Tomorrow I am looking at a shooter grade Colt 1917. I have owned several S&W revolvers and have a pretty good idea of what to look for in a S&W, but have never owned a Colt revolver.
Anything special I should be looking for in one of these revolvers? Are they known for any problems or issues?

Thanks SAM

the colt revolvers a bad about getting out if time, other than that no problems. I have a 1917 colt and a 1917 s&w.
also some of the early colt 1917s did not have the headspace ring in the cylinder and you have to use the clips or 45 auto rim ammo, just drop a 45 acp in the cylinder if it goes down to far it does not have the ring.
most of the time I shoot mine with 45 acp without the clips as most times the cases will just fall out or with just a flick of the fingernail.

The Colt 1917 is a robust and solid revolver, but like all Vee-spring colt actions, it uses a complicated array of a lever, a bump on the lever, the "dead leg" of the mainspring to power the action. The hand holds the cylinder against the cylinder stop to limit cylinder rotational ability at the moment of firing, so the hand and cylinder ratchet wear significantly more than the equivalent parts in the S&W action. Repair parts are really no more of a problem than the same parts for the S&W 1917, but expertise in retiming the action is hard (and expensive when found) to find.

If you decide to buy it, recognize you are paying a premium for the Pony stamp, and buy Jerry Kuhnhausen's book on gunsmithing the double action Colt revolvers.

I own several of both Smith and Wesson and Colt double-action revolvers.

I would like to repeat and re-emphasize some of the above good comments.

Parts for any Colt "V" spring double action are very difficult to find. Buying used parts is not a good idea because they have to be hand-fitted to the revolver and a purchased "used' part may not fit yours.

It is oft-reported that Colts get out of time quicker than S&Ws do. I have seen a few reports that this is not true. I think the answer is somewhere in the middle. A Colt can come from the factory "out-of-time" (I own one as such) and they can get "out-of-time" with use (I have a couple). BUT..."out-of-time" in a revolver is usually seen as thus: when the cylinder is slowly rotated via cocking the hammer, or by applying a slight "drag" on the cylinder with a finger...the bolt will not fall into the locking lug and will require a slight turn of the cylinder manually by hand.

However the Colt has an internal lever connected to the trigger. You will be looking at your prospective Colt "buy" and see that slow cocking of the hammer causes the bolt to just barely "not lock up". But with a pull of the trigger it will. Ideally, you want the bolt to lockup with a slow cylinder rotation, but on a Colt you might have to accept the use of the trigger to accomplish that.

I have had at least two very good Colt D/A gunsmiths confirm this to me.

If I were looking for a D/A revolver that I was going to shoot one heck of a lot I would not buy a Colt "V" spring. But for casual shooting and plinking I am okay with them.

The double-action of a Colt, in almost all cases, cannot ever be as smooth as the double-action in a S&W, BUT, for most practical purposes, if properly tuned a Colt can be good enough.

There are extremely few gunsmiths around who can truly work on Colt "V" spring double-actions. In most cases you will have to ship the gun out of state.

I have a Colt Police Positive in .38 S&W that was just about mint from about 1927. Unfortunately three of the chambers were badly bulged. I just knew I would play heck finding a replacement cylinder, especially one that matched the 1927 blue on my Colt. I got lucky. I went straight to Gunparts Corp and they had NIB, never fitted (most important) cylinders for my Colt. Who'ed a thunk it?? I also was lucky in that my town has a gunsmith who can work on the Colts, he doesn't like to but he will.

It dropped right in with minimal fitting and I lucked out big time.

The "plus" to Colt "V" spring revolvers is the "V" spring. Supposedly (I have done this) if you have a heavy hammer "pull" you can easily lighten it by inserting the correct size rod into the "V" and bending the spring a bit. I will not go into the basics and will let you research that. Plus "V" springs are probably the easiest to find and least requiring of special fitting.

JDBoardman's advice is a must..."buy Jerry Kuhnhausen's book on gunsmithing the double action Colt revolvers. "

There are lots of 1917 Colts out there, do not over look New Services in the .44 Special/.45 Long Colt either (if you want the big bores). You might be surprised to find a true New Service in one of the big bore calibers at a good price.

But check the revolver thoroughly or get a guarantee that you will be allowed to do so before the sale.

Good luck, if you find a good one you will like it if your hands aren't too small.

__________________
Have guns...will shoot'em.

I have a 1917 Colt and a 1917 S&W. I really like the big old Colt and
am well aware of it's weaknesses compared to the S&W's action. It
must have seen very little use before I got it because it is well timed
and tight. I shoot both only occasionally so I don't expect action
trouble from the Colt. Check for timing as outlined above and look
at the extractor rod. They are unprotected and sometimes get bent.
A great piece of history but I would not buy one and expect to do
lots of shooting with it, especially at today's prices.

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A lot of fast double action shooing can wear out a revolver. The older Colt action seems to wear out a bit faster than the S&W. However, if you shoot in single action mode there is no real difference between the two IME. Everyone should have a 1917.

I met the guy yesterday and made the trade. It had some rust on one side and the cylinder from improper storage, but looks like it has barely been shot.

I traded the guy another pistol that I had $370 bucks in.

It is blued, the lights & camera make it look stainless.

I believe you have a post WW I New Service. A Colt 1917 would have the "US ARMY" stamp on the butt and would be marked DA 45 on the barrel.

You still have a new revolver, regardless.

__________________
John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

If all you have in that Colt is $370 from the trade weapon you did very well.

With full moon clips you have a fast reload, some report faster than a semi-auto.

The stocks alone could bring $150 to $250 or more.

You might pull the stocks and set them aside for safe-keeping. The wood Colt used is known to be a bit soft. You can find aftermarket black plastic stocks that replicate the old "gutta-percha" stocks. Or try ebay and gunbroker.com for some replacements.

Very nice revolver.

__________________
Have guns...will shoot'em.

Looks like a 1917 to me. Says so on the barrel and the 1917s have
the step in the barrel contour right in front of the receiver. The New
Service has a straight barrel shank from the receiver. The grips don't
look like military issue however. A bargain at $370 for sure.

I should clarify my previous post somewhat.

When WW I started, the US military did not have enough 1911 Colts to go around and asked Colt and S&W to produce relovers in .45 ACP, which they did. Colt based their 1917 on the New Service and S&W based theirs on the N frame .44.



Another correction: S&W more likely used their 2nd model .455, which was the most common British issue S&W, as the base gun for the 1917.

The revolvers from both companies were called the 1917 model and the ones produced for the military were both stamped on the butt, US ARMY MODEL of 1917 and were stamped DA 45 on the barrel. Each company produced about 150K 1917s.

Post WWI, both companies kept the 1917s in their inventory. S&W continued to use the S. & W. 45 D.A. stamp on the barrel, while Colt changed the barrel stamp to what is seen on the OP's revolver. Being as these revolvers were intended for the civilian market, the US ARMY butt stamping was not applied.

Early Colt New Service revolvers, like the ones chambered in .455 for the British government, had straight tapered barrels. Later New Service revolvers had the barrels with the shoulder.

I should have posted earlier that the OP has a commercial 1917 variation of the New Service revolver, produced between the two world wars, as opposed to having a WW I 1917.

It is still a desirable revolver.

__________________
John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!