| Posted: Tue Mar 17th, 2009 08:42 PM |
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SCSlim
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Here's a mystery that reared its ugly head not long ago whilst I was shooting some .45 Colt loads out in the desert.
The revolver was a Uberti-made Cimarron 1873 Artillery model in .45 Colt. Load was 250 grain LFP over 27 grains of BP (the brass has been cleaned and tumbled since it was fired). Note the appearance of the fired primers in the front row of brass.
I diagnosed the issue more or less correctly and fixed it when I got home (where I had the necessary part).
What do you think the problem was?
Attachment: DSCN1913.JPG (Downloaded 87 times)
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| Posted: Tue Mar 17th, 2009 10:28 PM |
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J.Fish
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I'm guessing the firing pin was moved out alignment.
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| Posted: Wed Mar 18th, 2009 02:15 AM |
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ohiococonut
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It could have been a timing issue easily resolved by replacing the hand.
But if that's the case you should have noticed that you weren't hearing that final "click" and the gun would have been spittin' lead pretty bad.
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| Posted: Wed Mar 18th, 2009 02:17 AM |
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Mickey Rat
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Hand was too short. It eas probably "spitting" lead a bit, too. Cylinder didn't properly index. Pull it out and peen it a bit.
I bet it worked OK after you started BRISKLY thumbing the hammer back instead of easing it back.
Last edited on Wed Mar 18th, 2009 02:18 AM by Mickey Rat
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| Posted: Wed Mar 18th, 2009 12:43 PM |
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Charley
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Timing was off a bit. I would guess it was happening after several rounds were fired, and fouling caused a drag on the cylinder, it didn't quite "carry up" enough for the bolt to lock the cylinder into position. Hand is probably fine when used with smokeless.
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| Posted: Wed Mar 18th, 2009 12:54 PM |
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woodsman777
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was it debris in the crane area? , had a dam wesson that would do that once i clean out the FOD it would align the firing pin properly again
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| Posted: Wed Mar 18th, 2009 05:10 PM |
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SCSlim
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Time to let the cat out of the bag.
The issue was the cylinder bolt/sear spring, which is a split leaf-type spring. I thought at first it had broken (this is a common issue with Colt SAAs and clones), but in fact the screw that holds it in place had backed out enough to reduce its tension to near zero, which affected timing and lockup. In effect, it made the cylinder free-wheeling, since the bolt was deprived of the power to rise through its aperture and engage the bolt stop notches on the cylinder.
Removing the grip frame and trigger guard assemblies are required to assess the situation and repair it. I had one of these springs break in that same revolver (the same gun pictured in my avitar) a year or so back. I ordered a few spares from Cimarron when I fixed it back then, including the split leaf-type and a couple of music wire springs. Anyway, when I got the gun apart most recently, I discovered that the spring was merely loose, not broken. I decided to replace it with one of the music wire springs to see how or if it differed in function or feel. Surprise! It does. The wire spring gives a noticeably smoother feel to at least the first three clicks of hammer cocking process, and the trigger let-off seems crisper, as well.
I'm glad no one was standing alongside me when I fired those last 10 or so shots with the off-center primer strikes. I'm sure it DID spit some lead off those rounds.
Thanks for all your assessments and comments.
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Ride hard, shoot straight, and always speak the truth.
Onero ergo sum (I load, therefore I am).
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