New Service Problem

[CapnHawk]

Just before my Dad died in 1977, he had a 1906 vintage Colt New Service in .44 Special slightly modified by a gunsmith. I inherited the revolver where it sat in my safe until early December. Using three different brands of .44 Special ammo, I attempted to run the New Service through its paces. Now, I discovered a problem. No matter what I was feeding the Colt, it hung up in the same spot, the cylinder wouldn't turn. I was firing the revolver in double-action mode. Any idea what the problem may be?

[capstan]

I'd start by first checking the front of the cylinder and the forcing cone make sure there's not aloy of gunk -lead/powder residue built up there.Also check the gap btwn barrel and cylinder sometimes the gap isnt even it can be wider at top than bottom or wider at 1 side vs the other depends on how forcing cone was cut and other fitting tolerances.Could be real tight at 1 spot and with residue gets hung up- If everuything seems ok there check hand and rachet teeth wear.check it by dry firing does it still hang up at one spot in da?

[broknaxl]

Yes check the face and the rear of the cyl. for any build up of gunk or even a small gouge. I had a Ruger Single Six that did the same thing. I looked and looked and thought man i got screwed!! (I had just recieved it off of GunBroker) - Then I found a very tiny gouge that had a very tiny lip sticking up. I filed it smooth - touched it up with a little cold blue and I was good to go.

[Oyeboten]

.44 Special did not yet exist in 1906...


Possibly this was a .44 S&W ( ie: Russian ) chambering, which was later reamed deeper to accept .44 Special?


Anyway, Cylinder Binding, just as the prior posts relay - usually fouling built up on the Cylinder front nd or on the edges of the Forcing Cone ( check the Gap there against a strong indoor Light )...

Or, sometimes, a nick or small dent in the Cylinder Face, or debris under the Ejector 'Star', prevents a Cartridge from seating all the way, and it is the Cartridge Head then which finds a place to bind on the Frame rear area when being cycled.

You could apply black or dark Blue 'Sharpie' to all six Cartridge Heads, empty shells would be best of course ! Lol, and, then, cycle it through a few times, then see if any show scuffing...

But, a good, thorough cleaning and Oiling ( and visual inspection of what can be seen in routine maintenance ) is likely in order, including the under-neath area of the Ejector Star...

[TomP]

CapnHawk, do you know what was "slightly modified" by the gunsmith? That might also point to the root cause of the trouble.

[CapnHawk]

Tom, I know that a front ramp sight was installed and the revolver obviously re-blued. Oyeboten mentioned above that the New Service was not available in .44 Special in 1906 but it accepts the .44 Special cartridge with no problem (in at least 5 of the 6 cylinders). It has a 4" barrel, whether or not that was available in 1906, I don't know. It sat in my safe from May of 1977 until this month and I really don't know the extent of modification my Dad had done to it. He died less than a week after he got the revolver back from the gunsmith. It dry fires perfectly in DA mode, but hangs up with live ammunition.

[capstan]

You might try cleaning the cylinder chambers real good with brass brush and Hoppes #9 or similar. Check the rim thickness of the brass . Check the headspace dimension. Check that the hand is not let out too much. Check for any burs on the back of the cylinder. Make sure the rim of each cartridge is seated tight against the back of the cylinder.