Colt Left Hand Barrel Twist?

A

arcticap

New member
I can't remember if I asked this before but here goes. I heard that Colt guns are rather unique in that they have a left hand barrel twist instead of a right hand barrel twist like most other gun makers use.
I think that practice continues by Colt to this day.
Do any of the reproduction Colt guns follow that same pattern?
Do any of them make the Remington reproduction guns with a right hand twist verses a left hand twist for their Colts?
What about the 2nd and 3rd Generation Colts, do they have a left hand twist?
I wonder about the answer to the same question as it applies to Colt reproduction guns made by Armi San Marco, Uberti, Pietta, Euroarms (Armi San Paulo), Centaur?
Are they all made with a left hand twist across the board to remain true to the direction Colt rifled their barrels or not?
I really can't imagine that a manufacturer would rifle their Colt guns with a left hand twist and then rifle their Remingtons with a right hand twist.
So I don't really expect to hear that the Colts were rifled left hand. But if the 2nd & 3rd Generation Colts were supposed to be authentic then why not? I wonder if Colt enforced that degree of authenticity or not. If they did then was it continued into recent times and by which other makers if any, and for which models?
My last question is about whether the 1st Generation Colts had a progressive barrel twist? I thought that I recall reading that they originally did.
So that leads me to wonder if the progressive rifling of the Pietta Shooters Model is authentic and/or left handed?
 
Last edited:
Colt has been making left hand barrels since the start, I guess - my early and mid 20th century revolvers are lefties as is my 1980s Officer's .45ACP. So is my 1884 Lightning rifle. It would be no surprise to me if the 2nd and 3rd gens were the same.

As for the reproductions, Pietta's and Uberti's C&B Colts are left twist. Pietta's Remington is also a lefty, at least according to Midway (alas, the powers that be will not allow my gun collection at work, so I can't look to be sure).

Oh, and according to this post on Colt Forum, Colt always used progressive twist rifling.
 
Hardcase,

Are you looking at the rifling from the muzzle end? If so you are looking at them backwards, so what you are saying is 180º off.
I have three 1860 Colt clones, The Euro-Arms (DGG) and the Pietta are R/H twist, but my ASM is L/H twist. Also my Uberti Pocket Navy is R/H twist. I guess that makes my old ASM the more historically correct!
 
Junkman;

It does not matter which direction you look in a rifled tube.
Muzzle end or breech end, it is still a rifled tube.

Pull off your colt barrels and look down both ends.
It goes the same direction either way.

Clarence
 
Well, in my decidedly unscientific poll, every Colt firearm that I own, from 1884 to 1986, is a lefty. The Piettas, which are all less than a couple of years old are lefties, both Colt and Remington. My Uberti 1860 from 1969 is a righty, as is my Lyman/ASP "Navy" Remington from 1972. My Cimarron Model P which is, I believe, an Uberti Cattleman is also a righty and it was made within the past ten years.

So I take back whatever it is that I said that made sense at the time.

EDIT: I looked at some others...Nagant revolver and Romanian TT-33 are righties, too.
 
Clarence,

I had to do what you suggested for myself, and darned if you ain't right! I guess I never thought to look in the muzzle. Doh! :o

Hardcase,

Sorry. I have very different results though. My Uberti Pocket Navy is R/H twist and a 1979 gun.
 
Hardcase;

Interesting that your newer Pietta 1858 is left twist.
My "BA" 1991 Pietta 1858 is right twist.
I will have a newer Pietta 1858 coming to my door wednesday, will check to see what twist it is.(very interesting).


Junkman;

That is what I like about forums, it is a knowledge base from a lot of people from all over the world.
I learn a lot and share a lot, it is a give and take kind of thing.
Glad you found out the truth.


Clarence
 
rem1858 said:
It does not matter which direction you look in a rifled tube.
Muzzle end or breech end, it is still a rifled tube.

Pull off your colt barrels and look down both ends.
It goes the same direction either way.
Click to expand...

It's just like flipping a right hand threaded nut over does not make it work on a bolt with a left handed thread.

Install an airplane propeller backwards and it still pulls, although inefficiently. If you want a pusher prop, you also have to reverse the engine or use a prop with a reverse pitch.
 
Now then..about this right or left twist...when you flush a toilet in Australia...which way does the water swirl?? Inquiring minds are waiting.
 
Whats really interesting is which way the barrel threads are twisted. If its the wrong way compared to the barrel twist, the barrel would unscrew itself from the frame. The bullet would work as a wrench.
 
I guess Col. Colt didn't have to worry about barrels twisting off with that three-piece-held together by a wedge design. However, when I am shooting a rifle with a R.H. twist..sometimes I can feel it torque to the right.
 
I would think torque would have to be opposite the twist.

"The torque problem comes from Newton's basic law of motion which states that "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Therefore, if a helicopter's engine spins the main rotor in one direction, the helicopter body wants to spin in the opposite direction.
 
I would think torque would have to be opposite the twist.
Click to expand...

You're right. Think of the action of the system if the bullet is fixed - the barrel must rotate in the opposite direction of the bullet's rotation.

Sort of like a bolt and a nut. The wrench exerts a clockwise torque on the bolt while the nut exerts a counterclockwise torque. When the bolt is snugged up, the torques balance out.

I still have nightmares about Statics and Dynamics.
 
Hello, guys, Your right about that opposite force..but what then is causing that twist to the right? I have even felt it..very slightly on .22 rimfires. Incedently, Pope used a L.H. Twist in his barrels.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top