Colt New Service-Got a bad one?

D

DanM2000

New member
I have been sitting on a New Service that I bought several years ago. It is rechambered to .45 Colt, probably from .455, also refinished. The action is tight, and I thought I was getting a good shooter. I made up some light loads with 230s, and they locked up the cylinder. same with factory 250s. I think the chambers were recut loose enough to allow the cases to set back against the breech. The case heads are for sure, binding against the breech face, and locking up the cylinder. I have since heard that a number of these revolvers were rechambered, refinished, and imported back into the US, maybe from Brasil. There are several military looking proofs on it that look like crossed swords. Anyway, I am thinking that I am SOL for a shooter. Any ideas?
 
Hmm.

That's one I haven't come across. The ones I've seen and the one I have simply had the cylinder reamed for the longer .45Colt brass. No issues.

Most of these came back from England and Canada after WWI.
 
I have tried .45 ACP in a moon clip, and the cylinder would not close, so I would expect the same from .45AR.

Please give me some details on the cylinder sleeve process. This sounds promising, but probably too expensive for now. I have also thought about making up some loads with fired, but unsized brass. Knock the primers out with a decap only die, and roll grip into the groove. Maybe the fatter cases would stay put....
 
Something is wrong here. First, what does the barrel say the caliber is. 455 Eley? Are you certain the revolver was rechambered? It could still be a 455 Eley. 45 Long Colt will not fit and 45 ACP will also not function reliably. There were several 455 Eley chambered Colts New Service and S&W New Century revolvers trimmed to fit the PMC 45 AR (Auto Rim). If none of those cartridges fit/function or interfere with the action, it is most likely still a 455 Eley.
 
While not cheap a sleeve is a tube that is reamed to the desired chamber. Then the cylinder is reamed out and the sleeve inserted. You don't see a lot of it being done today, but it is a way to save an expensive or hard to find cylinder.
 
Well, there are no cartridge or caliber markings on the barrel. The 2 line Colt patent verbage is across the top, and New Service, is stamped on the left side. No caliber marking. BTW, the 'crossed swords' stamps now look more like crossed flags. Other marks include 2 or 3 crowns stamped into the barrel. There are other proof marks that have been partially polished off. This is a reblue. There are 'sholders' visible in the chambers that seem too far forward for the shorter .455 round. I dug out some Remington .45AR brass, and they chamber nicely, but the cylinder will not close on those thick rims. I could be wrong, but I dont think that a .45 Colt cartridge would fully chamber in a .455 cylinder. My COTW book lists the .455 Webley revolver cart. as having a neck dia. of .476", and a case length of only .77". The .455 Enfield is only slightly different, at .473" dia. and .87" case length. I don't have a listing for the .455 Eley, but if it is similar, then a .45 Colt should not chamber. I am pretty sure that this is a .45Colt rechambering.
I did check GPC, and they are out of .45colt and .45acp cylinders for the new service.....
 
The Colt's New Service and the Colt's 1917 were notoriously finicky about light loads. Come up on your load to near or at specs and see if that solves the problem. This was even more noticeable with nickle cases.

Pops
 
A large # of the .455Eley's had their cylinders reamed out to .45Colt after the war. Under the grips on the left side of the grip frame should be an "E" if it was originally chambered in .455Eley.

Once they cylinder has been reamed for the longer .45Colt cartridge, it should drop in.
 
OK. Another possibility, check the extractor star for filth/powder residue. I have had problems with that area. The other item to check is the extractor rod can unscrew, check for a firm fitting. OTT, I would have a Colt aware gunsmith check it over, clean and recheck tolerances. A weird thing that can happen in early New Service revolvers is a broken alignment pin, the star will free spin as well as the cylinder. Mine is. I intend to have it fixed, I have had trouble finding parts myself. When you look into the chambers with a bright light, do you see the rechambered ghost of where material was removed? It should be a different colour and noticable. There should be a bit of slop in fit as you are basically firing a .451 round ot of a .476 hole. IIRC.
 
Thanks for all the feedback. I made up some factory pressure loads last night with unsized cases that had been fired in my 25-5. They feel 'normally' tight in the chambers. The 255gr FN bullets wanted to drop to the bottom of the unsized cases, so I used some of my remaining supply of wax wad material to hold them up for crimping. Maybe they will be tight enough to avoid the set back problem. I also plan to slug the chambers, and compare the diameter to the chambers on the 25-5. All this will probably just confirm my fear that this was a sloppy rechambering job.
GPC does show .455 cylinders in stock. I suppose I could buy one and have an expert rechamber it to .45 Colt. Thanks again....
 
Does the gun bind when cocking the hammer only after firing or when simply cycling the action? It may be the cylinder has excessive play and is sliding back and forth too much. I also have a NS that was converted from 455 to 45 Colt and I had to have this problem adjusted by a smith.
 
Well, no the cylinder is nice and tight. It binds only when fired. I blackened the case heads with a marker, and it rubbed off, leaving bright streaks where they were binding after firing. The last shot in the cylinder won't index at all. I will shoot it again this weekend with the loads I made up using unsized cases, and post the results later. Thanks....
 
We had some fine weather Saturday, and I was able to shoot a bunch. Shot the Luger, 1911, New Service, and my bud's AK and P38. Big Fun!
The function of the New Service was improved with the unsized cases, but I still had to help the cylinder index to the last round. DA function was OK for the first three shots, but too tight after that. Extraction was difficult. I appreciate all the help, but it looks like I have a wall hanger here....
 
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