First post, many questions but one for now.

[Tru Griff]

This will be my first post to the forum here and to be honest I'm really glad to have found this place. I have, or have had a few black powder weapons and all but one have been replicas.

My first question concerns a Pietta 1860 Colt Army 44 I purchased at Dixie Gun Works last year. It is the non-blued steel frame type. I've already read here abt the problem with the wedge pin which was very helpful knowing it wasn't just this pistol.

The problem I noticed recently while dry firing the pistol was this. 2 out of the six chambers do not line up when dry fired. The hammer hits the side of the nipple instead of dead center like the others do. I know dry firing is not good on the nipples but I rarely do this. Now I'm glad I did because the thought of the chamber not aligned with the barrel when fired would have very bad results.

Is this a common problem along with the wedge pin for Pietta's Colt or does this just happen when you dry fire these pistols? I have yet to fire any lead from the pistol but I have shot powder and wad through it in the past.

The Colt feels much different than the Uberti 1858 Old army Remington 44 I once owned but I never had problems with it. Any ideas as to the cause of the cylinder not aligning on this Colt?

 

[Bad Flynch]

Sounds all the world like a timing problem to me and that is different from a wedge problem. Have a real gunsmith time the thing.

 

[Tru Griff]

Thanks anyhow. I talked to someone tonight who told me how to time it as well as check it with a dowel for cylinder alignment. He walked me through the timing and the bolt looked like it was working properly. Hadnt used the dowel yet but I plan to. Also plan to back out the nipples some to make sure they aren't cross threaded like he suggested.

The wedge problem was about the information that was already provided on another post. I found it from the suggested threads here. I was just complementing it. Already knew that it was not related to the other.

 

[Steve499]

Sometimes, if the leg of the bolt which contacts the hammer cam isn't contoured right, when the hammer drops from full cock the bolt can momentarily be retracted from the cylinder. You might check for cylinder lock through the entire hammer fall by pulling and holding the trigger back while slowly lowering the hammer with your thumb. You can watch the bolt from the side to see if it is moving any during the hammer fall.

I replaced the hammer on a Pietta Remington I have because the cam on the old hammer was worn badly. I had a problem with the cylinder unlocking like I described, until I messed around with the bolt leg, which was apparently harder than the old hammer cam. When the cylinder would unlock, it would rotate a little. I didn't dry fire it, but the hammer might well have struck the nipple off center had I done so. If you find by the dowel rod and/or visual flashlight inspection down the muzzle that your revolver is correctly aligned at full cock, you may be having the same problem I did with the cylinder unlocking as the hammer falls.

 

[Tru Griff]

Thanks Steve. I added that to my file for ref's when I get back to inspecting the pistol. Every little bit helps.