Python, range trip 1.

K

Kayser

New member
(didn't know if there was a better place to post a range trip report).

Just got back from the range, after having a great old time. The gun performed excellently, and was as "exciting" as I expected. Previously, the only times I'd fired a .357 was outdoors. Well, indoors is a whole different ballgame. The muzzle flash and sound were astonishing. A huge grin spread across my face after the first shot. Surprisingly though, despite all that noise and flash, the actual felt recoil really didn't feel much harder than a .45. The .38's were total kittens.

What kind of surprised me (not being a revolver type) was the amount of blast that comes out of the cylinder/barrel gap and singes your fingers. I tend to shoot with my left thumb off the grip and pointing up and away. After a few rounds and a bit of blackening of the tip of my thumb, I had to change :)

I did have one WTF moment. At one point, while shooting .38's (maybe 50 rounds into the trip) I pulled the trigger and nothing happened. I figured ok, misfire. Cocked the hammer, pulled the trigger, misfire. What the hey? Then I watched the cylinder as I was cocking the hammer - it wasn't rotating! I have something of a bad luck streak when it comes to new guns, so I thought "oh great, its broken already". Opened the cylinder, checked it out, cocked the hammer, and away she went. Over the next 20 rounds or so it happened at least 4 or 5 more times. Now I'm really concerned. Eventually, I figured out what the deal was. Being used to the very short trigger pull/reset on a 1911, and wearing a heavyish leather glove on my right hand, there were times where it appeared I wasn't letting the trigger move all the way back forward before cocking the hammer again. Once I made a conscious effort to release the trigger completely between shots the problem went away altogether. So, I'm assuming this is just a normal thing. I'm going to play with this a bit after I clean the gun up to make sure I'm not hallucinating.

The cylinder push rod also had a tendency to want to unscrew itself. Every 30 rounds or so, I'd have to screw the thing back in or the cylinder wouldn't be able to lock closed.

Gun was very accurate but wanted to shoot to the right. Naturally I forgot a screwdriver to adjust the thing (razzum frazzum). The .357's wanted to go to the right moreso than the .38's. I actually had a helluva 10 shot group at 10 yards (< 2", which is really good for me) with the 38's.

Shot UMC and Winchester white box. Winchester was cleaner but seemed to have a tendency to leave powder grains in the forcing cone and the cylinder. UMC was dirty (as usual).

Anyway, I'm totally tickled with the gun. Now I get to clean it!
 
Sounds like you are having good fun with a great gun. About that shooting to the right business...

If you are contacting the trigger at the first joint of the finger instead of the pad you may be "hooking" the trigger to the right when you do the double action pull. Is the point of impact still to the right with careful single action? Only commenting because you indicated you shoot mostly 1911. :cool:
 
Yeah, the drifting to the right is with the single action. With double action....well, I've got some work to do ;)

I think I'm just spoiled with the 1911 action. I've fired my friends' Beretta's, USP's, etc. I always have reduced accuracy because of the different triggers. I figure within 2-3 range trips I'll be well acclimated to it.
 
Before adjusting the sights......
Either shoot from rest....or
Shoot it other handed.

Just to be sure.

Sam
 
There's something seriously wrong if the extractor rod is coming unscrewed. Disassembling a Colt double action revolver cylinder takes a bit of doing, so you may want to have a gunsmith look at it. The problem is much more common with Smith & Wesson revolvers, especially of recent vintage. I've fixed several of those with thorough cleaning, drying, and Lock Tite.
 
To cinch down the ejector rod:
Put 3 fired cases into the cylinder to support the extractor. (Leave an empty chamber between each case).
Pad the end of the ejector rod with a piece of leather or some brass shim stock.
Grip the end of the rod with a pair of pliers and tighten it down until fairly snug, but don't try to tork it so tight you risk stripping it.

If it's already stripped, or won't stay tight, it may need repair.

One of the common malfunctions with revolvers is short stroking the trigger. You see this a lot on guns that have had too light a trigger job done. Try fingerless shooting gloves.
 
Tightening the ejector rod with pliers could lead to a very expensive parts bill. You could have a gunsmith tighten it with the proper tool, or you could do it yourself and risk bending the rod. Even a tiny bend, one that you can barely see, will put a bind on the rotation of the cylinder and cause unnatural wear on the action, or a seizure of the cylinder itself.
 
i've never had the ejector rod unscrew either...however i have lost the end piece of the ejector rod twice. :eek:

i does sound like you are "short stoking" the trigger, sorta like not letting a semi-auto's trigger reset.

as already suggested, about shooting to the right, shoot from a rest or have another shooter try your gun for confirmation that it is a mechanical problem.
 
Remember there are two types of ejector rod assemblies for the Python. The early type from the 70's production DID NOT unscrew (ala S&W). The ratchet (ejector star) unscrewed from the ejector rod from a staked alignment position atop a tapered thread affair. Brownells has the tool for this. The ratchet unscrews counter clockwise normally. Later Pythons adopted an ejector rod assembly similar to S&W. It unscrews counter clockwise (S&W is reverse thread and unscrews clockwise). Conventional wisdom is that neither the Colt nor the S&W ejector rod assemblies are designed for regular disassembly. I do it anyway. Just can't help myself. But USE THE RIGHT TOOLS and don't force anything or you'll be buying replacement parts in a hurry.
 
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