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Old February 22, 2013, 10:00 PM   #1
Wheel of fortune
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1860 Army What is this?

I got an Colt 1860 gen 2 about a month ago and have shot it several times since purchase. When I bought it it had a dished out areas on the cylinder notches. I don't know if it is getting worse with my use. What is causing this and is this something to worry about? Thank you.

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Old February 22, 2013, 10:32 PM   #2
pohill
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The pic isn't very clear, but are you saying that the ramp leading into the bolt stop is getting deeper?
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Old February 22, 2013, 10:48 PM   #3
BerdanSS
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Pic is kinda fuzzy...looks like the bolt may be popping prematurely and dinging the bolt stop ramp.
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Old February 22, 2013, 10:49 PM   #4
Shotput79
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Sorry can't see it very clear. My eyesight is bad enough with clear pictures.
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Old February 22, 2013, 11:30 PM   #5
4V50 Gary
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Bolt is popping up too soon and is peening the cylinder. This means the timing is bad.
  • The tail of the bolt may be too short, which causes it to fall off too fast.
  • Or the hand may be too short, causing the cylinder not to rotate fast enough before the bolt pops up.
  • Or the stub on the hammer that operates the bolt is worn out, allowing the bolt's tail to fall off too fast.
  • Or the sear (top of the trigger) is worn (too short) and thus the hammer has to over-rotate for it to engage each of the three notches.

BTW, do not file those marks off on your cylinder. I would use a punch and try to peen them back down.
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Old February 23, 2013, 01:51 PM   #6
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I have a Pietta 1860 replica that has done the same thing. I agree with Gary that the bolt is popping up early and peening the flute. However, when the bolt finally locks in the notch, everything is lined up and the gun shoots very well. In addition to that issue, my 1860 will not allow the hammer to be drawn back and cocked on the first try. I do not know if the two conditions are related, but they amount to a quality control problem with Pietta that sometimes leads to their arms not being held in very high esteem.
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Old February 23, 2013, 05:15 PM   #7
Beagle333
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This is how I do it.... Your mileage may vary.

The bolt spring is too strong for the soft metal they use in bp cylinders. This is pretty common. You can get a replacement low power spring from Wolff springs. They offer a replacement flat spring and also a music wire spring. I have found that the trigger side of the replacement springs is just about a hair short of perfect, and while it will work, it is a little tricky to install so that it keep contact with the tooth on the trigger during the entire installation. And while they are better than stock springs, they aren't that much lower power, or at least the 8 of em I have are not.

But one fix that you can do at home, and quite easily, is to feather the bolt spring a little, either with some very fine sandpaper or using a Dremel tool (I don't like Dremels, but I mention it because they are so popular) and just thin down the bolt leaf of the spring to take a little strength out of it. Do not alter the trigger side of the spring, that is not safe for amateurs to modify.
You can just do some searching in the smithy forum or google how to feather a spring if you aren't comfortable with it.

You should also use some fine sandpaper (I like 600-800) to break the edges of the bolt face so it isn't so sharp on the corners and it will reduce gouging of the cylinder lead-in ramps. Do not round off the bolt, but just barely take the knife edge off the corners of it and slick up the face to a nice glass-smooth surface.

Ideally, the timing would be tuned so the bolt drops into the locking notch perfectly upon full cock, but this is a job for a gunsmith. It is very tedious work and you'll go through a handful of bolts before you get it right.
It's a more achievable goal (and perfectly functional) for you to get it to pop up about a bolt width before the notch, contact the cylinder without gouging a big dent in it, and then just slide down the ramp and into the notch.
You do not want to time it so close to the notch that it pops up and just clips the edge of the notch before it goes in, or it will peen the metal from the side of the notch down into the notch itself. So if you mess with the timing, it must be perfectly in line with the notch, or at least a bolt width before the notch when it activates.
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Last edited by Beagle333; February 23, 2013 at 05:30 PM. Reason: 'cause it's Saturday
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Old February 24, 2013, 03:07 PM   #8
Smokin'Joe
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Make your own bolt spring.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=467782
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Old April 29, 2013, 02:08 PM   #9
NateKirk
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Look at this article
http://www.theopenrange.net/articles...a_Part_One.pdf
http://www.theopenrange.net/articles...a_Part_Two.pdf

Has lots of useful info for improving the gun
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Old April 29, 2013, 03:30 PM   #10
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McShooty, I just sent back a Pietta 1860 that doesn't cock on the first try too. It only did it on 2 of the 6 chambers. I'm thinking it was something to do with the cylinder where the hand engages those chambers.
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Old April 29, 2013, 06:55 PM   #11
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The bolt is not contoured (shaped) correctly to hit the leads without causing the damage. The PDFs that NateKirk referenced should help you correct the problem without too much trouble. The top of the bolt should have the same profile as the leads and notches.
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Old April 29, 2013, 07:04 PM   #12
James K
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The bolt is not dropping prematurely; it is supposed to drop into the leade, which is what it is doing.

Beagle and Fingers are correct. The spring is too strong and the bolt is probably sharp. Because the bolt has to be a spring (because of the way it interacts with the hammer cam), it is much harder than the cylinder of those guns. The bolt ball has to be reshaped and the bolt spring tension reduced.

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Old April 30, 2013, 08:19 AM   #13
Rifleman1776
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Timing is way off.
And the cylinder is made of pathetically soft steel.
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Old April 30, 2013, 09:08 AM   #14
NateKirk
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Quote:
And the cylinder is made of pathetically soft steel.

most bp revolvers have relatively soft parts
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Old May 1, 2013, 05:25 PM   #15
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The timing isn't off. The bolt is supposed to drop into the lead, that's what its there for. Do as was said and lighten the spring and reshape the bolt to fit.
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Old May 2, 2013, 01:53 PM   #16
Rebel Dave
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To the OP. always pull the hammer back to full cock to let it down again, never from half cock, This will cause drag marks on the cylinder and pre wear the bolt. Always pull back to full cock and then let it down. Of course always observe all safety rules, when doing this.

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Old May 2, 2013, 05:10 PM   #17
Hawg
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Quote:
always pull the hammer back to full cock to let it down again, never from half cock, This will cause drag marks on the cylinder
That is true but I'm not seeing a drag line just peening of the leads.
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Old May 3, 2013, 02:31 PM   #18
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I would replace the bolt spring with one of the Heine trigger/bolt springs made out of spring wire. I have one in my Uberti 1860 and it works fine and is not as strong as the original flat spring so it doesn't peen the cylinder up. They run about $8 or so.
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