Python Trouble

[2muchstuf]

Sunday morning took me to the range for the first in a while.
All was going good till I broke my highly prized Colt.
The cylinder catch thingy no longer lets the cylinder advance.
Took the grip off to find a very small hook broken off and just floating around in there.
I've never had any revolver apart and have little desire to take this one apart.
If I knew that it would be an easy fix, I would do it though.
Colt's website says "DON'T DO IT ".

I've been around here long enough to know that more than a few of you guys probable have experience with Colt dis assembly

Any advice? or should I just send it back to Colt and let them fix it.
I sure don't want this thing bubba-ed up, it's the best shooter I got.
Thanks
2

[targetshootr]

Pythons are built like Swiss watches, so, don't do it.

[MtGun44]

If it was a S&W, and you said you were a pretty handy guy with lots of experience working
on stuff like carburetors and such, I'd say give it a try.

Colts are different and there are some pieces (not the cyl lock, itself - but parts that do
work with it) that are hand fitted to very, very tight tolerances and if you manage to take one
part past where it should be you need to rework a couple of other parts very carefully
to bring things back.

Find a really good smith like Cyl and Slide in Fremont, Neb and send it to them. Not
cheap but they will fix it properly. Bill is a really great guy and knows his stuff.

Bill

[Char-Gar]

I think you are talking about the cylinder bolt being broken. That is all I can make out from your description. A replacement bolt is a pretty easy fix..IF..you know your way around the innards of and old style Colt DA sixgun. They are more complex than a Smith and Wesson, but far from rocket science.

If makes me gnash my teeth to send a pistol to a gunsmith, at the shipping rates we have today and then have the gunsmith charge major bucks for a 15 minute job. Before everything is done, you can tie up $200.00 in a simple job. Simple that is, if you know what your are doing.

I don't know what your mechanical skill level is, but Jerry Kuhnhausen has a shop manual on this pistols available from Brownells, if you want to a go at it yourself.

I like these old Colt DAs, and have a number of them, but they can give mechanical problems from time to time. In the old days, working on them was a bread and butter skill for most local gunsmiths. But, these days, folks who work on them are harder to find. Cylinder and Slide works on these guns, but built their reputation on auto-pistols. I have seen several of examples of their repair work on old Colt DA sixguns and while it got the job done, it was not exceptional.

If you need to ship a firearm off to get fixed, it is (at least in my opinion), always better to send it to the factory.

[leftiye]

Send it back to Colt?

[JIMinPHX]

Most of the time, just getting the side plate off of a revolver will separate the men from the boys. If you have put a single mark on a single screw or especially the side plate itself, then you have no business being inside there in the first place.

That little broken off hook is a piece of linkage that has failed. I would send that gun back to Colt & at least let them give you an evaluation & a quote. After that you can decide if you want to go it alone or let a pro handle it. For all you know, Colt might just fix it for free as a warranty item...if the side-plate & screws don't have Bubba marks on them.

By the way, getting a side plate off of a revolver is 100% finesse & 0% brute force. There is a trick to it.

[targetshootr]

Also, hang onto the Colt repair receipt. It'll be a plus for any future buyer to know it's been looked over by the factory.

[2muchstuf]

Thanks all for your input.
I heard just about what I expected.
I am a fairly handy guy and have taken a lot of things apart and successfully put them back together again, just didn't want to try this .
Seems to me the smart thing to do is send it back to Colt.
2

[Char-Gar]

To remove the side plate of either a Smith or Colt, remove the side plate screws and the grips. Turn the pistol with side plate down and tap the side of the grip with a plastic or leather hammer. The handle of a large screwdriver will work as well. NEVER pry a side plate off!

Be certain and do this over a bench as often parts come out with the side plate.

[George369]

+1 on sending it back to the Colt Factory.There are many people who claim to be able to fix the old type Colt revolvers ,but few who can do so properly,also it may not cost more than a good gunsmith would charge

[MtGun44]

Does Colt even work on revolvers anymore? They only make the SAAs in the
Custom shop, no other revolvers are being made.

Bill

[targetshootr]

They still service Pythons and such, as far as I know.



Does Colt even work on revolvers anymore? They only make the SAAs in the
Custom shop, no other revolvers are being made.

Bill