Colt Cobra

Z

Zhillsauditor

New member
Hey all,

A friend of mine had a few guns that she hasn't cleaned in ten years. I told her I would strip them, clean and lubricate them out of respect for the guns. One of the guns is a Colt Cobra (D frame, aluminum frame). I opened it up, cleaned up some surface rust on the springs, but now I cannot get the darn thing back to working order. I can reassemble, but then it locks up.

I think it has to do with the position of the hand, but I simply don't see where it should be resting. The only online video I've found shows something over the cylinder to keep the hand in place when reassembling, but this colt has nothing like that.

Anyone have a suggestion before I skulk down to the local gunsmith to have him reassemble it for me?
 
Anyone have a suggestion before I skulk down to the local gunsmith to have him reassemble it for me?
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I think you've opened the proverbial Pandora's Box. From what I've read, Colt da revolvers can be very "tricky" to work on, much more so than, say, a typical Smith & Wesson da revolver. I think slinking :D is a more apropos word than skulking if you have to hand a paper sack containing parts from a gun that you disassembled over to your gunsmith for him to reassemble. The other bad news is that, as I understand it, not every good gunsmith is a good Colt gunsmith.

Hopefully, someone from TFL who is well-versed in reassembling Colt da revolvers (there are a few) will be able to save you from having to take an ignoble trip to your neighborhood gunsmith. Good luck!
 
Best of luck to you

Anyone have a suggestion before I skulk down to the local gunsmith to have him reassemble it for me?
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Perhaps if you do skulk down to the local gunsmith, and he explains to you what you did wrong, or says he doesn't know how to do it, or says that it will be expensive, then you may learn something. I'm not saying that to be a smart donkey or anything, but DA colt assembly reassembly should be left to the hands of an expert because of their complexity. I take apart many guns, and I understand through the help of a friend how the basic S&W DA works, and I've taken apart all sorts of semi autos, new and vintage BUT a Cobra or any Colt DA is not something I would mess with, esp when considering the risk reward of this whole original issue.

Hopefully everything works out for you.
 
Kuhnhausen's manual on the older Colt Revolvers is THE reference. And as Dfariswheel would point out, many younger gunsmiths are not familiar with the older Colts. There are some other manuals, J.B. Wood has some, some older NRA publications.
 
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>Kuhnhausen's manual on the older Colt Revolvers is THE reference.

I have it on order; in fact, ordered it before I striped it. But, it's being sent book rate, so it's not yet arrived.
 
Perhaps if you do skulk down to the local gunsmith, and he explains to you what you did wrong, or says he doesn't know how to do it, or says that it will be expensive, then you may learn something.
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I doubt it, because I'm not sure what the lesson is. Don't take your guns apart unless you are sure you know how to put them together again? If that was the lesson, then I would of had to take the gun down to the gunsmith anyway to have them detail strip, clean, and inspect it's internals, and paid more than what I will pay if I take it down now.

I guess I could have broken it, but the gun is maybe worth $350. There are new tauruses that are worth more! What kind or risk is that?
 
Just yesterday, at the local used gun emporium, I saw right next to each other (nestled amongst all the S&W revolvers) an early (gen 1 or 2) Colt Detective Special and a matching Cobra. The Dick Special was marked $299 and the Cobra was $399.

I once managed to open up a Dick Special and get it back together without a trip to the gunsmith, but it took a bit of fiddling IIRC. Other than problems getting the cylinder latch properly engaged on the side plate, though, I don't recall anything being extraordinarily difficult.
 
The hand has a small projection that must be UNDER the rebound lever. If it is not, the side plate can not go fully down.
 
So you disassembled your friend's guns without being sure that you knew what you were doing? I can understand messing around with your own stuff but I would never presume to disassemble someone else's equipment unless I was thoroughly competent to do so.

I hope it works out and I hope she doesn't need her gun before you get it working again. Otherwise she may be mad at you.

Colt revolvers can be tricky and I am no expert but I have been through it a time or two. Here are my suggestions.

Lay a white towel under the gun so you can easily see if any small parts fall out. There are several small parts to look out for.

Then look online for an exploded view of the Cobra or DS and check that you haven't lost any parts.

If you have lost any parts, go to Home Depot or similar store and buy a large floor sweeper magnet. All of the parts are steel and you can find them this way.

If you have all parts, it's a matter of carefully studying the mechanics of the lockwork to see how everything fits. Trial and error may be necessary until your handbook arrives.

It is far better to let a gun lay uncleaned than to do take it apart when you don't have the knowledge to reassemble it.
 
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I have a tray with magnetic strips I bought to use when I work on my bicycles, I just saw some others listed on-line. Also magnetic strips or tape
keep small parts from disappearing. And a small magnetic wand comes in handy.
Dfraiswheel has pointed out that many younger gunsmiths are unfamiliar with the older Colt mechanism so finding capable of working on one may be difficult. Conversely it makes a good Cold Winter Night or Miserable Rainy Day project and the time spent is well worth the knowledge acquired.
Even better than a towel is plain white paper-I have an old roll of blank newsprint I acquired years ago. I am currently working on an old Colt Police Postive, I was think of outlining and labeling each part, thus creating something like some of the large charts for firearms I saw in the Army.
Also proper light-I recommend 2 light sources intersecting at 90 degree angles-washes out the shadows.
 
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If you want to attempt to do this yourself again, I would suggest you purchase Jerry Kudnhausen's The Colt Double Action Revolver Shop Manual Vol 1. One way or the other we always seem to pay.

Some Cobra's sell for a lot more than $350. ... a lot more.
 
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