The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - My 1860 Colt Repro Is Developing A Problem?

mykeal · April 3, 2009, 10:15 PM

First of all, does the gun have a steel or brass frame?

I can say there is no shim in the design, so you didn't lose or forget any such parts in reassembly.

If it's a brass frame there is a good chance that the recoil shield has been deformed, causing the end play you describe. Unfortunately there is no easy fix for this condition. This is very unlikely to have happened to a steel framed gun.

If it's a steel frame the most likely cause is wear of the wedge. This can be fixed with a new wedge. The 'tightness' of the wedge is not the criteria to use; the wedge should be inserted until the cylinder end play, measured between the front face of the cylinder and the barrel forcing cone, is between 0.010" and 0.006". This is just a guideline, not a critical measurement.

Black powder does not deteriorate with time. If it ever has been damp, however, it does need to be spread out and carefully dried back to it's powder consistency. If there was any clumping you can get reduced gas production due to lack of oxygen release. Using old powder is always a crap shoot; it may not even be black powder - you don't really know that what was stored in that can was black powder or not.

April 3, 2009, 10:15 PM	#3
mykeal Senior Member Join Date: October 8, 2006 Location: Northern Michigan Posts: 2,772	First of all, does the gun have a steel or brass frame? I can say there is no shim in the design, so you didn't lose or forget any such parts in reassembly. If it's a brass frame there is a good chance that the recoil shield has been deformed, causing the end play you describe. Unfortunately there is no easy fix for this condition. This is very unlikely to have happened to a steel framed gun. If it's a steel frame the most likely cause is wear of the wedge. This can be fixed with a new wedge. The 'tightness' of the wedge is not the criteria to use; the wedge should be inserted until the cylinder end play, measured between the front face of the cylinder and the barrel forcing cone, is between 0.010" and 0.006". This is just a guideline, not a critical measurement. Black powder does not deteriorate with time. If it ever has been damp, however, it does need to be spread out and carefully dried back to it's powder consistency. If there was any clumping you can get reduced gas production due to lack of oxygen release. Using old powder is always a crap shoot; it may not even be black powder - you don't really know that what was stored in that can was black powder or not.