Cimarron/Uberti 1873 Cattleman SA Hammer Question

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fiveninestexas

New member
Hi, Guys!

I've had all kinds of guns over the years, and I'm no stranger to the innards of the ones I've owned until now. This revolver is a completely new beast for me. I recently bought a used Cattleman that is having some problems. I know, before you pile on, "should have bought a new one", or "should have bought a real Colt", etc. Got it. :-) And forgive me if my terminology/nomenclature sucks.

Anyhow, there is a cylindrical(?) protrusion near the pawls of the hammer that engages one of the arms of the bolt. The bolt arm is slipping off of the cylinder thing, which prevents the cylinder from rotating when the hammer is in the second position.

To me, this cylinder thing looks like it's either worn out or has been filed down. By looking at this picture, can anyone tell me what the deal is? I also have noticed that the firing pin has a fair amount of play, although the pin that holds the firing pin in place does not appear to have ever been removed.

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Thanks in advance!
 

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Actually, the cam on the hammer looks to be okay.

The cylinder stop is what protrudes through the frame, and goes into the notches around the outside of the cylinder, and they do go bad. If the stop does not pull down to allow the cylinder to rotate, I would look at it first.

Actual Colt Hammer:


Colt-Hammer_DxO by matneyw, on Flickr
 
The cam looks OK. The bolt (cylinder stop) has one arm that engages that cam. The idea is that when the hammer is cocked, that arm of the bolt is pulled up by the cam on the hammer until its tip slips off the cam, thus lowering the cylinder stop part to allow the cylinder to turn, then releasing it to come back up and stop cylinder rotation. If the arm of the bolt, which is a spring, becomes weak or is not properly shaped, its side (not the tip) can slip off the side of the cam . The problem might be solved as easily as tweaking the bolt a bit to give it more tension, or it might need to be replaced.

As to quality, the Uberti guns are quite good, and seldom give trouble; since you got the gun used, it is possible that a previous owner tried to work on the action without understanding it, a common problem. If so, there could be other problems to deal with.

Jim
 
Thanks so much guys for the replies and guidance. This is a pic of the "bolt" of this gun. The arm facing us is fairly worn, so I am assuming that the part needs to be replaced. Right?

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Again, thanks much! :-)
 

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That bolt looks awful heavy and thick. The arm that contacts the hammer has to flex in order to bend when the hammer falls, and then snap back on top of the cam to reset. It doesn't look to me like that part will bend at all. In fact it looks like the bolt is unfinished and was never fitted to a gun.

The best way to fit that bolt is to taper the inside of the arm to thin it so it will flex properly. For durability, the part has to be made of spring steel, since that arm is its own spring.

Jim
 
The ear on that cyl. stop, that is worn, is on the wrong side for the cam on the hammer, is it not? It is turned upside down, and if inverted, it would put it on the left side of the gun, and the hammer cam is on the right, while looking from the back of the gun.

The ears do look to be pretty thick, but that is a blown up photo. However, it does look like it was never thinned enough to be springy. One may get another and cure it.
 
That on the bottom, or what would be the top is normal. The thickness looks fine as well.
However, the very tip end looks rounded off. That could either be wear, or fitting, either correct or incorrect. If the tip is rounded shorter, the bolt will slip off the hammer cam sooner than it should.
Also, put the hammer back in the frame, and slide the split end of the bolt in next to it. There should be no side to side play between the hammer and the other side of the frame, in fact, the bolt legs should go in nice and snug. Not squeezing them in tight, but snug. Looseness will also allow the bolt to slip off the hammer cam at inappropriate times.
The bolt is properly released from the hammer to fall into the beginning of the lead in to the cylinder notch. Dragging on the side of the cylinder is incorrect timing.
 
The bolt arm is slipping off of the cylinder thing, which prevents the cylinder from rotating when the hammer is in the second position.
Click to expand...
That is actually normal. The first notch is for holding the hammer while you rotate the cylinder as you empty or load the chambers. The second notch is called the safety notch or sometimes half-cock notch. Once the trigger is in that notch, the cylinder should not turn and the hammer should not drop if the trigger is pulled.
 
Almost Scorch,
There are three steps in the hammer. Safety is the first notch, 1/2cock is the second (see how both have material that traps the sear so you cant pull the trigger?) And of course the last notch is the Full Cock notch. The hammer that Dixie is showing looks like it has a broken 1/2cock notch (the lip is very short or broken off).
OP, the bolt looks fine to me but if it's falling off the cam early (the cam looks good/norm. as well) , it's probably a little loose fitting against the hammer ( as Gunfixr suggests). You can bend it outward slightly and check function. Also, down where the arms meet ( at the body of the bolt) you can take a small round file and round that slot ( U shapped instead of square). That will extend the life of the bolt immensely! If you file it slightly wider there than the existing slot, that will give you the "thinness" that was also mentioned (without trying to thin the whole arm). Don't mess with the end that rides the cam (it's already been fitted).

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com
 
Thanks, everyone, for the information and comments. With your help, I am well on the way to getting my SA clone back in action. BTW, if you're an SA fan, Kuhnhausen's book has more than you'll ever want to know about them. He even includes a generous amount of info about Ubertis and Piettas.

Thanks again! You are a great group of people!
 
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