1903 Newbie question

[davebutch]

My first post. I recently inheirited a Colt 1903 in .32 ACP from my dad, built in 1920. Although it has been fired, to my recollection, it was never fired by him. I took it apart and cleaned it for the first time in probably 40 years. Then, I bought some new .32 ammo and loaded the clip. I racked a round in the chamber and all worked well. I took out the clip and tried to eject the round from the chamber - it was stuck. With the help of my wife, I was able to get the round out with a small screwdriver. I vaguely recall Dad having the same problem when I was young - probably the reason he never fired it.

Any thoughts as to what the problem might be or how it happened? I plan to take the pistol to a gunsmith for evaluation.

[majdad93]

Dave, sounds a bit dangerously "sticky", perhaps. I'm not a 1903 guy myself, but just stand by. You will be deluged shortly with help from some of the Forum's finest. I've found that someone, somewhere has had the same problems and will share the remedy with you. Shame about a neat old Colt like that. Great to have you at the Forum. Enjoy!

[BobSm]

First, insure you didn't leave a thick coating of oil in the chamber and barrel. Oil in the bore for storage is fine, just insure you swab it out with Hoppes on a patch before firing.

Next, check the shape your extractor against photos in various Colt schematics to insure you aren't missing a hunk of it and its spring is working as it should.

Last, after swabbing the oil out of the barrel, dismount it and shine a light in there for inspection. Any pits, discoloration or rough spots in the chamber? If there are, and your initial steps didn't find the problem, chuck a brass slotted tip in a variable-speed electric drill or Dremel, wrap the slotted end with #0000 steel wool (nothing coarser), and at low speed burnish the chamber after oiling the steel wool with cutting oil. Be careful with depth so as not to touch the rifling. Follow up at a high speed setting with a bullet-shaped felt buff on the Dremel Tool charged with Knifemaker's Green rouge to polish the chamber and feed ramp. The felt and rouge won't damage the rifling.

[Colt75]

Be sure it has a functioning extractor and, as noted above, the chamber is clean. Great little pocket pistol. Should be easy enough to get it working properly.

[JudgeColt]

No gunsmith needed. Take the gun apart. With the bare barrel in hand, see if a factory cartridge will drop freely into the chamber. If it does not, that is the problem. Find out what is wrong with the chamber that is causing the cartridge to be tight in the chamber. Fix it, perhaps as described above. Put it back together and the gun should be fine.

The lack of an extractor or a broken extractor should not lock up the slide as described.

[davebutch]

Thanks to all. The extractor seems to be OK - it engages the cartridge well. However, after engaging it, the cartridge is stuck so tight that the slide is impossible to pull back. When it got stuck, I pulled the extractor away from the cartridge and pulled the slide back while wife pushed the cartridge out of the chamber with the screwdriver. I'll take it apart again and check the chamber for fitment and go from there. I'll report back what I find.

[Kid Sopris]

BE CAREFUL using Live ammo !!!!! ( Pushing from the muzzle with Gun Still in another persons hand with live ammo. )

[davebutch]

BE CAREFUL using Live ammo !!!!! ( Pushing from the muzzle with Gun Still in another persons hand with live ammo. )

Point taken. We didn't push from the muzzle. We were able to get the screwdriver under the base of the cartridge and, in essence, get it out the same way the ejector should have.

[JudgeColt]

I say again, will a cartridge drop into the chamber freely? If not, THAT is the problem.

[davebutch]

Update - I took the slide and barrel off to see how a cartridge would fit in the chamber. Turns out, it wasn't that the chamber was too small or restricted, but there seemed to be a burr or rough spot right at its entrance. It wasn't much of a burr because, after trying the fit a few times, the cartridge would drop in and fall out with no interference. After assembling, I tried racking and ejecting several clips of ammo. The first cartridge of each clip would fail to feed in almost every instance. The rest would feed OK but some had trouble ejecting unless I put more than normal effort in racking the slide.

I've owned guns for 50 years and I'm mechanically inclined, but I just don't feel comfortable monkeying with the chamber on this antique and heirloom pistol, even though I'm sure it's an easy fix. I do plan on letting a local smith give it a look and, hopefully, make it normal again because I'm anxious to shoot it.