Colt 1861 Navy shooting high and right-what to do?

[Cliff Fendley]

I have a Colt second gen 1861 that shoots very high and right at 12 yards. 4 inches right and about 6 inches high

These guns were bought new in the early 80's but they have always hung in the safe. My experience to C&B shooting is with the Remington New Army's so is there any tricks to installing the wedge that effects the POI on the Colt revolvers?

I don't want to file on the hammer "cringe " if I don't have too but this one revolver is WAY off.

It shoots a good group but way off POI.

[Dick Dastardly]

Don't file the hammer notch.  Adjustment is best made on the front sight.  I had to have a taller front sight added to one of my guns, but it corrected the problem.

Or else, hold low and left. . . . .

DD-MDA

[Fingers McGee]

Check your arbor fit before you do anything else.  Pettifoggers articles on tuning the Pietta will help.

http://www.theopenrange.net/articles/Tuning_the_Pietta_Part_One.pdf

http://www.theopenrange.net/articles/Tuning_the_Pietta_Part_Two.pdf

If your arbor is bottoming out and it is still shooting high, opening the sight notch or putting a taller front sight on are the two options.  IME, some sight notches are little more than a scratch in the metal and need to be opened up.

You should not be using wedge depth to set the b/c gap

[TwoWalks Baldridge]

Place gun barrel in knot hole - push down and to the left - 


Well you might want to use a better method. 

[Cliff Fendley]

Fingers, thanks for the info! The arbor fit is a problem, don't know if it will correct all of the POI problem but I can see where it could surely effect it.

This gun looks just like the Uberti in the article but the article didn't explain how to correct it. Do you or someone have a link to correcting this problem?

I felt like something wasn't right when I had to drive the wedge out and it did not want to go back in without some persuasion.

[Fingers McGee]

Oops, I gave you the wrong series.  This one has the whole enchelada.  Part 3 begins the arbor/wedge fitting

http://www.theopenrange.net/articles/Tuning_the_Uberti_Open_Top_Revolvers_Part_1.pdf

http://www.theopenrange.net/articles/Tuning_the_Uberti_Open_Top_Revolvers_Part_2.pdf

http://www.theopenrange.net/articles/Tuning_the_Uberti_Open_Top_Revolvers_Part_3.pdf

http://www.theopenrange.net/articles/Tuning_the_Uberti_Open_Top_Revolvers_Part_4.pdf

[Cliff Fendley]

Very informative, thanks Fingers. Will be just a little different with the 61. The bottom of the arbor hole is not flat, it almost appears to have been drilled with a drill bit. As long as the bushing is centered on the end of the arbor it should work the same ever time though.

Since the arbor hole in the 61 bottoms out I'm almost wondering about punching out brass shim and drop it down in there rather than drilling the arbor. Actually once I figure out the thickness a brass washer that will tap down in there with a slight interference fit so it doesn't fall out. Since the bottom of the hole is concave the center wont hit anyway so if I make the shim as a washer there will be a way of reaching in there with a small hook and pull it out should the need arise.

Any thoughts on using this method?

[Fingers McGee]

I know of people that have filled the gap in other ways; Brass disk silver soldered to the arbor, flat washer epoxied to the arbor, set screw threaded into the arbor.  Basically, whatever method that will fill the gap will work.  I'm kinda partial to the epoxied washer method - mainly cause I don't have the tools/skills to drill/tap/solder something.

[Cliff Fendley]

Thanks, I've got the equipment and if it was a Uberti or Pietta I'd drill the arbor without much thought but since it's a Colt I was thinking of other way that was less noticeable when apart.

Course you'd have thought a Colt wouldn't have had this problem.

I will have to say the rest of the gun is very nice and they've never been apart until now. My uncle bought new in the early 80's.

[Pettifogger]

Thanks, I've got the equipment and if it was a Uberti or Pietta I'd drill the arbor without much thought but since it's a Colt I was thinking of other way that was less noticeable when apart.

Course you'd have thought a Colt wouldn't have had this problem.

I will have to say the rest of the gun is very nice and they've never been apart until now. My uncle bought new in the early 80's.

Not so hard to understand.  It's a Colt, but it has many Uberti parts (including the frame and arbor) and was assembled by outside contractors.  On some models, especially the cased special models, Colt seems to have built them with the idea that they were for show and would never be shot.  A lot of them are exquisitely finished on the outside, but rougher than corn cobs on the inside.  Once you have fired them the collector value is basically gone, so do whatever you want with them to make them shoot better.

[Palatine Tom]

Servus,

I am Palatine Tom from Munich Bavaria.

My 2nd Gen Colt 1860 has also a bad habit ==> Shooting low and left o 25 yards. I think one reason is the strong imbalance between diameter of the cylinder chambers and the lands/grooves of the barrel.

greetings

[Dick Dastardly]

Howdy Tom, from the Fatherland.

You may need to ream the chambers to match the bore.  This is frequently the case with Italian clones.  They seem to "lawyer" proof them by making undersize chambers.  Once the chambers are reamed to match the bore the guns seem to get religion and shoot fine.

DD-MDA