A very nifty gun and hopefully you can get it shooting. It looks to me like somebody at some point installed a S&W firing pin in the hammer nose. You can see where it was attached with a rivit or pin, then a punch was used arround the circumfrence to help secure it in place.
New Service .44-40 3 inch 1909 transitional model (new photos)
Just got my cut down New Service I bought via GunBroker today.
The gun has been quite nicely refinished and very well cut down. I'm very impressed with how nice it looks. However, unfortunately the gun has some timing issues and is not as tight as a Colt should be. I think I want to get it to a professional to have it tuned. I'm just hoping it's not too worn out to have that done. It seems that the hand is just a little too worn to lift enough when cocked slowly to fully lock the cylinder. But also the bolt drops a little too late and seems to throwby on one of the chambers if cocked too quickly or pulled too quickly in DA.
Compared to my other Colts it's quite loose. My other New Service locks up like a bank vault when you pull the trigger with NO movement of the cylinder whatsoever. This one is still kind of loose. There is also more endshake but I don't know how much endshake is considered unacceptable. It shakes more than my other NS but it doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
Also note that this is an old style frame with the newer style lockwork. It has the hammer block inside. Wyatt Burp told me he thinks only a couple thousand of this type were made. This one is serial number 21873.
Anyhow, any comments or suggestions are much appreciated!
Here's some new pics:
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Note the blue on the hammer top. This is also on the back with polished sides. Not fire blue like Colt used to do but still very nice. The trigger is the same way:
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The crowning and front sight placement seem to be very well done.
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Comparison shot with my 1903 New Service in .45 Colt. Note the difference in sight hieght:
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Comparison of the top straps. Note the differences:
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Note the differences in the style of hammers:
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Finally here's the comparison of the internals viewed with the hammer cocked. Note the 1903 has no hammer block safety but the 1909 does:
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The gun has been quite nicely refinished and very well cut down. I'm very impressed with how nice it looks. However, unfortunately the gun has some timing issues and is not as tight as a Colt should be. I think I want to get it to a professional to have it tuned. I'm just hoping it's not too worn out to have that done. It seems that the hand is just a little too worn to lift enough when cocked slowly to fully lock the cylinder. But also the bolt drops a little too late and seems to throwby on one of the chambers if cocked too quickly or pulled too quickly in DA.
Compared to my other Colts it's quite loose. My other New Service locks up like a bank vault when you pull the trigger with NO movement of the cylinder whatsoever. This one is still kind of loose. There is also more endshake but I don't know how much endshake is considered unacceptable. It shakes more than my other NS but it doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
Also note that this is an old style frame with the newer style lockwork. It has the hammer block inside. Wyatt Burp told me he thinks only a couple thousand of this type were made. This one is serial number 21873.
Anyhow, any comments or suggestions are much appreciated!
Here's some new pics:
Note the blue on the hammer top. This is also on the back with polished sides. Not fire blue like Colt used to do but still very nice. The trigger is the same way:
The crowning and front sight placement seem to be very well done.
Comparison shot with my 1903 New Service in .45 Colt. Note the difference in sight hieght:
Comparison of the top straps. Note the differences:
Note the differences in the style of hammers:
Finally here's the comparison of the internals viewed with the hammer cocked. Note the 1903 has no hammer block safety but the 1909 does:
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Nice! I love New Service in shorter barrels. That makes them infinitely more practical. How did you do your backstrap and trigger? Not a target model but some of the features?Here is my .44-40 New Service with a 3 1/2" barrel:
Cam
“The New Service Transitional Model” as written in a very extensive Chuck Karvan N.S. Article in Handguns ‘89. If anyone finds this interesting take a photo of it because I'm taking it down soon. It's a great article and very long.
Photo taken. Thank you.“The New Service Transitional Model” as written in a very extensive Chuck Karvan N.S. Article in Handguns ‘89. If anyone finds this interesting take a photo of it because I'm taking it down soon. It's a great article and very long.
I purchased this gun just as you see it so I can't comment on how the strap was done.
If you like the New Service Target and Shooting Master models I have a book coming out later next year that will cover those two models.
As for the New Service with short barrels here are a few from our collection showing the 2", 3" & 3 1/2":
Cam
The transistional model guns are very collectible so if it is in high condition you may want to leave it as it is and find another gun for shooting.
Here is one from our collection:
Cam
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Cam,The transistional model guns are very collectible so if it is in high condition you may want to leave it as it is and find another gun for shooting.
Here is one from our collection:
Cam
It's interesting that yours also has the old style top strap where the one I had has the newer style.
Also, I didn't know you were coming out with a book! Please keep me posted!
This is the Old Model that hasn't had the updates done like some of the other models.
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41 - 55 of 55 Posts
