Otony
Member
A week or two back the subject of Colt DA revolvers came up and I expressed the opinion that Colt DA lockwork could be fragile in general.
Of course I managed to sink to my usual snotty self, and offered some rude commentary in the bargain. For all who read or were involved in that thread, I wish to extend my humble apologies. I am sorry if I dissapointed or offended anyone.
I would like to say that I still consider Colt's DA to be problematic at times, and have discovered a few writers who can explain the reasons much better than my feeble attempts. To wit:
"I would be hesitant to use +P ammunition in the Colt Official Police. There is plenty of strength in the frame and cylinder for this pressure level, but the Colt has an attribute that will accellerate wear with constant double-action use of +P loads--soft metallurgy on moving parts, esp. the two-step advancing hand. Colt DA wheelguns are works of art, but depend on the regular attention of armorers or gunsmiths to resolve timing issues that develop with DA usage and heavier loads. My agency had a couple hundred OP's in service at the time I started in 1977. They had begun usage of +P ammo in 1975, and the Colts--which were already getting tired--really took a nose-dive in short order. These were replaced in 1979 with S&W M-64's, and the problems disappeared." Deputy Al, author
and:
"I really like the older Colt wheelguns......those V-spring actions have a unique smoothness, and cycle like no other. The Colt was designed in a day that accepted neighborhood blacksmiths, mechanics, and gunsmiths as a fact of life in most communities, as institutions of the day required for the good of the community. Colt made no bones about it--you needed to have at least an armorer on staff at your police department, and a gunsmith would be even better.
The Colt DA lockwork is a piece of art in metal. I'm a fairly competent handgun armorer, but I also know my limits--and much of the Colt lockwork exceeds my skills. Very few of my deputies carried Colt sidearms after 1980, mostly Pythons and DetSpecs--maybe a dozen of each in a department of 500-1200 people as it grew over the years. If someone is going to shoot a Colt DA wheelgun frequently, it would pay dividends to find a gunsmith that will take on timing issues that afflict these guns from time to time." same author
plus:
"The Colt Offical Police with the classic Colt DA lockwork will do just fine with +P loads, but there are a couple of things to remember. When the Colt locks up in full battery, the bottom hand is bearing hard against the ratchet holding the cylinder in firm lockup. Therefore the hand takes the recoil of the pistol and will batter and shorten over time. The more recoil, the quicker the wear on the hand.
This is not a significan't problem, but a piece of regular maintainence on the old Colts. The hand has to be stretched back to it's original length.
Smiths lock up different and don't have this particular problem. They have a few of their own, but not this one." Chargar, author
Of course, these are simply opinons, and I have already commented on THAT issue, but I wanted to point out that Colt's, while solid and strong, have their weakpoints. However I did so in an uniformative and rude fashion. for more information, go to this thread:
http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=1644
Thank you!
Of course I managed to sink to my usual snotty self, and offered some rude commentary in the bargain. For all who read or were involved in that thread, I wish to extend my humble apologies. I am sorry if I dissapointed or offended anyone.
I would like to say that I still consider Colt's DA to be problematic at times, and have discovered a few writers who can explain the reasons much better than my feeble attempts. To wit:
"I would be hesitant to use +P ammunition in the Colt Official Police. There is plenty of strength in the frame and cylinder for this pressure level, but the Colt has an attribute that will accellerate wear with constant double-action use of +P loads--soft metallurgy on moving parts, esp. the two-step advancing hand. Colt DA wheelguns are works of art, but depend on the regular attention of armorers or gunsmiths to resolve timing issues that develop with DA usage and heavier loads. My agency had a couple hundred OP's in service at the time I started in 1977. They had begun usage of +P ammo in 1975, and the Colts--which were already getting tired--really took a nose-dive in short order. These were replaced in 1979 with S&W M-64's, and the problems disappeared." Deputy Al, author
and:
"I really like the older Colt wheelguns......those V-spring actions have a unique smoothness, and cycle like no other. The Colt was designed in a day that accepted neighborhood blacksmiths, mechanics, and gunsmiths as a fact of life in most communities, as institutions of the day required for the good of the community. Colt made no bones about it--you needed to have at least an armorer on staff at your police department, and a gunsmith would be even better.
The Colt DA lockwork is a piece of art in metal. I'm a fairly competent handgun armorer, but I also know my limits--and much of the Colt lockwork exceeds my skills. Very few of my deputies carried Colt sidearms after 1980, mostly Pythons and DetSpecs--maybe a dozen of each in a department of 500-1200 people as it grew over the years. If someone is going to shoot a Colt DA wheelgun frequently, it would pay dividends to find a gunsmith that will take on timing issues that afflict these guns from time to time." same author
plus:
"The Colt Offical Police with the classic Colt DA lockwork will do just fine with +P loads, but there are a couple of things to remember. When the Colt locks up in full battery, the bottom hand is bearing hard against the ratchet holding the cylinder in firm lockup. Therefore the hand takes the recoil of the pistol and will batter and shorten over time. The more recoil, the quicker the wear on the hand.
This is not a significan't problem, but a piece of regular maintainence on the old Colts. The hand has to be stretched back to it's original length.
Smiths lock up different and don't have this particular problem. They have a few of their own, but not this one." Chargar, author
Of course, these are simply opinons, and I have already commented on THAT issue, but I wanted to point out that Colt's, while solid and strong, have their weakpoints. However I did so in an uniformative and rude fashion. for more information, go to this thread:
http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=1644
Thank you!