.38 Colt 1901 revolver

[Jughead]

I posted this before on the old sight about my Army Colt 1901 .38 revolver penetrating the primer as shown in this picture. One recommended solution was to have the hammer ground down. The pistol is in really fine original condition and I was wondering if such a slight modification would affect its originality/collectability as it would have a slight modification. What do you think?

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[Jughead]

The hammer.

[thorin6]

If it's in fine original condition, I would not touch it. It may be time to retire the pistol to retain it in it's original condition. If you want a M1901 to shoot there are many beaters out there that filing down the firing pin wouldn't hurt the value.

[Iceman66]

Something doesn't look correct in your pic. To your knowledge was the firing pin ever changed or are there any signs it has been filed already? I don't think it should be a flat point. I'll have to get mine out of the safe and check it.

OK, I checked mine and the tip is clearly rounded, as it should be. From looking at your pic it appears to me your firing pin tip has been "flattened". If this is the case, that explains why it is puncturing the primer.

[Jim K]

That revolver should have a rounded end firing pin like any other center-fire gun. The sharp edges are cutting through the primer metal.

Since the gun obviously fires OK, the firing pin is long enough, so the problem is its shape. I recommend rounding it, but be careful not to shorten it, just use a small file and emery paper to round the edges until it has a hemispherical point. Also, make sure that the firing pin does not protrude from the breech face when the hammer is down and the trigger forward.

BTW, don't worry about originality; I think it is quite safe to say that the revolver never left the factory with a firing pin that looked like that.

Jim

[badabing]

Here's an auction I stumbled into on GB that is selling NOS Colt hammers. It appears they all have a squared off firing pin. My guess is they all come this way and require some fitting when putting them in the gun.

http://v4.beta.gunbroker.com/Auction...Item=127269146

[Jim K]

Interesting. Those hammers look like they were never finished, so it is possible that Colt left finishing the hammer nose (firing pin) until last. That also explains the firing pin in Jughead's revolver; it is likely a replacement from that same supply of new old-stock hammers.

It is also possible that spare hammers provided to the military were made that way so they could be fitted by armorers.

In any event, the firing pin on Jughead's revolver needs rounded off as I described.

Jim

[Jughead]

You all may be on to something. The Colt 1903 was one of those refurbished by Remington and perhaps the hammer is a replacement. Here is a close up of it and shows no wear at all.

[Jughead]

Now here's a picture of my Colt 1901(not refurbished by Remington) hammer(left) and the Colt 1903 hammer(right). One can clearly see the Colt 1901 hammer has been ground/fitted while the Colt 1903 hammer has no indication of grinding/fitting. However, the two tips do not look that different.

[Jughead]

Woops, my first two posts refer to a Colt 1901 penetrating the primmer when it should say the Colt 1903 penetrated the primmer.