Detective special question

T

Tony Cam

Inactive
Greetings all !!

I used to have a colt detective special and it was a great gun except for one thing, when i shot it double action it would miss about 2 out of six shots. No problem single action but double is where the trouble came in. I had the same thing happen to a smith 686 but in that case i just removed the grips and tightened the screw on the bottom and the trigger pull increased but there were no misfires. Now when i took the grips off the colt, there was no screw to tighten.
So i am thinking about getting another colt but what do i do if i encounter the same problem ?? I wsih i didnt have to get rid of the first colt but circumstances dictated that i had to at the time.
Anyone with any comments about this would be appreciated.
 
You`re right, there is no strain screw on a D.S. You should have sent it to the factory or a gunsmith, not sell it. Then again maybe you did and didn`t mention it. :)

I`ve had my D.S. for 27 years and carried it every day for over 20. Never had a problem. Your problem is where you gonna get another D.S. for the price you sold yours for?:eek:

Colts can be more delicate than Smiths especially if you shoot service type rounds. The Smiths are stronger but I`ve seen more Smith service guns fail to lock up on one or more chambers and need to be fixed. This was partly due to the ratio of Smith to Colt at the guncheck table and abuse of the owner. I never saw a D.S. that failed to lock up.
 
Tony,

You don't mention it, but did you purchase your D.S. used? There are quite a number of Colt d.a. revolvers on the market that have had the mainsprings badly bent by ignorant owners in an attempt to reduce the d.a. pull. While this does lessen the pull, this is not how to do an action job on a Colt D, E, or I frame revolver! One result, as you have observed, is misfires with some ammunition.

While the spring can be "worked", most of what is involved in tuning a Colt is smoothing and refining fit elsewhere in the action. If you're interested, there is a fine book covering work on these Colt revolvers by Jerry Kuhnhausen called The Colt Double Action Revolvers: A Shop Manual, Vol. I.

FYI, if a Colt revolver shows this problem, use of Federal primers may alleviate the situation, but I wouldn't recommend this for a self defense arm.

A few D.S.'s made in the early 90's did leave the factory with problems. If memory serves, these were serviced at no, or minimal charge (shipping and handling).

Bob
 
I have a NIB DSII on lay-a-way right now----is that a problem with all DS's or should I go ahead and complete the transaction when I get the funds up????
 
Bfoster has nailed it on the main spring.

People have done some scary stupid things to the mainsprings on Colt revolvers in an attempt to lighten the trigger pull. Normally all that happens is a damaged, unreliable gun.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a BIG fan of Smith revolvers, but the Detective Special qualifies as a truly GREAT gun.
 
Omaha- BeenGlockin,

Go ahead with your purchase. This involved a very few revolvers quite a number of years ago.

Bob
 
I did buy the gun used and i didnt have anyone try to do anything to it. I thought it might have come about because i ran about 100 38+p rounds thru it.
I would like to get another snubbie, but i aint crazy about paying 4-5 hundred for a smith and i definetly aint going with a taurus.So i i might grab another D.S. when i see one.
Thjanks for the input guys.
 
Looking for a D.S.

I am interested in getting a snub-nose in 38 special. I was wondering what is a good price for a great condition Stainless Steel model? Who online has good prices? I did a few searches on gunsamerica.com, and gunbroker.com with some good results but I am really looking for a in state dealer in Michigan. Thanks in advance.
 
Working on Colt D and I frame main springs, in my experience, is a job better left to professionals. I used to work on them quite a few years ago, but must confess I gave up after a.) ending up with far too light a hammer fall with a gun, and then b.) breaking the spring when I tried to readjust it.

A Silicon Valley gunsmith hashed up a Python main spring for me about two years ago, and charged me $100 for the privilege, too. I've since had much better success with http://www.cylinder-slide.com, although the folks there seem to belive single action let off should never be reduced below three and a half pounds.
 
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