Starr DA revolver reproduction - action unreliable

[Millermpls]

Just received a new Starr repro. Does anyone have first hand knowledge? Action will be fine for a few pulls, then the trigger will lock up, or seemingly fail to reset. The consequence is that you cannot advance the cylinder, or even put to half cock to freewheel rotate.

This is just too unreliable, even for the range. Any advice is appreciated.

History of the original included unreliability, was this 'feature' built-in to these reproductions? :youcrazy:

 

[AZbpBurner]

Did you completely disassemble and clean before your first shooting session? If not, often there is sufficient crud and machine tailings mixed in with the grease they assemble with to make the action stiff.

When you clean and reassemble, don't oil or grease anything. This way rough parts will wear together and show wear points yu can further polish.

Also, look for spent caps that have fallen into the action.

 

[John May]

I shoot a Pietta Starr D/A and had exactly the same problems with mine when I bought it. First time at the range I had to 'help' rotate the cylinder most of the time for it to cycle properly. I fired approx' 40 rounds through it and it did improve a bit.




I always strip my guns completely every time I clean them and I noticed that there were a lot of contact surfaces that had roughly machined edges on them, particularly the hand and the channel it runs in. A bit of careful stoning to remove these made a real big difference and the gun is now 99% reliable. The key word here is 'Careful' as too much can really spoil your day.
Incidentally, the guy in the Gunshop where I bought the Starr told me to forget you have a thumb on your shooting hand and not to be tempted to cock it, it just won't happen!

 

[Millermpls]

Thanks, I will try to ID any rough spots and correct.

 

[Millermpls]

Thanks, I will look for any wear marks.

 

[cynthialee]

When I have seen this problem the nipples were just a tiny amount too long. When they are too long the hammer can not complete its down strike sequence and gets hung up thus preventing cocking again.

 

[Millermpls]

Interesting. The dimensions must be darn close, as there seems to be no discernable pattern to the failures.

Thanks for the additional possible path.

 

[don hepler]

I bought a Ruger Old Army stainless, in unfired condition. It would cock flawlessly for a few times, then lock up, so tight, that I had to remove the cylinder to clear it up. Fortunately, I had another older ROA, and upon examination, found out, that the newer pistol had a lot of burrs on the cylinder and other areas. A little tiny file and careful removal of these burrs, cleared up the whole problem. Just the tiniest amount, can be the problem, but over filing, or stoning, can be disaster.

 

[Millermpls]

Thanks, I will be hunting for burrs this weekend.

 

[Poor Private]

As a civil war reenactor I see lots of these for sale at events. Guys just don't want to mess with them. I havn't seen one yet out of the box that didn't have soem issue or other. Maybe thats why the gov't quit buying the double and went back to the single action Starrs. Same with the Lamats my son has one and has had minor issues with it from day one. Same as the original weak loading lever.

 

[Millermpls]

I'm not sure why the manufacturer wouldn't seek to improve the hidden clockwork of a known problematic design. In any case, the vendor agreed to a return/refund, so it is going back.
:surrender:

 

[curator]

I have "de-burred" and lightened the mainspring slightly on a couple of these Starr DA revolvers for reenactor friends and once smoothed up a bit they work fine***

***Provided you don't attempt to cock the hammer the old fashioned way, with your thumb. They are designed to be "trigger cocked." If you look closely you will see two triggers, the large traditional one, and a smaller one at the rear of the trigger guard. The small rear trigger is what releases the hammer as the larger trigger contacts it. Do it right and it actually works as designed.