Replaced the bolt/trigger spring

[Marshal Deadwood]

Replaced the bolt trigger spring on my '71OT. With new firing pin, arbor job and now a wire trigger/bolt spring I'm hoping it'll be a spell before I have to open'er up again. A wire spring might historically be sacrilegious..but I just am tired of replacing the italian springs. Well the trigger/bolt ones anyways,,never had any of the others break so all I'm replacing in my guns right now are the t/b springs.

Jeff,,,Glad to hear ya like your open top. I think they are the height of style for Colt. Not the height of strength admittedly ,,and I LOVE the SAA,,but the OT's are the top of the Colt mountain for balance and style.....for me personally anyways.

I even like my OT better than my Richard-Mason..just a wee bit. Off my pistol rest, the OT will shoot fifty cent size groups all day at 15 yards. About the most accurate revolver I've  own in the 'western' circles of guns anyways.

MD

[Fox Creek Kid]

I've broken ONE bolt spring in over THIRTY YEARS of BP shooting. ONE. Buy a good Wolff flat spring. It'll probably outlast your interest in this sport. Wire bolt springs are garbage IMO. They cause an unnatural "mushy" feel as well as contribute to cylinder over-rotation. Many times as well they cause a dangerously light trigger pull.

The same guys that demand to replace all flat springs with wire springs are the same guys buying thousands of rounds of ammo to stock in their bunker for the pending Zombie Apocalypse because it MIGHT happen.  

[Steel Horse Bailey]

On the other hand, I replaced my bolt /trigger spring with the Wolff wire spring (I've replaced perhaps a dozen flat ones since 1974 but none by Wolff or Heinie) and I love the feel in the 3 revolvers I have done.  I don't feel "mushy" but it will lighten the action.  And the action in several of mine might be considered "dangerously light" for the average shooter, but I feel that with the TRAINING I have put in on these guns will keep me safe.  I DON'T feel that it is a "MUST THING TO DO" for many, I just like it.

I just want Fox Creek Kid to know that I don't DEMAND anything from anybody about springs (or 'bout anything else I can think of) but I do have thousands of rounds put back for a "rainy day" but I have to admit that most are 22s.  I'm not sure if any Zombie Apocalypse will be fought by me!  (Whatever that is)



Just pullin' yer humour chain, Kid ...

[Pettifogger]

The wire springs are funny.  They don't work worth squat in some guns and work perfect in others.  One thing about the wires is that they exert less pressure on the bolt.  On some of the soft Italian guns if the wire works I use them so the bolt doesn't batter the cylinder as much.  On some guns it also makes the action much better, still has all the clicks everything just works easier.  On other guns they get mushy and will over-rotate.  I keep a box of flat and wire springs and just try them in a new gun until I get the best feel.

[Mako]

...The same guys that demand to replace all flat springs with wire springs are the same guys buying thousands of rounds of ammo to stock in their bunker for the pending Zombie Apocalypse because it MIGHT happen.   

You aren't prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse?   

I plan on taking out the undead with BP whenever possible.   After all if you're gonna shoot Zombies you might as well do it with style and panache...

It so happens for grins I'm currently building a .458 SOCOM rifle which is basically a .45-70 ballistically for punching heavy stuff, never know when you might have to shoot robots.  I  ended up with a spare .452 barrel instead of a .458 (long story about miscommunication)  I once tried to figure out how to make an AR platform be reliable with BP, you could do it with a Blowback in a cartridge like the .45 ACP or 9mm but that just doesn't seem right for Zombies.  Maybe a large port short impulse piston driven rifle in a modified .458 SOCOM case with a thinned and annealed neck to help seal and prevent blowback.

The problem with .458 SOCOM is brass, you don't have time to pick it up while shooting Zombies, I might need to go to a more available case.

Hmmm... I could trade the .452  barrel for a .40 caliber barrel (which they make for AR platforms) and make a new slightly necked cartridge like the .44-40.  I would use Ø.474 head brass like the .30-06 or preferably the .308 and make my Cowboy Zombie Whacker case.  I used to make .44 Auto Mag brass from .308 so I actually have the reamer the thin the brass, I just need a forming die.

Yeah, I can call it a .400 Cowboy Zombie Whacker.  Use a 325 -400 grain bullet, use a 1.6 case length and keep the OAL  to 2.26.  Stuff it full of 2Fg and it would take out a Zombie with eye popping results...

So Kid, what's your excuse for not being prepared? 

~Mako

[Fox Creek Kid]

...So Kid, what's your excuse for not being prepared?  ...

I am prepared.  With MODERN guns.

[Long Johns Wolf]

Mako, have you considered solid silver bullets for your zombie wacker?
Long Johns Wolf

[wildman1]

I have a full auto '84 Springfield Trapdoor. All it takes is a gallon of Arbuckles and a lot of cartridges.  WM

[Mako]

Mako, have you considered solid silver bullets for your zombie wacker?
Long Johns Wolf

Long Johns Wolf,
The silver bullets are in the other mag carrier harness,  no reason to waste silver on Zombies, you reserve those for Werewolves and maybe witches.  You lose about 15 grains of weight on the bullet which really isn't significant.

The biggest problem is cost at today's spot price for industrial pure silver, I'd have to pay about $40/troy ounce or $1.29/gram.  Those 325 grain bullets will end up costing about $26 a piece.  Not a high price to pay when you have Werewolves, but a bit much for just stopping some Zombies.  At that price I'd just pony up the bucks for .458 SOCOM brass at about 73 cents a pop and just not bother with going to the trouble to form .400 Cowboy Zombie Whacker Brass, I'd get a lot more case capacity than the .400 CZW and I could use these bullets!



For my BP loads I'd leave the gas checks off and use BP lube.

At the price of one silver bullet  I could get 20 .458 SOCOM BP loads with the bullet above and not have to worry about scrounging brass.  Remember when it comes to Zombie Apocalypse planning you have to think QUANTITY!  There are a lot of potential Zombies out there.  Well, actually the elections in 2008 show there may already be a lot of them in this country.

It would extremely embarrassing to run out of ammo during the first year.  It would be like Mel Tappan being caught in New York at a book signing when the balloon went up and he was cut off from his gun stash in Oregon.  Hmmmm, sadly Mr Tappan lost in his survival scenario at the age of 47 when he died from congestive Heart failure (oooops...).

So you see it's all about situational awareness, you gotta' have the right load for the threat at hand.  Silver for Werewolves, good "punkn'" loads for Zombies, some Tungsten Penetrators in Sabots for Alien Robot invasions.  The Vampires still have me in a quandry, I guess with well place shots you could separate the head from the body...  But, right now I'm more worried about Zombies and Robots...

Mako
"Dark Master of Zombie Whackers"  I need to get some business cards printed up...

[Coffinmaker]

For Zombie Whacking, I select my M1 Garand with 162Gr Hollow Point Boat Tail.  I always whack an empty mag on the pavement to make it "ping."  Zombies think I'm empty.  Sneaky ME!!!!
Soon though, I'll have a Brandy new M1A SOCOM with a 16" barrel and 20 round mags.  Splendifferous!!!

We drifting someones threat me thinks??

Na

Coffinmaker

[Steel Horse Bailey]

....
I plan on taking out the undead with BP whenever possible.   After all if you're gonna shoot Zombies you might as well do it with style and panache...

~Mako

Well spoken ... with style & pancakes!  Very nice!  And I'll bet that some of your guns will have some wire springs, won't they?



Coffinmaker ... VERY sneaky  .... and something I'd do myself!

Wild Man Uno, cool!  Can you post a video on You Tub of you drinking all that Arbuckles and shootin' that '84 ... It'd be awesome!

[Mako]

Well spoken ... with style & pancakes!  Very nice!  And I'll bet that some of your guns will have some wire springs, won't they?

I'm worried that during a Zombie Apocalypse that the IHOPs and other Pancake Houses might not be doing business.  It would be a good business in a world full of Zombies. You would just need to put up a very strong fence of the type they call high security anti-push barriers.  Just have some kids to man the gate and sweep the walkers off when it's time to open or close them for a customer.  You'd need a good (tall) front end loader either enclosed or with a cage to clear the perimeter on a daily basis to keep the flies and odor down.

They could have a whole new range of specials, instead of the "Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity" for instance they could have the "Whack and Smash 'Em Plate" with your choice of Sausage or Bacon.  All eggs on that plate would be scrambled of course...  Yep nothing like a heapn' plate of pancakes after a night of Zombie Whacking.  The entire business model and hours of operation would depend upon whether the Zombies were light sensitive or not.

This could be a whole new business possibility, a combination Pancake House, grocery/hardware store, gun store, gas station and automotive repair.  Figure out a way to render Zombies and you could be a bio-diesel station.  The ideal  Post Zombie Apocalypse (PZA) vehicle is probably a 3/4 ton Diesel 4X4 Crew cap pick up with lots of ground clearance for maneuvering around the littered highways.  Definitely need brush guards and pusher bars front and rear. 

To really do it right you'd need a wrecker to go out and reclaim pickups and convert them over to Bio-Diesel.  Just think of it... A car lot too!  The Gas station could morph Exxon's motto of "A tiger in your tank" to "A Zombie in Your Tank..."  Even the arcane "Z" codes ( like the Z71) for option packages that GM uses would start to make sense, people would be demanding "Z whatever packages."

The kids could open up reloaded ammo kiosks just inside the front doors to the restaurant, have customers drop off empty brass and they could reload while they eat or give them a "core charge" allowance for the empty brass and sell them reloaded ammo.  We could make BP and scrounge lead for bullets, primers and caps would be the logistic limiter.  I can envision a series of little shops in the hallway and in the waiting area to the Pancake house.  A Gunsmith, a Barber, Dental Services, etc. ( Medical would have to be in a separate area and require contagion protocols before admittance)

I'm going to retain the franchise rights in Texas, New Mexico and Colorado; I'll entertain partnerships or just outright franchising in other states.  If your interested send a PM with "PZA Business Opportunities" in the subject line.

Just remember our motto, "It's better to have a Zombie Apocalypse plan in place and not need it, than to find a Zombie at your front door and be holding nothing but a dead cell phone in your hand...."

Have a good PZA day,

Mako

P.S. and to keep this on topic I actually prefer quality aftermarket flat springs instead of the wire springs. I find they work better and you don't have to worry as much about placement.  The little 90° ends can get pushed off or not centered as you tighten the retaing screw.I have some wire springs in the girls USFAs, but I have Wolff or another brand of flat spring in almost every other Colt's pattern pistol.  I also put the reduced power right and left lever springs in my toggle rifles because the Uberti springs eat the cam surfaces up.