51 navy Colt

[bigted]

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Well thar she blows. After doing a little discretionary filing and sanding and sanding, I think we will get along very well. She is timed well and locks up purrrfect .

My what a poop pit inside tho. Old caps, some reddish brown crud but after digging thru all that, no rough edges nor tool chatter marks to be found. The arbor is nice n tight and bottoms perfect for a super good fit. Barrel/cylinder gap of .0045 which should be fine.

Gonna need to refinish the grip wood ... or not. Have not decided yet. They are very useable as is and not totally ugly ... matter of fact ... whole revolver looks like it should ... nice old Colt that already has tales to tell.

She fits me personally perfect ... still useable but not pretty.

More news after a range session with her. Oh ... the front sight is real low and very broad. Gonna take a 6 Oclock hold for sure.

[Captainkirk]

Ted, I actually prefer a little character in my guns.

[bigted]

me too Cap. more i handle this 51 the more it wiggles into my heart. can not wait to go smoke it up.

thanks for all the kind words.

do the Uberti conversion cylinders work on these second gen Colts ... anybody know?

[LonesomePigeon]

Nice Colt, bigted. The trigger guard bow does not look bent to me. The 2nd Gens squareback trigger guards have a rather low, sort of rectangular finger hole on them. The Signature Series 1851 squareback trigger guards have a bigger, more open finger hole.

[Fingers McGee]

Congratulations on your latest acquisition Ted   .  The pictures don't look as bad as you describe   .  looking forward to a range report   . 

[bigted]

My description was from the revolver as I got it. Very dirty and not taken care of at all.

What you see in the pictures is a totally different gun from the dirt bag I unwrapped. Taken it to parade rest and a very detailed clean on every piece using WD 40 as my cleaning solution, it began to resemble the gun it now is. I learned about WD 40 years ago as a gentle cleaning solution that penetrates well and loosens the worse filth I have encountered to date. I have used it on a original 73 Winchester dated at 1887 and it cleaned everything really well from a 120 year old rifle that was totally uncleaned and very filthy as well.

I may try to get a round bow trigger guard tho as this does not fit me too well. Probably try a Uberti TG and BS of brass ... then age the brass to fit the overall revolver. Done this to a Pietta with great success. I will shoot it first tho to see how she acts. Might need some more TLC first.

[bigted]

Load was 20 grain gold E 3Fg with a .380 home cast ball. CCI mag caps with good old crisco over top of balls.

10 yards rested and 24 shots into this group. Think she be a keeper. No miss fires nor any cap jams. Very good report on this old babe that had a rough past. No more of that tho, she has a good home as long as I drag breath.

[ShotgunDave]

Looks like she's very happy in your care bigted!

[G Dog]

Ted, from your initial description I was picturing a real beat-up disaster.  You cleaned it up fine and brought it back to life.  Looks great now and anyway, honest wear is the best color of all. 

So, the TG & BS are silver plate, correct?

[bigted]

Ted, from your initial description I was picturing a real beat-up disaster.  You cleaned it up fine and brought it back to life.  Looks great now and anyway, honest wear is the best color of all. 

So, the TG & BS are silver plate, correct?

Yes silver plate. Except for inside the trigger bow. I tapped and straightened the bow and then ground the bow to smooth the inside, so inside the bow, the silver has been ground away.  But I have a round bow silver plate TG and BS that I will be putting on her. It is off my second gen SAA Colt which now wears a Uberti 60 grip frame complete.

[LonesomePigeon]

Nice group. Looks like it's a keeper!