Question for you single action guys. Been thinking of getting myself a Vaquero at some point (just for fun shooting), in 4". I've practiced on my uncle's Birdshead, and it's lots of fun to shoot. I've seen some youtube videos of guys talking about the cylinder turn, and whether to make it free spinning or not. One guy said that the pawl can wear down the frame over time, he was showing a simple technique to use a hex wrench to remove the screw in the frame behind the hammer to make the cylinder free spinning. Is this something that should be done, or not matter either way? Personally I wouldn't care either way and wouldn't want to mess with it at all unless it's a modification that would in fact reduce wear on the gun. Thanks for any clarification.
SA Question
- Thread starter kyguy1
- Start date
shootniron
New member
This is very common, lot of guys "freewheel" their Ruger's...CAS shooters seem to prefer this as it makes for easier reloading.
They actually make a freewheel pawl for the Blackhawks...a very simple swapout.
If you have a New Vaquero, all that is necessary is the removal of a screw.
They actually make a freewheel pawl for the Blackhawks...a very simple swapout.
If you have a New Vaquero, all that is necessary is the removal of a screw.
Driftwood Johnson
New member
Howdy
Either that guy did not know what he is talking about, or you misunderstood him.
Let's get this straight, the pawl (some manufacturers call it the Hand) is not going to wear down the frame. Maybe after 20 years of shooting a few hundred rounds through the revolver every day, there will be a little bit of wear to the slot where the pawl rides. Or a burr can rise up. But that would take a heck of a lot of shooting over a long time. More likely what he was talking about is the hand (sorry, that is what I am used to calling it) can cause some wear to the ratchet teeth at the rear of the cylinder.
So lets go into a little bit of history of the Ruger Single Action designs. When they first came out, the old Three Screw Ruger single action revolvers functioned much like a Colt. Anybody who had any sense knew to only load five rounds and leave an empty chamber under the hammer. If a live round was left under the hammer, and the hammer received a heavy blow, for instance if the gun fell to the ground and landed on the hammer, the revolver would probably fire. Even if the hammer had been left at the 'safety cock' position, the blow could be strong enough to shear the notch or the sear, and the gun could fire. Incidentally, this is the same reason you only load five rounds into a Colt and leave the hammer on an empty chamber.
Because of lawsuits, Ruger changed the design in the early 1970s, to include a Transfer Bar. The Transfer Bar design made it completely safe to load a Single Action Ruger with six rounds and there was no need to leave an empty chamber under the hammer. Ruger stopped producing the old Three Screws and only produced single action revolvers with Transfer Bars ever since. Ruger called these the New Model single action revolvers. When Ruger introduced the 'original model' Vaqueros, which were really nothing more than a Blackhawk with fixed sights and a rounded top strap, they of course included a Transfer Bar.
But there was always a slightly annoying feature with the Transfer Bar designs. To load a Colt or a Three Screw Ruger, one placed the hammer at half cock so the cylinder was free to rotate. With the hammer at half cock, the hand and the ratchet teeth would line up the empty chambers perfectly with the loading gate. The hand engaged the ratchet teeth on the cylinder and prevented the cylinder from rotating backwards, it would only rotate forward. So you simply indexed the cylinder one chamber at a time to load the revolver. All was right with the Universe.
But with the New Model single actions, there was no half cock position on the hammer. Opening the loading gate freed the cylinder to rotate. The hand prevented the cylinder from rotating backwards, but because the lockwork had been changed, the chambers did not line up perfectly every time you indexed the next chamber. You had to push the cylinder around a slight amount more for a chamber to line up with the loading gate. The annoying part was if you rotated the cylinder a tiny bit too far, the hand would fall into the next ratchet tooth, and you could not back up the cylinder to empty or load that chamber, you had to go all the way around again. A minor annoyance, but it could at times be frustrating.
So when Ruger introduced the New Vaquero (confusing terminology, huh?) they installed a small spring plunger into the frame. The purpose of the spring plunger was to engage the ratchet teeth so the chambers would line up perfectly with the loading gate. No more frustration with going a teeny bit too far. Everything was right with the Universe again.
In this photo, the spring plunger is the small 'button' protruding slightly from the frame next to the cylinder pin hole.
So. What is the Free Spin Pawl? If the spring plunger is removed from the frame of the New Vaquero, the cylinder will be free to spin forwards or backwards when the loading gate is open. The spring plunger can be removed with a hex key after the revolver has been disassembled.
Why bother? Frankly, if you load the gun up with six rounds, there is no need. But in Cowboy Action Shooting, we are required to only load five rounds, with the hammer down on an empty chamber, even if you are shooting a Ruger. Part of the rules. So if you can rotate the cylinder backwards after loading five, it makes it simple to rotate the cylinder backwards to get an empty chamber under the hammer. Also, some guys like to spin the cylinder after loading their five rounds, to make sure they do not have any high primers. Then to get the empty chamber under the hammer, rotating the cylinder backwards might make it slightly simpler.
I have been shooting CAS a long time, and I can't think of the last time I encountered somebody with a New Vaquero with the Free Spin Pawl. A solution to a non-problem in my not so humble opinion.
Getting back to the problem of wear to either the frame or the cylinder teeth, you will have to spend a lot of time spinning the cylinder at 1000 RPM or so before you see any significant wear.
Either that guy did not know what he is talking about, or you misunderstood him.
Let's get this straight, the pawl (some manufacturers call it the Hand) is not going to wear down the frame. Maybe after 20 years of shooting a few hundred rounds through the revolver every day, there will be a little bit of wear to the slot where the pawl rides. Or a burr can rise up. But that would take a heck of a lot of shooting over a long time. More likely what he was talking about is the hand (sorry, that is what I am used to calling it) can cause some wear to the ratchet teeth at the rear of the cylinder.
So lets go into a little bit of history of the Ruger Single Action designs. When they first came out, the old Three Screw Ruger single action revolvers functioned much like a Colt. Anybody who had any sense knew to only load five rounds and leave an empty chamber under the hammer. If a live round was left under the hammer, and the hammer received a heavy blow, for instance if the gun fell to the ground and landed on the hammer, the revolver would probably fire. Even if the hammer had been left at the 'safety cock' position, the blow could be strong enough to shear the notch or the sear, and the gun could fire. Incidentally, this is the same reason you only load five rounds into a Colt and leave the hammer on an empty chamber.
Because of lawsuits, Ruger changed the design in the early 1970s, to include a Transfer Bar. The Transfer Bar design made it completely safe to load a Single Action Ruger with six rounds and there was no need to leave an empty chamber under the hammer. Ruger stopped producing the old Three Screws and only produced single action revolvers with Transfer Bars ever since. Ruger called these the New Model single action revolvers. When Ruger introduced the 'original model' Vaqueros, which were really nothing more than a Blackhawk with fixed sights and a rounded top strap, they of course included a Transfer Bar.
But there was always a slightly annoying feature with the Transfer Bar designs. To load a Colt or a Three Screw Ruger, one placed the hammer at half cock so the cylinder was free to rotate. With the hammer at half cock, the hand and the ratchet teeth would line up the empty chambers perfectly with the loading gate. The hand engaged the ratchet teeth on the cylinder and prevented the cylinder from rotating backwards, it would only rotate forward. So you simply indexed the cylinder one chamber at a time to load the revolver. All was right with the Universe.
But with the New Model single actions, there was no half cock position on the hammer. Opening the loading gate freed the cylinder to rotate. The hand prevented the cylinder from rotating backwards, but because the lockwork had been changed, the chambers did not line up perfectly every time you indexed the next chamber. You had to push the cylinder around a slight amount more for a chamber to line up with the loading gate. The annoying part was if you rotated the cylinder a tiny bit too far, the hand would fall into the next ratchet tooth, and you could not back up the cylinder to empty or load that chamber, you had to go all the way around again. A minor annoyance, but it could at times be frustrating.
So when Ruger introduced the New Vaquero (confusing terminology, huh?) they installed a small spring plunger into the frame. The purpose of the spring plunger was to engage the ratchet teeth so the chambers would line up perfectly with the loading gate. No more frustration with going a teeny bit too far. Everything was right with the Universe again.
In this photo, the spring plunger is the small 'button' protruding slightly from the frame next to the cylinder pin hole.
So. What is the Free Spin Pawl? If the spring plunger is removed from the frame of the New Vaquero, the cylinder will be free to spin forwards or backwards when the loading gate is open. The spring plunger can be removed with a hex key after the revolver has been disassembled.
Why bother? Frankly, if you load the gun up with six rounds, there is no need. But in Cowboy Action Shooting, we are required to only load five rounds, with the hammer down on an empty chamber, even if you are shooting a Ruger. Part of the rules. So if you can rotate the cylinder backwards after loading five, it makes it simple to rotate the cylinder backwards to get an empty chamber under the hammer. Also, some guys like to spin the cylinder after loading their five rounds, to make sure they do not have any high primers. Then to get the empty chamber under the hammer, rotating the cylinder backwards might make it slightly simpler.
I have been shooting CAS a long time, and I can't think of the last time I encountered somebody with a New Vaquero with the Free Spin Pawl. A solution to a non-problem in my not so humble opinion.
Getting back to the problem of wear to either the frame or the cylinder teeth, you will have to spend a lot of time spinning the cylinder at 1000 RPM or so before you see any significant wear.
Last edited:
jackmoser65
New member
Same can be said for forums. In this case, there is merit to the warning. I've talked to more than one gunsmith who says that the plunger causes undue wear on the ratchet teeth under extensive use. I've already had it removed from one gun and plan to do so with another.
roashooter
Moderator
"Don't confuse Youtube with wisdom.
Any fool with a camera can post anything they like."
and the posts of advice from those whose ONLY experience is watching "Utube"......priceless information....
Any fool with a camera can post anything they like."
and the posts of advice from those whose ONLY experience is watching "Utube"......priceless information....
Driftwood Johnson
New member
Define 'extensive use'. I bought my pair of New Vaqueros when they first came out in 2005. I have not seen any sign of wear to the ratchet teeth caused by the spring plunger.
Driftwood Johnson puts up another fantastic post. And he's able to eloquently explain a genuine frustration that I have with the only single action revolver I own, my .30 Carbine chambered New Model Blackhawk.
As it is the only hogleg I have, I am certainly not as adept or natural as a CAS shooter is with single action sixguns. He details very nicely one of the genuine annoyances that I associate with this revolver. I do still like it even still, but the struggle can be real. And keep in mind that the ammo I am dropping in (and ramming out) are skinny little sons-a-guns.
Thanks for yet another terrific post. When folks use a broad brush to crap on "stuff that people say on the danged old internet", well, they are completely ignorant of the volume of effort that same folks put in to helping others the way that Drifwood does with seemingly every post.
Those folks are even less helpful than the ones they condemn with their loud mouths and broad brush strokes.
As it is the only hogleg I have, I am certainly not as adept or natural as a CAS shooter is with single action sixguns. He details very nicely one of the genuine annoyances that I associate with this revolver. I do still like it even still, but the struggle can be real. And keep in mind that the ammo I am dropping in (and ramming out) are skinny little sons-a-guns.
Thanks for yet another terrific post. When folks use a broad brush to crap on "stuff that people say on the danged old internet", well, they are completely ignorant of the volume of effort that same folks put in to helping others the way that Drifwood does with seemingly every post.
Those folks are even less helpful than the ones they condemn with their loud mouths and broad brush strokes.
Driftwood Johnson
New member
Howdy Sevens, thanks for the kind words.
If you want your Blackhawk chambers to line up with the loading gate, and don't mind spending some extra money, you could install a Power Custom Half Cock Hammer Kit.
This link will take you to a whole bunch of their Half Cock hammers and Half Cock hammer kits. It's been a long time since I installed these kits in three 'original model' Vaqueros, and there are a lot of new products, so if you want to install one you should call them up and ask them exactly which kit to buy.
http://powercustom.com/store/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=half%20cock&inc_subcat=0&sort=20a&page=1
Here is a photo of one of my Vaqueros with the hammer at half cock. Notice how nicely the chamber lines up with the loading gate.
With the Half Cock hammer in a Vaquero I open up the loading gate, then put the hammer to half cock. This allows the cylinder to spin freely and the chambers will line up perfectly with the loading gate every time I advance the cylinder. That annoying feature of the cylinder rotating a teeny bit too far is gone. The Transfer Bar is still in the gun, so you can load it up with six, or you can load it Colt style, load one - skip one - load four more - cock the hammer - lower the hammer, and the hammer will be down on an empty chamber. Useful in CAS. Yes, it is a lot of money, but the added advantage is the hammer is Wire EDM cut so the trigger pull is smoother than the original factory hammer. I bought the kits with hammer, trigger, and reduced power springs. After everything was installed, my trigger pull was down to 2 1/2 pounds, right where I like it.
There was some business back then about filing a bit off of the transfer bar so the kit would work properly, but I never did, and everything worked fine. The parts were truly drop in, I only had to give the pawl a few licks with a file to make everything work properly on one Vaquero, with the other two everything worked with no fitting at all. I see they are offering a modified transfer bar now too. I put the hammer at half cock, then open the loading gate. I cannot first put the hammer at half cock, then open the loading gate. Perhaps the modified transfer bar allows the shooter to do that.
If you like listening to the clicks, you don't get the four clicks of a Colt since there is no 'safety cock' position on the hammer. You get three clicks - half cock, bolt pop up, and full cock.
It was a lot of money back then, not quite as much as now, but I have never regretted installing the half cock hammers in my Vaqueros, they are much less annoying to shoot now.
If you want your Blackhawk chambers to line up with the loading gate, and don't mind spending some extra money, you could install a Power Custom Half Cock Hammer Kit.
This link will take you to a whole bunch of their Half Cock hammers and Half Cock hammer kits. It's been a long time since I installed these kits in three 'original model' Vaqueros, and there are a lot of new products, so if you want to install one you should call them up and ask them exactly which kit to buy.
http://powercustom.com/store/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=half%20cock&inc_subcat=0&sort=20a&page=1
Here is a photo of one of my Vaqueros with the hammer at half cock. Notice how nicely the chamber lines up with the loading gate.
With the Half Cock hammer in a Vaquero I open up the loading gate, then put the hammer to half cock. This allows the cylinder to spin freely and the chambers will line up perfectly with the loading gate every time I advance the cylinder. That annoying feature of the cylinder rotating a teeny bit too far is gone. The Transfer Bar is still in the gun, so you can load it up with six, or you can load it Colt style, load one - skip one - load four more - cock the hammer - lower the hammer, and the hammer will be down on an empty chamber. Useful in CAS. Yes, it is a lot of money, but the added advantage is the hammer is Wire EDM cut so the trigger pull is smoother than the original factory hammer. I bought the kits with hammer, trigger, and reduced power springs. After everything was installed, my trigger pull was down to 2 1/2 pounds, right where I like it.
There was some business back then about filing a bit off of the transfer bar so the kit would work properly, but I never did, and everything worked fine. The parts were truly drop in, I only had to give the pawl a few licks with a file to make everything work properly on one Vaquero, with the other two everything worked with no fitting at all. I see they are offering a modified transfer bar now too. I put the hammer at half cock, then open the loading gate. I cannot first put the hammer at half cock, then open the loading gate. Perhaps the modified transfer bar allows the shooter to do that.
If you like listening to the clicks, you don't get the four clicks of a Colt since there is no 'safety cock' position on the hammer. You get three clicks - half cock, bolt pop up, and full cock.
It was a lot of money back then, not quite as much as now, but I have never regretted installing the half cock hammers in my Vaqueros, they are much less annoying to shoot now.
jackmoser65
New member
Cowboy action shooting. One of the gunsmiths I recall was John Gallagher.
I am kind at the other end of the bar on this, or maybe even sitting at a table in the back...
My first SA revolver was a New Model Ruger Blackhawk .45 convertible, 7.5" in 83. A decade earlier, when I was learning to shoot pistols, using my Dad's guns, I never learned the SA revolver, Dad didn't have one, he didn't like the grip shape. I learned S&W DA and Colt semi auto, and a few others, but no SA revolver, until I got my own.
ALL my SA revolvers since, have been Rugers (with one exception), all but one have had the new model lockwork. Blackhawks, Super B, Vaqueros and a single New Vaquero.
Learning on Rugers, I have never been under the spell of the Colt. Sure, they are very nice guns, but they seem small and frail to me. The C-O-L-T clicks are neat, but the Ruger "ka-KLUNK" always seemed more "bank vault" authoritative to me.
The cylinder chambers not lining up perfectly on their own never bothered me, it was just the way the gun worked. You have to use your fingers to line things up right, the gun doesn't do it for you. Not being "spoiled" by a Colt, I knew no different, and have been happy in my blissful ignorance...
My attitude to all this is "Brother, if you want a gun that looks, handles, works, and sounds like a Colt, BUY a freakin' COLT!!!"
(or a clone)
If you want to trick out your Ruger, for games, or just your personal pleasure, go right ahead, tis your gun, and your money. Different grips and maybe a little trigger work are all that I've even found any of my Rugers to need, to perform their best for me.
your mileage may vary...
My first SA revolver was a New Model Ruger Blackhawk .45 convertible, 7.5" in 83. A decade earlier, when I was learning to shoot pistols, using my Dad's guns, I never learned the SA revolver, Dad didn't have one, he didn't like the grip shape. I learned S&W DA and Colt semi auto, and a few others, but no SA revolver, until I got my own.
ALL my SA revolvers since, have been Rugers (with one exception), all but one have had the new model lockwork. Blackhawks, Super B, Vaqueros and a single New Vaquero.
Learning on Rugers, I have never been under the spell of the Colt. Sure, they are very nice guns, but they seem small and frail to me. The C-O-L-T clicks are neat, but the Ruger "ka-KLUNK" always seemed more "bank vault" authoritative to me.
The cylinder chambers not lining up perfectly on their own never bothered me, it was just the way the gun worked. You have to use your fingers to line things up right, the gun doesn't do it for you. Not being "spoiled" by a Colt, I knew no different, and have been happy in my blissful ignorance...
My attitude to all this is "Brother, if you want a gun that looks, handles, works, and sounds like a Colt, BUY a freakin' COLT!!!"
(or a clone)
If you want to trick out your Ruger, for games, or just your personal pleasure, go right ahead, tis your gun, and your money. Different grips and maybe a little trigger work are all that I've even found any of my Rugers to need, to perform their best for me.
your mileage may vary...
jackmoser65
New member
Or a Ruger Old Model! Or an Abilene. Or a Seville. Or a Callahan.
There are ways to have your cake and eat it too and the Ron Power half cock hammer and trigger kit works very well.
I own two Rugers with the indexing plunger, both newer .44 Flattops, one in .44 Special & one in .44 Mag.
The indexing plunger & spring & screw have been removed on both.
That leaves both with a free-spinning cylinder & no downside I can see.
No accelerated wear, no "safety" modification.
The reason I did it was more to eliminate what I see as a POTENTIAL jam than to create the freespin.
The plunger is quite ingenious, but it has the POSSIBILITY of freezing in place with gunk accumulation over a period of time, and since both guns are field pieces, not range guns, I choose to eliminate that slight risk.
Note I used the words "potential", "possibility", and "slight risk".
My gunsmith has had a plunger-equipped Ruger come in where that plunger had somehow gotten bent & jammed itself in place, freezing not just the plunger but preventing the cylinder from rotating.
I don't insist that my working Rugers be Colts, but I frankly like the freespinning cylinder on those guns, and removing the plunger system only adds to the Ruger reliability that I bought them for.
Doing so will cause no more wear to any part of the gun than leaving it in place.
Others are perfectly free to make alternate choices.
Denis
The indexing plunger & spring & screw have been removed on both.
That leaves both with a free-spinning cylinder & no downside I can see.
No accelerated wear, no "safety" modification.
The reason I did it was more to eliminate what I see as a POTENTIAL jam than to create the freespin.
The plunger is quite ingenious, but it has the POSSIBILITY of freezing in place with gunk accumulation over a period of time, and since both guns are field pieces, not range guns, I choose to eliminate that slight risk.
Note I used the words "potential", "possibility", and "slight risk".
My gunsmith has had a plunger-equipped Ruger come in where that plunger had somehow gotten bent & jammed itself in place, freezing not just the plunger but preventing the cylinder from rotating.
I don't insist that my working Rugers be Colts, but I frankly like the freespinning cylinder on those guns, and removing the plunger system only adds to the Ruger reliability that I bought them for.
Doing so will cause no more wear to any part of the gun than leaving it in place.
Others are perfectly free to make alternate choices.
Denis
Driftwood always writes excellent posts!
Kind of like the other poster said, I grew up with a new model single six and apparently don't know any better. I never have any problems loading or unloading any of my New Models. I've done it so many times that it's just automatic for me.
Kind of like the other poster said, I grew up with a new model single six and apparently don't know any better. I never have any problems loading or unloading any of my New Models. I've done it so many times that it's just automatic for me.
Driftwood Johnson
New member
Howdy Again
My first single action cartridge revolver was this 45 Colt/45 ACP New Model Blackhawk that I bought brand-spanky new in 1975.
About eight years earlier I had bought a 44 caliber, brass framed, percussion 'Navy' revolver, so I did have some experience with a more traditional Colt type lockwork, but for probably about twenty five years the only cartridge firing single action revolver I owned was the Blackhawk. So I got very used to its operation.
When I started shooting CAS about ten years ago, I bought some large frame, 'original model' Vaqueros. I shot them in CAS for a couple of years, further cementing in my head how a Ruger works.
I will never forget the first time I handled a single action revolver that had a Colt type lockwork. I had been shooting Cowboy for a few years and thought I might like to try an Uberti. I walked into a local store, and there was a beautiful Uberti Bisley model in the display case. I asked to see it. Opening the loading gate to free the cylinder to spin to check that it was unloaded was so ingrained in me that I opened the loading gate on the Uberti and was temporarily surprised when I could not rotate the cylinder. The store owner gave me a withering look and told me with sarcasm dripping from his voice, 'That's not a Ruger'. I realized my error and put the hammer to half cock, but I will never forget the embarrassment of opening the loading gate to spin the cylinder of a Colt type action.
These days I am lucky enough to own Colts, and a few old Three Screw Rugers, in addition to the New Model Rugers. These days I don't shoot the New Model Rugers very often, and putting the hammer to half cock has become ingrained in my little brain. That's one reason I installed the half cock hammers in the Vaqueros, so I would not get confused at the loading table.
Some of us old guys can get easily confused.
My first single action cartridge revolver was this 45 Colt/45 ACP New Model Blackhawk that I bought brand-spanky new in 1975.
About eight years earlier I had bought a 44 caliber, brass framed, percussion 'Navy' revolver, so I did have some experience with a more traditional Colt type lockwork, but for probably about twenty five years the only cartridge firing single action revolver I owned was the Blackhawk. So I got very used to its operation.
When I started shooting CAS about ten years ago, I bought some large frame, 'original model' Vaqueros. I shot them in CAS for a couple of years, further cementing in my head how a Ruger works.
I will never forget the first time I handled a single action revolver that had a Colt type lockwork. I had been shooting Cowboy for a few years and thought I might like to try an Uberti. I walked into a local store, and there was a beautiful Uberti Bisley model in the display case. I asked to see it. Opening the loading gate to free the cylinder to spin to check that it was unloaded was so ingrained in me that I opened the loading gate on the Uberti and was temporarily surprised when I could not rotate the cylinder. The store owner gave me a withering look and told me with sarcasm dripping from his voice, 'That's not a Ruger'. I realized my error and put the hammer to half cock, but I will never forget the embarrassment of opening the loading gate to spin the cylinder of a Colt type action.
These days I am lucky enough to own Colts, and a few old Three Screw Rugers, in addition to the New Model Rugers. These days I don't shoot the New Model Rugers very often, and putting the hammer to half cock has become ingrained in my little brain. That's one reason I installed the half cock hammers in the Vaqueros, so I would not get confused at the loading table.
Some of us old guys can get easily confused.
My first Ruger single-action was a Single-Six in 1976.
Over the years I've owned a few more in rim & centerfire, and worked with at least a dozen loaners.
I had Rugers long before I ever acquired a Colt Peacemaker or clone.
Today I have one "standard" centerfire Ruger, with the "regular" lockwork (no-freespin).
That one's had some minor work done to it by Bowen, but the guts are un-altered.
I have no interest in converting it with Power's set-up, it's had everything done to it that I want done to it.
I have Colts, and very nice ones.
I just make a mental note to switch gears in shooting the two brands.
That said- I do like the two freespin Flattops.
Extremely handy to position the cylinder backwards or forwards while loading.
Denis
Over the years I've owned a few more in rim & centerfire, and worked with at least a dozen loaners.
I had Rugers long before I ever acquired a Colt Peacemaker or clone.
Today I have one "standard" centerfire Ruger, with the "regular" lockwork (no-freespin).
That one's had some minor work done to it by Bowen, but the guts are un-altered.
I have no interest in converting it with Power's set-up, it's had everything done to it that I want done to it.
I have Colts, and very nice ones.
I just make a mental note to switch gears in shooting the two brands.
That said- I do like the two freespin Flattops.
Extremely handy to position the cylinder backwards or forwards while loading.
Denis