conpetitors' models,
Like who? The DS was the direct competitor to the S&W J-frame and even today, many of their models do not enclose the ejector rod.
Smith & Wesson's Model 19 for one. Dan Wesson revolvers were another. Ruger's Security Six had a shroud of sorts.
It is par for the course for Colt revolvers, and it's part of why they've always been so popular with bullseye shooters. Colt's lockwork is different from anyone else's, and uses the hand and the bolt to hold the cylinder perfectly still when the gun fires, and there should be absolutely no movement whatsoever when the trigger is held back. Be aware, however, that to achieve this the hand - which is the easiest part to replace - will take the majority of the wear, and is expected to be changed when wear exceeds a specific point. This is where Colt's get their reputation for being "delicate" and going out of time easily. They don't really, but the hand will have to be changed more often than on other revolvers -- this is just considered normal maintenance for the Colt, and is the price you pay for that bank vault lockup. If this maintenance is not carried out as often as it is supposed to be, then you will start to have problems. A lot of shooters over the years have not kept up with this maintenance the way they should, and then the cylinder starts to show some play -- but since even in this state it is showing no more play than an S&W does normally, a lot of owners don't think anything is wrong, and keep right on shooting with the revolver now out of spec. And then it does start to show excessive wear, and is more expensive to fix, and people come to the conclusion that Colt's are "delicate."When dry firing, the cylinder locks up REALLY tight. I've never owned/shot a Colt revolver before, so maybe that's par for the course. Still, it makes my S&W 442 feel kind of sloppy by comparison.
So not only is the unshrouded ejector rod not a problem on the older Colt's, it actually can be a problem on Smith & Wessons, since even a slight bend may interfere with the front lockup the S&W system uses.A common complaint about the old-style Colt Detective Special is the unshrouded ejector rod. Many people believe that the exposed ejector rod is a liability; should it get bent during a struggle, the theory goes, it will tie up the gun and make it inoperable.
Not quite.
Many folks have experienced this problem with a Smith & Wesson. Since their ejector rods are locked at the front and rotate about the front latch pin, any small amount of runout (deviation from true) will impose an inordinate amount of friction to the system. This usually manifests itself as an action that locks up, being completely useless in double action (and often in single action as well.)
The unshrouded Colts, however, are a different matter. Since the ejector rod doesn't have any function other than the ejection of spent casings, even a large amount of runout has no effect on the action. In fact, you would have to bend the ejector rod to the point that it actually hits the underside of the barrel before you would encounter a problem! Because of the plasticity of steel, about the only way you could do that would be on purpose, with the cylinder open - I honestly cannot conceive of any accidental way to get it into such a sorry state.
I would be remiss if I didn't address the effect of small bends on the ejection process; a relatively modest bend in a Colt ejector rod can cause the ejector to stick in the cylinder, so that the ratchet (ejector star) is stuck in the extended position. This isn't as much of a problem as you might think - just shove the ratchet back into the cylinder and the gun is usually ready to be reloaded.
Every gun has strong and weak points in its design, but in the case of the unshrouded Colts the exposed ejector isn't one of them!