This article written by Gordon Meeder, appeared in the Sept/Oct 2012, #219 issue of the Fouling Shot.
Looking around one will find a lot of old Colt Police Positive revolvers that, to say the least, are well used; bordering on junk. One that I bought a few years back falls into this category. It is hard for me to imagine some-one shooting and neglecting these little revolvers enough to wear them out, but they did. It makes one wonder what stories they could tell. This one was built in 1926. Who knows, maybe Bonnie Parker had it tucked into her bloomers somewhere along the line. That would explain the rust.
I bought it just to get the near perfect original grips to put on a good P.P. that I own. I put the clunker in storage in case I needed parts and with the thought I might fix it someday. Someday came.
The ejector spring was broken and the crane bush-ing that holds the spring in place was junk, along with other issues. I bought a new spring and made a new crane bushing. I dont have a lathe so making the bush-ing was kind of a trick. I wont go into details. A little judi-cious adjustment with a hammer and a punch resulted in a questionably acceptable resolution to the other issues. I also made a set of crude grips out of white oak to replace the missing originals. They are crude, but they fit my hand better than the originals.
A local commercial caster sells a 100 gr. full wad-cutter. I had bought some a while back to make some light practice loads for my daughter in law to shoot in her Ruger LCR. I thought they would be just right for my new little worn out 38 S+W chambered Colt.
The loading manuals dont give many loads using newer powders for the 38 S+W., but I had a can of Hodgdon Clays powder sitting on the shelf that I wanted to use up. The little measure that comes with Lee 38 S+W dies throws exactly 2 grains of Clays. That seemed reasonable to me.
Talk about fun to shoot! I hung a one quart liquid detergent bottle rescued from the garbage can in a tree behind the house, stepped back 10 yards or so and proceeded to fill it full of holes. The load is mild, accurate, and well, just fun to shoot. I decided some formal testing was in order.
Looking around one will find a lot of old Colt Police Positive revolvers that, to say the least, are well used; bordering on junk. One that I bought a few years back falls into this category. It is hard for me to imagine some-one shooting and neglecting these little revolvers enough to wear them out, but they did. It makes one wonder what stories they could tell. This one was built in 1926. Who knows, maybe Bonnie Parker had it tucked into her bloomers somewhere along the line. That would explain the rust.
I bought it just to get the near perfect original grips to put on a good P.P. that I own. I put the clunker in storage in case I needed parts and with the thought I might fix it someday. Someday came.
The ejector spring was broken and the crane bush-ing that holds the spring in place was junk, along with other issues. I bought a new spring and made a new crane bushing. I dont have a lathe so making the bush-ing was kind of a trick. I wont go into details. A little judi-cious adjustment with a hammer and a punch resulted in a questionably acceptable resolution to the other issues. I also made a set of crude grips out of white oak to replace the missing originals. They are crude, but they fit my hand better than the originals.
A local commercial caster sells a 100 gr. full wad-cutter. I had bought some a while back to make some light practice loads for my daughter in law to shoot in her Ruger LCR. I thought they would be just right for my new little worn out 38 S+W chambered Colt.
The loading manuals dont give many loads using newer powders for the 38 S+W., but I had a can of Hodgdon Clays powder sitting on the shelf that I wanted to use up. The little measure that comes with Lee 38 S+W dies throws exactly 2 grains of Clays. That seemed reasonable to me.
Talk about fun to shoot! I hung a one quart liquid detergent bottle rescued from the garbage can in a tree behind the house, stepped back 10 yards or so and proceeded to fill it full of holes. The load is mild, accurate, and well, just fun to shoot. I decided some formal testing was in order.
I cast a Lee 125 grain round flat. I had to give them a try. Loaded up a good quantity of both the 100 wadcut-ters and the 125s using the same charge of clays and headed for the range.
I decided to do all my shooting from a sitting position at 15 yards figuring that is a good practical range for any small revolver. The standard load for the 38 S+W is a 146-148 grain bullet so I expected these lighter loads to shoot low so I wasnt surprised when they did.
The 125s shot better than the 100 wadcutters. As I shot I got used to the gun and the groups got better. The included target is the last group I fired from the gun. Six 100 gr. and six 125s. Notice the 125s are in the bull and all in all a pretty good group.
I decided to do all my shooting from a sitting position at 15 yards figuring that is a good practical range for any small revolver. The standard load for the 38 S+W is a 146-148 grain bullet so I expected these lighter loads to shoot low so I wasnt surprised when they did.
The 125s shot better than the 100 wadcutters. As I shot I got used to the gun and the groups got better. The included target is the last group I fired from the gun. Six 100 gr. and six 125s. Notice the 125s are in the bull and all in all a pretty good group.
I wish I could say that my project was a total success but no such luck. I knew the gun had issues and they kind of got worse as the shooting progressed. Like the cylinder would fall open about the fifth shot of a double action string and sometimes Id have to jiggle things to get the cylinder to rotate. Minor inconveniences! Also the hammer hinge pin that is supposed to be tight in the frame tries to come out. I also noticed when I went to reload the brass that the rim was rough and needed to be coaxed into the shell holder.
What does all this prove? Well, one can have fun with junk, and even the most worn out old Colt can still shoot ok. I also decided I like those little Colts enough I think Ill go find a good one and put my clunker back on the shelf where it belongs! After I render it inoperable of course.
What does all this prove? Well, one can have fun with junk, and even the most worn out old Colt can still shoot ok. I also decided I like those little Colts enough I think Ill go find a good one and put my clunker back on the shelf where it belongs! After I render it inoperable of course.
After I wrote the above I learned a young man I know was going to welding school. I asked him how small of a part could be welded with a tig welder. I showed him the well worn cylinder bolt and asked him if he could build it up a little. He said no problem. To make a long story short it disintegrated as soon as the arc was struck. Well the old Colt is now inoperable and for my safety it will stay that way!
