Need help with an offer on a Colt Trooper Mk V

[Colt Smith]

I need to get some idea what a Mk V trooper is worth. Here's the story....


I'd check Gun Broker for an idea but they rarely come up for sale. I've only seen 2. One is always on GB and never sells and the other one I bought. It was described as unfired with perfect timing so I paid $600 for it. It came in the mail yesterday so I checked it out with the gunsmith/re-finisher at the shop handling the transfer. We looked it over very well for a long time and concluded it had been fired and seemed to have timing issues. I wrote the seller back to thank him and inform him I was returning the gun. He writes back saying taking it back and re-listing it would be a hassle and asks is there a price I would accept to keep it. He also said the way we checked the timing was wrong. That his gunsmith says the trooper was not designed to be fired single action so he uses a method other than slow cocking to check the lock up and timing.

Here are the questions:

What is a MkV Trooper really worth or what would be a reasonable offer? 4" Blue, factory wood grips, no box just styrofoam box, no papers. Don't know NRA rankings but appears very clean with only very minor surface imperfections. substantial wear on the latch/recoil shield where it rubs when closing the cylinder.

What is the best way to check the timing and lock up of the MkV Trooper? Are any special techniques involved? If so, how is it done properly?

 

[Colt Smith]

Whew! Had a heck of a time reading through all those responses. Thanks everybody. That's enough help for now. The problem is resolved.

 

[f4t9r]

I did not have any answers for you but I will ask what came of the deal.
My buddy has one and ask what his is worth. I do not know for sure but I am thinking 400 - 500 It is a Colt so price automatically goes up

 

[Jim Watson]

That his gunsmith says the trooper was not designed to be fired single action so he uses a method other than slow cocking to check the lock up and timing.

I did not respond earlier because I do not like to play internet price games. But the above is total BS and if the resolution was not a full refund, you were cheated.

 

[Colt Smith]

Sorry. I just typed a whole long story explaining everything but the page logged me out and I lost the whole thing. I'm not going to re-type the whole thing(you're welcome). Basically, the seller's g'smith says his way to check the timing is the right way and the slow-cock method is wrong. Can some Colt experts here offer a definitive proper way to check the timing on Colts, Specifically Mk series Troopers? The seller is giving me until Friday to accept a refund of $130 to keep the gun to save him the hassle of logging it back into inventory and re-listing it. If I return the gun he will refund the full purchase price. If the timing is off, is it worth it to keep the gun and have the timing adjusted?

 

[loneviking]

Depending on how off the timing is, you could get it retimed for the $137. However, you also mention considerable wear on the latch/recoil shield . Now, why would a rarely fired gun have such wear on this part? Has somebody been 'flicking' the cylinder closed? That would be my first guess as I recently bought a Mod. 65 that the cylinder latch seemed loose and didn't want to consistently release on a LNIB gun. Turns out somebody was flinging the cylinder closed, as well as 'fanning' the trigger very hard and a number of internal parts wound up having to be smoothed, fixed or replaced.

A Colt is a good, solid gun but I would be very leery of accepting this one. I'd be highly inclined to go for the full refund.

 

[Jim Watson]

I don't know the "proper way" to check the timing of a coil spring Colt. If it is different from slowly cocking it and seeing whether it "comes up" fully locked, as I have seen routinely done with S&W, Ruger, and V spring Colts, it is news to me. I would not pay anything for a defective gun and then go looking for somebody to fix it.

Part of the advertising for the previous Mk III Trooper was that it was "Permanently Timed" because "everybody knows" that is a wear point with a V spring action.

Not designed to be fired single action? BS, repeat, BS. That would be grounds for me to disbelieve anything else he said.

 

[Hawk]

Can some Colt experts here offer a definitive proper way to check the timing on Colts, Specifically Mk series Troopers?

My guess is "NO". There does not appear to be a consensus, at least with respect to the DS. Here's a link to a Grant Cunningham blog entry which links to another thread here at THR resulting in what I would catagorize as "recursive confusion". The observation that those on both sides of the issue have forgotten more than I'll ever know tells me I'm unqualified to pick sides, assuming "picking sides" is even necessary.

Enjoy:
http://grantcunningham.com/blog_files/229b75bc642617725c68823468bac4b5-162.html

For those of us that remember the linked thread and read the Cunningham blog, there's probably a degree of circumspection in opening a can - hence your post went sailing off the bottom of page 1 without so much as a hiccup.

From a practical standpoint, if I had the thing in hand as described, I'd take the 130.00 but that's just me. Then I'd pester Dfariswheel and Old Fuff for hints on a voodoo rite called "hand stretching" and hope it was applicable to the MK-V.

 

[bannockburn]

Colt Smith

I've owned and/or examined a number of Colt Mk. III and Mk. V revolvers over the years, and I don't recall any of them having any sort of timing issues with them. Might be as loneviking posted, a case of where someone was a little to careless with closing the cylinder properly. And the comment that they were not designed to be fired SA is, as Jim Watson commented, pure BS. Makes me think the seller is either misinformed or is possibly concealing something about this particular gun. At any rate, this would be a huge red flag to me.
But in the case of this Colt Mk. V that was now being offered for $470, I might be tempted to take him up on it for that price. I've seen Colt revolvers of the Mk. III and Mk. V variety, and not necessarily LNIB, going for prices nearly twice that nowadays. If I had a decent gunsmith who was familar with this action, I would consider keeping it.

 

[Colt Smith]

I agree with the folks here who believe the nonsense about the Trooper not being designed to fire SA is bunk. My g'smith was trained at AGI by Bob Dunlop. My confidence in him is high. I have the seller's GS and mine talking to each other at this point. I will let you know what happens.

 

[Colt Smith]

Ok, here's the follow up. I decided to return the Trooper. After a couple more emails back and forth the seller called me. He could tell by this point that I was doing everything I could on my part to give this gun a fair shake. He told me to send the gun back and he would reimburse me for the shipping both ways as well as the full purchase price. He would then have the gun checked out at a different place and/or send it to Colt to have it fixed before re-selling it. I knew from the beginning he was an honest guy. But he had put so much faith in the reputation of the gunsmith he had check out the gun that he wouldn't allow himself to believe anything could be wrong with it. I think it's sinking in now. I hold no grudge against the man. He's a good guy. I hope he gets it fixed right. It was a pretty nice piece otherwise. Thanks to everybody for your input.

 

[COK]

I think $600 was a bit high anyway, a while back saw a mint one go for $500 , no box or papers but like new in upstate NY.

 

[Colt Smith]

Yeah, you're right but so many guns which probably shouldn't be as expensive as they are continue to sell at crazy prices. I think I'll put the refund towards a nice k22 Masterpiece or a USFA SAA. So many nice guns, so little money.

Anyway, I wish everybody here at THR a very safe and happy holiday season.

Good luck to us all in the next four years.