Colt D.A. .38 rebuild questions..

A

Al Thompson

Staff Alumnus
I've inherited a Colt D.A. .38 with a 4 inch barrel. Some jack leg gunsmith prettty much ruined the gun back in the '70's. The lock work is shot. The frame, cylinder, etc., is OK.

Any thoughts on either a gunsmith to replace the lock work or an idea where I can get the parts? Have a local smith who can do the work, he's very slow at getting parts in. :rolleyes:

I'm aware that the revolver is chambered in probably .38 Colt or .38 S&W. I used to shoot .38 Special wadcutters through it with no ill effects.

TIA
 
If you shot .38 Specials before and the cases did not split then this is likely the correct caliber.

Numrich Arms (or Gun Parts Corp. they go back and forth and are on-line) should have parts if you know what model gun you have.

Bear in mind that if the gun is really that bad and needs a lot of parts and smithing it may be too expensive to repair. Most older DA Colts can be had for $150-$250 for a nice example and will very quickly spend more than that in rebuilding an old one in bad shape.
 
SaxonPig is right, the cost of a total rebuid is going to be prety high. The older E&I and D frame Colt's require a very high skill level to repair properly and there are very few 'smiths around these days who do.
On the the older Colt's, proper adjustment and timing of parts is extremely critical. Virtually no parts are drop in.

For an idea of what's involved, buy a copy of Jerry Kunhausen's book on gunsmithing the Colt Revolvers, volume One.
 
Thanks for the replys..

Saxon, most (IIRC) of the older .38 S&W chambered guns have no step in the chamber. You can drop a .357 in the chamber, though the bullet will protrude.

.38 Specials, in other than the low velocity 148 grain wadcutters, are overpressure..
 
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