Hatchett
Member
A friend asked me if I wanted a Colt d-frame "parts gun" for a few bucks. I shrugged and said maybe, depending on the shape of the parts. Then he handed me a 1968 Colt Cobra in .38 with an absolutely immaculate finish. I look at him like he's nuts and say sold. He said check it over first. Timing was perfect. Lockup like a safe door. Trigger smooth as any Colt I've handled. There weren't even any of those microscopic scratches in the aluminum from being wiped off with a scratchy paper towel. It was mint.
I aimed it at the floor, and realized the barrel was canted slightly to the side. In the sight picture, the tip of the front sight was at the 1 o'clock position instead of 12. Under the barrel, inside the crane on the underside of where the barrel threads into the frame, there was a thin but glaring silver hairline crack that could be felt with a fingernail. The gun had probably been fired a few dozen times its whole life, and I guess one had been a handload or +P just a few pounds of pressure too much for the aluminum frame. I handed it back wanting to cry. He says he's just going to try to sell the parts one at a time online.
I'm honestly thinking about maybe offering him a hundred bucks for it. It was so pretty, and I could just use it as a placeholder in my Colt snake collection and use it for dryfire practice. If nothing else, I (plan to) have plenty of other D frames and the parts alone might be worth having some day. Supposing I did pick it up, and supposing I didn't want to pay a gunsmith to do it for me since it's just a very pretty paperweight anyway, how would I go about turning the barrel back so the sight is at the top again, just so it doesn't look silly?
I know people are warned against trying to unscrew barrels themselves and without the fitted specialty tools as it can bend the frame, especially in aluminum framed guns, but with the crack I imagine it probably isn't in there quite as tight as it would be. Still way too tight to turn by hand, though.
I aimed it at the floor, and realized the barrel was canted slightly to the side. In the sight picture, the tip of the front sight was at the 1 o'clock position instead of 12. Under the barrel, inside the crane on the underside of where the barrel threads into the frame, there was a thin but glaring silver hairline crack that could be felt with a fingernail. The gun had probably been fired a few dozen times its whole life, and I guess one had been a handload or +P just a few pounds of pressure too much for the aluminum frame. I handed it back wanting to cry. He says he's just going to try to sell the parts one at a time online.
I'm honestly thinking about maybe offering him a hundred bucks for it. It was so pretty, and I could just use it as a placeholder in my Colt snake collection and use it for dryfire practice. If nothing else, I (plan to) have plenty of other D frames and the parts alone might be worth having some day. Supposing I did pick it up, and supposing I didn't want to pay a gunsmith to do it for me since it's just a very pretty paperweight anyway, how would I go about turning the barrel back so the sight is at the top again, just so it doesn't look silly?
I know people are warned against trying to unscrew barrels themselves and without the fitted specialty tools as it can bend the frame, especially in aluminum framed guns, but with the crack I imagine it probably isn't in there quite as tight as it would be. Still way too tight to turn by hand, though.
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