I just finished repairing the 1877. It needed a $16 spring, and there are at least half a dozen good sources for all the parts on 1877 and 1878 revolvers, except major structural pieces like the frame and cylinder. Colt made 166,000 of these and there are tons of them still around.
Well lets see…When it comes to 19th century antiques it doesn’t mater how many they made, but how many have survived to this day, and for several reasons that number drops a little each year. Most of the available parts (other then some springs) have been removed from scraped revolvers that were broken or worn, and the internals are likely to be in the same shape. In addition they were originally fitted to a particular gun, and may or may not work in another one. You got off lucky with nothing but a broken spring, but next time…. Who knows?
In this case 20 minutes of work had it back into fighting trim...it should have been five minutes work, but the trigger and hammer on 1877s are always under a lot of spring tension, so lining up the screw holes takes three hands and four eyeballs...
I can think of some other ways too do it. Point is though, this is why most gunsmiths who fix more modern revolvers won’t touch one of these earlier Colt’s, and that includes the Colt factory. If one can’t or doesn’t do their own fix’n they better have a lot of money.
Granted, the 1877 is not the best handgun design of all time, but if you could shoot it in 1877, you can shoot it today, as long as it is structurally sound. To think otherwise would be the same as telling Jay Leno he shouldn't drive his Duisenberg car.
Unless you have an x-ray machine or can do magnafluxing you can’t tell by eyeballing if an antique is “structurally sound” or not. As for Mr. Leno, should he bust something in his Duisenberg he can expect a very expensive repair bill. I couldn’t afford it, and I’m not sure you could either, but either way, he can.
That said, if Leno is smart, he wouldn't drive his Duisenberg in a race or drive it across country, and I wouldn't use the 1877 in a cowboy match or as an every day gun. But shooting a gun like this occasionally, with the appropriate ammo, is the only way to understand how people of the time period used their arms.
Oh gee… am I to understand that you’d risk a piece of American firearms history, that’s been handed down for generations, just because you can’t find a better way to “understand how people of the time period used their arms?” Just exactly what do you expect to learn? Just between you and me, I learned a lot more about frontier shooting, methods and techniques – when back in 1979 or ’80 I had the highly good fortune to have a 20 minute interview with one of the two sill living Arizona Territorial Rangers.
The 1878 Colt and the S&W DA are a different kettle of fish. These guns are nearly as rugged as Colt SAAs. I don't feel bad about shooting these guns a lot. I have an acquaintance who has used his DA S&W in cowboy matches, with permission of the match director.
“Nearly” doesn’t cut it. Because of its popularity and wide distribution, Single Action Army parts and gunsmiths are easily available. This is not so when it comes to the early S&W big-bore top breaks, nor the Colt 1878, (excluding a few that interchange with the SAA) where parts that tend to break or wear aren’t that easy to find. Hopefully you understand that the chambers are held in alignment with the bore by the hand and cylinder ratchet, and not a seperate cylinder bolt, which is the case with a Single Action Army.
If Dave C. truly believes that 19th century guns shouldn't be shot, I'd say he is in a minority. Lots of us shoot originals that are older than that 1877 (Made in 1896 by the way).
First of all, I don’t think that the majority of western antique gun owners shoot what they own, and those that do are a distinct minority, mostly centered around the CAS game. This observation should not be taken as a blanket condemnation of the game, which I enjoy – just certain members.
As for Dave, I doubt that anyone in your circle can match his national reputation when it comes to restoring and repairing antique western firearms, nor his extensive knowledge of 19th century metallurgy. One of his specialties is repairing the original part(s) to retain most of the value of the gun. He has noted that since CAS came along his workload has picked up.
I've been the black powder editor of Guns of the Old West magazine since 1998, and I've shot plenty of 19th century guns. If a modern repro is available I agree with sparing the old guns and shooting the reproduction. But for guns like these there aren't any repros made. And I shoot guns that are significantly older than these DAs. My British R.B. Rodda Sporting Rifle chambered for .577 Snider was built in 1866. It is a good shooter that handles those massive cartridges better than my shoulder does. I love shooting that rifle.
Yup, I know the magazine, and the latest copy is sitting on my reading table. As for your .577 Snider rifle, you love the rifle, but not enough to not chance breaking a next-to-impossible-to find part. Going back to Dave, he had a customer who felt that way about an original .45 S&W Schofield, but when it came to Dave the cylinder was split above one chamber. Somewhere in that there is a lesson.
I've owned quite a few 19th century rifles over the years. If you buy a solid specimen they are excellent guns to shoot in this century. I've also got Webley MKVIs, and Colt and S&W model 1917 revolvers. They are fast approaching a century in age, but they all shoot as good as the day they were made.
Actually, there probably no good reason not to, although if you bust a part in the Colt 1917 you may have trouble finding a replacement. Webley hasn’t made any parts in a long time either.
As Mike found out in the video, all it took to disable what was a working Colt 1877 was to draw the hammer back to half-cock. That of course is unusual, but it does happen.
I plan to keep shooting them.
I know you will, and so will some of our other members – and it’s possible some will come to regret it. I also know there is absolutely nothing I can do to prevent it. The purpose of this post is to reach out to others that are either members or individuals that follow along. If I change any minds among them this post has been worth it.
) I not only read it, I also highly recommend it to others…
