Colt Eye Candy

[wired]

Yes! I have about 50 rounds through it so far. It's my wife's favorite to shoot. Wish ammo was little cheaper for it.

If you arent hung up on it being 100% original all the time you could pick up a 2nd gen 357 cylinder and have it opened up for 40 S&W. Might cost you $200 for the work to be done Same bullet diameter and it would work no problem. Not terribly difficult to set the cylinder up for your gun. It would allow you to shoot it often and not disturb the original cylinder.

Ive got a spare .357 cylinder that came out of my second gen before I converted it to .45 Colt that isnt going to win any beauty contests you could have if you are interested.

 

[mike1281]

If you arent hung up on it being 100% original all the time you could pick up a 2nd gen 357 cylinder and have it opened up for 40 S&W. Might cost you $200 for the work to be done Same bullet diameter and it would work no problem. Not terribly difficult to set the cylinder up for your gun. It would allow you to shoot it often and not disturb the original cylinder.

Ive got a spare .357 cylinder that came out of my second gen before I converted it to .45 Colt that isnt going to win any beauty contests you could have if you are interested.

Sounds appealing. My understanding though is that the 38-40 is essentially a necked down 45 long colt. So the case is as wide as a 45 necked down to a .40 cal bullet. Can a .357 cylinder be opened up like that?

 

[wired]

What you have now doesnt matter cylinder wise. You arent trying to make the 357 cylinder into the 38-40. The .357 cylinder would be opened up to 40S&W . Basically just running a 40S&W reamer into each chamber and the rounds would headspace off the case mouth . Plenty of meat in the 357 cylinder and the frame is more than capable of the extra pressure as is the .357 cylinder.

Ive got two other cylinders that started out as 357 cylinders and are now 45 colt and 45 ACP. You can do all kinds of stuff with those small bore cylinders. Supposedly better steel than the low pressure round cylinders too.

 

[mike1281]

What you have now doesnt matter cylinder wise. You arent trying to make the 357 cylinder into the 38-40. The .357 cylinder would be opened up to 40S&W . Basically just running a 40S&W reamer into each chamber and the rounds would headspace off the case mouth . Plenty of meat in the 357 cylinder and the frame is more than capable of the extra pressure as is the .357 cylinder.

Oh yeah of course LOL. Sorry I worked pretty late last night and am not firing on all cylinders yet. I will pm ya

 

[Andy54Hawken]

If we are showing Colts of the 1911 series .. Here is my Series 70.
I grew up with this pistol and it is the one I shoot the best.
( its the top one in the pic. )
Andy

 

[orygun]

If you arent hung up on it being 100% original all the time you could pick up a 2nd gen 357 cylinder and have it opened up for 40 S&W. Might cost you $200 for the work to be done Same bullet diameter and it would work no problem. Not terribly difficult to set the cylinder up for your gun. It would allow you to shoot it often and not disturb the original cylinder.

At one time Buckeye Sports was offering a dealer exclusive Ruger Blackhawk that was a dual cylinder gun. One in 38-40 and one in 10mm.
And, for about what it would cost you to have a cylinder reworked, which is a pretty cool idea, you could get set up to reload for the 38-40. Just another option to continue shooting a very cool gun.

 

[wired]

The tooling to do a 357 cylinder in 40 s&w would run about a hundred bucks and an hours labor. 200 to have someone like Bob James do it with his tooling. Maybe less. Its $125 To convert to 45. Theres a lot of smiths who charge more for the work but it actually is an easy job. Its a lot cheaper than buying another gun.

 

[orygun]

Its a lot cheaper than buying another gun.

And another way to enjoy a very cool handgun.
Don't forget that the new cylinder will probably need to be timed, also.

 

[wired]

And another way to enjoy a very cool handgun.
Don't forget that the new cylinder will probably need to be timed, also.

They seldom need timing adjustment per se especially 1st to 2nd gens just swapping cylinders. Its the bushing length that would need to be set for end shake. IF you get lucky and the gap is close you can trim the front of the cylinder. Better to start with a slightly too long cylinder and trim it back when adding a cylinder to an existing gun that you dont want to cut the barrel on. Cylinder stop timing is really an adjustment of the bolt more than it is the cylinder and Ive never had to adjust a bolt to the cylinder. A bad bolt will be bad on any cylinder. If a bolts out of time its almost always the bolt spring leg where it pops off the hammer cam and sometimes its the hammer cam if its really worn.

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

I would leave it as is and reload for it. Original guns are original only once and once you begin doing all the stuff proposed it becomes a bastard. Better to sell it to a person who appreciates the gun for what it is rather than modifying it. There is a reason why unmolested guns sell for a lot more than modified ones especially since affordable ones are getting rather thin on the ground. Your gun, you're choice but you will take a hit in value and bever even come close to recouping the amount spent on modifications

 

[wired]

What? You don't modify the gun. You add a cylinder that has been modified. The gun itself and the original cylinder get nothing at all done to them. Zero. Nada.

It's helps when adding an opinion to have some idea what you are talking about. An additional cylinder fitted to the gun in a chambering you can buy off the shelf allows you to shoot a lot more often and enjoy the gun more without affecting the original gun in any way.

The SAA gets a rap for being difficult to work on or needing some guru who likes to charge $200 an hour. Nothing could be further than the truth. The gun has a simple lockwork that has been in regular production since the 1840's. Not difficult to work on at all.

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

You need a history lesson. 38\40 is a black powder loading based on a necked down 44\40 introduced in 1872 with the advent of the Winchester 1872 lever action rifle. The 38\40 cartridge was introduced in 1874. All Colt SAA revolvers up until the turn of the century were black powder only. Judging by the screw in the frame for the cylinder pin and this revolver is stated as being an original 1st gen, this is a black powder frame. Any attempt to fit a later cylinder of higher pressure smokeless ammo is a disaster waiting to happen. Yes the cylinder may fit and fire but the frame is subjected to stresses far beyond the original design. The gun would blow up sooner or later. Just because something fits is not and excuse for sound judgement. Not trying top get in a pissing match but just because it will fit is not sound judgement.

 

[wired]

I dont need any history lesson. You might want to go back and look at that pic. Thats a smokeless frame gun.

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

Are you blind, do you not see the screw for the cylinder pin? The screw makes it a black powder frame. Look up in Colt Books.

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

Here it is
Among many Peacemaker fans, there's a misunderstanding of the terms "black powder" frame or "smokeless" frame, so let's clear the smoke.

Colts Photo Close-upAmong today's shooters and Colt Single Action Army (SAA) revolver collectors, we often hear the terms "black powder frame" and "smokeless frame." These are relatively modern terms (dating from roughly around the mid-20th century when gun collecting was gaining in popularity) and are used primarily to describe the era that a Colt Peacemaker represents. The "black powder" moniker comes from the fact that, the first Peacemaker Colts were made with a cylinder base pin retaining system that used a single screw, located at the front of the revolver's frame. In 1896, at around serial number 165,000, Colt changed over to the so-called "smokeless" frame, where the cylinder base pin is held in place by spring-loaded cross-pin screws. Ironically, this system has nothing to do with smokeless powder, since Colt did not guarantee any of their 1873 Single Action Army revolvers for use with the then new smokeless propellant until around serial number 180,000 (1898). Furthermore, this system had been employed as early as 1877 and again in 1878, on Colt's double-action models. It's simply a modern collectors' term to differentiate between the two types and/or eras of manufacture of the 1873 Colt SAAs.

 

[wired]

Thats all great. The transversing spring loaded base pin on the gun in that pic is not the same thing as a front screw. Black powder on the right. Post 1898 "smokeless" on the left. Now go look at that other pic again.

Then again maybe I'm blind...teehee. Someone on the internet was wrong...

 

[mike1281]

It's a smoke less frame. It has the spring loaded cross pin screw as pictured above on the left. Serial number on the guns dates it to 1903.

 

[wired]

Oh. BTW the 38-40 is pretty much the ballistic twin of the 40 S&W . 180 grain bullet at 900 FPS.

 

[M_59]

Please let me get in on the fun. I suppose our Internet Expert is going to tell us this is a "Black Powder" frame as well. LOL Owner said the grips were "imitation ivory". Boy was he wrong!!

 

[mike1281]

Oh! I really like those grips! Very nice!