1862 police/colt style revolvers...how slick?

[Bad Karma]

I can't think of a gun (rifle, hand gun or shot gun) I've ever owned in my life that I was satisfied with in the received condition. All of them need a personalizing touch in one way or another to make them fit what I want in a fire arm.
I have both Pietta and Uberti revolvers and feel both deliver arms that with some informed, quality work, can produce match grade guns for target work. I'm more in the accuracy and longevity camp than speed work which require some different areas of attention detailing like barrel lapping and cylinder mouth reaming.
Some work will actually produce improvement in a guns accuracy and longevity and other things make one feel better about dotting and "I" or crossing a "T" in supposed necessities but as long as no safety issues are negated it is all good !
I've always been of the opinion that correcting a short arbor is a good practice if desired but not a necessity for either accuracy or longevity. The reasoning is because of personal experience over many years in my own guns as well as observance of many others .
The simple truth is a majority of open frame guns in use over the last 30-40 years have short arbors and work as well now as when new, many having digested multiple thousands of rounds.
Arbor end fit is a good thing for consistent and easy wedge depth gauging unless a soft wedge deforms over time and use. Some would argue that short arbor end fit is the reason for wedge distortion but I have never been able to see this proven to be true. I've had and seen a number of deformed ,apparently soft wedges over the years which is why I began to make my own. If a wedge deforms then one is right back to a short arbor situation only the deformity will no longer make a reliable depth gauge. This is the reason I like to rely on barrel gap measurement which is the surest way I know of to insure consistency and thus accuracy and longevity .
I do prefer to make my own wedges out of A-2 tool steel properly hardened as they will not change in the least over time and use. I make mine without the keep spring using only the trough and keep screw in the barrel to retain it. A new wedge as described ,properly fit both in thickness and width with the correct angle will not back out in use and work well with arbor depth fit or not.
I believe wedge thickness and fit to be every bit as important as width in holding it's place both in the arbor and barrel slots.
Making a new wedge is a time consuming thing and I would not do it for any but my own guns however any reliable machinest could easily make them if a detailed drawing is presented.

Well, that's an easy one for those that are willing to learn how a platform works rather than how they "think" or "wish" it works.

A lifetime of mouse fart loads may not destroy a belt pistol or a horse pistol but shooting full house loads definitely will. I know MY personal experience means nothing around here but that's beside the point. Other forums have discussed this for the last 13 yrs and you'd think folks here would know a little something about it . . . but it seems to be in a time warp.
That said, other than my personal shooting experience I would have to include that every original Colts OT I've ever worked on has an arbor that extended to the end of the arbor hole. I couldn't lock the cylinder up because the wedge was in "too far". That doesn't happen with them. It does happen with the fake ones we are accustomed to. Then there's this wedge from my '60 that I just added another 75 rounds to the count. This wedge is perfect and only has some bluing wear.
View attachment 205321

View attachment 205322

This is after 675 rounds of 21K PSI ammo including about a fourth of them being 23K PSI.
A Walker with 60gr charges of 3f and a round ball or max charges with a conical won't even get to half that pressure . . . and this is a '60 Army!!!

So, my Walker shooting full house loads ate wedges like candy back in day. Fix the "problem" and that goes away. I've only explained this for the millionth time but some are slow . . . so, I still try to help . . .

I'm sure my customers that shoot full house loads would have said something by now if their revolvers didn't perform perfectly!!

Mike

You’re both right now, let’s argue about the proper cleaning solvent. Or balls vs. bullets. 44 vs. 36? Something! Anything but this one… again.

 

[denster]

I really like the looks and feel of the 1862 Police and have two I purchased knowing full well they would have problems and they did. I sent both to an AZ gunsmith over on the highroad and for another $400 for both guns I have two very reliable with no problems revolvers. Was it worth the money? To me yes. Unlike MDeLand I am not fond of flexable firers nor do I have a feeler gauge fettish.

 

[Pierre009]

Agreed. When I got my first revolver I was measuring each load like in my rifles. Then I got a good flask and used it to fill the measure. WOW! Every time it filled the same. So why do that step? I fill and look - every time. For the rifles I premeasure like most folks because I can not see the powder level.

I cheat...have different nozzles that fit on the flask...

 

[45D]

You’re both right now, let’s argue about the proper cleaning solvent. Or balls vs. bullets. 44 vs. 36? Something! Anything but this one… again.

Ain't it the truth!! How many times/ ways can you show your own proof but it's just not acceptable. And then "they" bring it up again and again . . .
It's all OK until the idea of "it's not really necessary . . ."
I don't care who you are, you can't point to an ill fitted fake and say THAT'S how the originals were designed . . . they just weren't!!

Mike

 

[Uncle Miltie]

You need to watch all of his BP videos with BP pistols. He is very knowledgable and has altered his revolvers so as to not need to tilt them. I will take his advice over just about anyone else on revolvers or rifles.

He was using an unmodified revolver in his video. And again, there is the safety of loading from a flask. Tilting when cocking the hammer was done in the old days. I have been shooting Colts for 45 years, original and reproductions. And I have fired them in competition in 3 different countries. You can of course do what you wish (as you should).

 

[Relic shooter]

What length barrel did you get? I've been wanting a 6.5" for a while. Got any pics?

Love the Colt pocket model !
This is a photo of my original pocket model with 6.5" barrel along side of an 1860.
Relic shooter