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Colt Python sadness... UPDATE 05/15/09

Fooped

Fooped

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Hey folks,

Here's to hoping that someone here has an idea of what I should do regarding a major issue with my Colt Python.

I was at Harvard on Saturday (Cheers to Greg and Toga, along with some other good peeps for their hospitality!) and was shooting some light .38spl loads that a buddy of mine made out of the Python. I ended up with a squib load (I suspect there was no powder in the case [sad2]) and the bullet ended up stuck about 1 1/2" down the barrel. That's the bad news.

Here's the far worse news:

I had a graphite extractor rod with me, and inserted it into the barrel. With cylinder open, I banged the end of the rod against a 2x6" that was part of the range overhang in efforts to remove the stuck bullet. I got the bullet up to the forcing cone, when the rod broke, and I didn't have enough length left to finish the job. Seeing that I needed to finish the job at home, I went to swing the crane/cylinder closed and.....

The whole thing binds up and is way out of whack.[sad2][frown][sad][angry]

It's not so out of alignment that you can see it clearly at a glance, but after breaking the gun down and looking at the parts, it seemed to me that something was seriously wrong. The black rod (for lack of a better term) the fits into the center of the ejection star and locks up the cylinder will no longer move forward and seat properly, and therefore the action will not cycle. I very carefully tried to test fit things back together for a couple of hours later that evening, and realized that something was well out of tolerance. [crying]

So, I brought the gun to Santurri Ltd. this morning and he looked at it, and confirmed my suspicions:

The ejector rod and crane are both bent! How in God's name I managed to do this by banging the gun laterally against the wood (while supporting the open cylinder with my left hand) is beyond me. The ejection rod I can see, but the crane?

So after 20 minutes or so of trying to bend the parts back into tolerance, Dave Santurri thinks I need two new parts. Easy right?

Wrong.

I've called 712 places, and NOBODY has Python parts. NOBODY. [crying] I did call Colt themselves, and they said they can source the parts if need be, but they don't have any for sale. Their turnaround is over a month, and I'm looking at close to 100.00 in shipping alone, without even getting into what they'll charge me for a shop fee to replace two parts that take about a minute to fit together.

I'm hoping that someone here has an idea on how to fix this. I was really looking forward to shooting the gun this weekend at the Mansfield shoot. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. I'm a pretty resourceful guy, but I'm out of my depth on this one. [sad2]
 
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Brownells lists both parts as "factory only".

Why not call Colt back and ask them if they could repair/replace if you sent them the cylinder/crane assembly only?

If so, shipping shouldn't be more than $7 or so including insurance and you can send it whatever way you like.
 
For a Python... I'd send it back to Colt and let them do the work. Almost any other handgun wouldn't be worth the trouble and expense...

Could you drive it to Hartford? I'm not sure what CT laws are.
 
That a sad sad story. I am praying nothing happens to my Python. Knowing it cannot be 'fixed' easily unsettles me.

And to think a squib did it. Yikes.

Greg, if you want a Python to shoot, let me know. 6" barrel, blued, 60s vintage. Mint condition. If you blow it up, you die.
 
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vellnueve said:
For a Python... I'd send it back to Colt and let them do the work. Almost any other handgun wouldn't be worth the trouble and expense...

Could you drive it to Hartford? I'm not sure what CT laws are.
Click to expand...

I'd recommend checking CT laws very carefully! [JD will be along shortly. [laugh] ]

Since a Colt Trooper was my first duty weapon with the PD (personal purchase), I considered driving it down to Colt for a trigger job. I was advised NOT TO DO SO, that the law didn't allow for that, even with a badge/ID in my pocket. This was close to 30 years ago and I took the advice and never did anything with it.

I don't know what their laws are, but several years ago I checked into the legality of taking a defensive handgun course in CT and bringing my handgun. It looked "iffy to no way" to me. Emailing the person running the course he told me that he supplies the guns to the instructors (top names that live in other states) to avoid the legal problems.
 
That's why I keep brass rods and a hammer in my range bag.

I never have to bang against a board and use my gun as a hammer.

Bummer on the Python. I wish you luck,
Bob
 
I just got my anaconda back from colt. The crane and cylinder were loose and wobbly. They fixed both for free quicker than they said they would. I would strongly suggest you let them tackle it, parts wise, experience wise and cost wise. I am sure you will find another trigger to pull while you PATIENTLY await your baby's return. I shipped UPS and insured for 12 cost me 32 they sent it back unannounced. Oh and what were you thinking thats a Python for crisakes!
 
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LenS said:
I'd recommend checking CT laws very carefully! [JD will be along shortly. [laugh] ]

Since a Colt Trooper was my first duty weapon with the PD (personal purchase), I considered driving it down to Colt for a trigger job. I was advised NOT TO DO SO, that the law didn't allow for that, even with a badge/ID in my pocket. This was close to 30 years ago and I took the advice and never did anything with it.

I don't know what their laws are, but several years ago I checked into the legality of taking a defensive handgun course in CT and bringing my handgun. It looked "iffy to no way" to me. Emailing the person running the course he told me that he supplies the guns to the instructors (top names that live in other states) to avoid the legal problems.
Click to expand...

Too bad there isn't a puzzled smilie, I could use it now.

A CT non-resident ccw isn't hard to get at all.

Regards
John
 
Colt's don't require repair often but when they do....it can be a painful process.
That is why I gave up and sold off all my Colts.

Best of luck getting yours up and running.
 
Manomet said:
I just got my anaconda back from colt. The crane and cylinder were loose and wobbly. They fixed both for free quicker than they said they would. I would strongly suggest you let them tackle it, parts wise, experience wise and cost wise. I am sure you will find another trigger to pull while you PATIENTLY await your baby's return. I shipped UPS and insured for 12 cost me 32 thet sent it back unannounced. Oh and what were you thinking thats a Python for crisakes!
Click to expand...

Good advice.
 
Optimistic Paranoid said:
Too bad there isn't a puzzled smilie, I could use it now.

A CT non-resident ccw isn't hard to get at all.

Regards
John
Click to expand...

John, remember that my story was ~30 years ago. Not at all sure that CT issued NR permits back then.

Getting a NR permit anywhere for a "one-time use" is probably more than most of us care to deal with. In my case it might have been for a single defensive handgun course . . . but I can take similar courses with NEShooters in MA or NH as I'm already licensed in both states. For the OP, getting a CT NR license will likely take more time and cost more than simply shipping the gun and paying the extortion rate for UPS/FedEx overnight so that they won't steal it.
 
GOOD NEWS!

Dave Santurri at Santurri Ltd in North Attleborough fixed the gun! After a couple of painstaking hours, he managed to reform the two tweaked parts back into factory tolerance, test fired the gun, and all is well! I have learned a few things from this experience:

1: Only fire your own reloads.

2: Colt revolvers are like Swiss watches; High precision instruments that run beautifully when they're in spec, but have very little tolerance for abuse or variance.

3: Python parts are almost IMPOSSIBLE to find. I've got a large collection of strange/rare guns, and tracking down Python parts was one of the biggest challenges yet.

4: If you get a squib load, unless you've got all of the appropriate tools at the range with you, take a breath, put the gun away, and clear it at home slowly and carefully in a vise the proper way.

In the end, all it cost me was a couple of rods, and 2 hours of labor from Dave, but it could have been a lot worse!

Thanks to all who offered options for parts, I did manage to find the parts at one place, but Dave fixed the gun before I actually ordered them!

Suffice to say, lesson learned.
 
glad you got your gun fixed!

i'm considering a python (rather my girlfriend wants me to get one and i figure "what the hell") so this is all good stuff to know before i make a purchase. i have some stuff to pay off first though.
 
Thank God...glad to know it's all fixed. Thanks for the pointers, too...No matter how experienced you are, sometimes it's basic pointers like that which can save you a lot of trouble and money.
 
dreppucci007 said:
Thank God...glad to know it's all fixed. Thanks for the pointers, too...No matter how experienced you are, sometimes it's basic pointers like that which can save you a lot of trouble and money.
Click to expand...

Sage advice. Having many years of shooting under my belt, along with taking very good care of my stuff I still goofed here. I wasn't applying much pressure at all, but apparently too much for this particular gun. My biggest fault here was that I was pissed about the squib and wanted to clear the barrel "on site". I should have waited, taken the gun home, put it in a vise, pulled the crane/cylinder just to be sure and none of this would have happened.

Anyways, thanks for reading this and I hope this helps someone!
 
Fooped said:
2: Colt revolvers are like Swiss watches; High precision instruments that run beautifully when they're in spec, but have very little tolerance for abuse or variance.
Click to expand...

You got that right.
I had a cylinder binding problem with mine. It wouldn't spin freely and sometimes it was tough to unlatch and swing open. I detail stripped the cylinder/crane assembly and gave all the parts an extra thorough scrubbing, paying particular attention to the cylinder face and backside of the star extractor. Upon reassembly, everything worked perfectly once again. Just a little bit of grunge in the wrong place makes a big difference with these guns.
 
For future reference:

Always have a few high-wear internal parts on hand for any Colt you might have. This includes the Hand, Bolt and Firing Pin Spring.

Troopers, OMMs and Official Police models have identical parts for some things. OMMs do not have floating firing pins, however.

Source them from Numrich, Sarco, your local gun show or wherever, just get them before you need them. They will soon dry up, and you'll be SOL.

Been doing this for decades - even when I could order them directly from Colt.
 

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