Just got this thing, SN is 38946...It needs work to hold that hammer back in single action, and it is a bit loose from side to side.

I want to just clean it up a bit and see if I can get the mechanical problems repaired.

The cylinder indexes well, and the bore looks good. And at least the grips are good.

Any help on the date is appreciated. Thanks.

mark

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Liberals made the USA

Full cock is a common problem with the .44 DA break tops, usually a half hour simple fix. What you mean by 'loose side to side' is not clear --- cylinder rotational lockup?, loose in the breaktop hinge?, what else? Unless yours is a bubba victim, probably easily fixable.

Your revolver would have been shipped around 1901, but all frames were completed before 1899, so all 44 DAs are considered antiques. Sometimes these old guns have years of oil and hardened grease in the mechanism, so I would first take off the side-plate and make sure it is free of gun powder, dried oil, and dirt. After cleaning the internals, it might work. If not. you may find the parts that are either broken or missing. Many times broken springs are the culprit and you may have to have a replacement fabricated, since parts are hard to find. You might check Gun Parts Corp (Numrich) or Old West Gunsmith for any parts you need, ut they do not have much available.

Thanks to both of you. The cylinder rotation when locked is a bit loose, but not really terrible...I have tried to clean it as best I
can without removing the side plate, which looks as if it has not been removed before...I don't want to be the one to screw it up.
The surface is brown but trigger guard still is blue, and the bore is cleaning up very well. I did get it as an antique.

There are 2 very good real gunsmiths in my area and I had planned to have one take a look at it, so it will probably go for a visit next week.
added ; Numrich has no parts other than a quill...Old West Gun Parts has some, including a cylinder stop the I'm not yet sure what I need..Thanks.
mark

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Liberals made the USA

I think this will work...




I got brave and fed up and took the side plate off this morning, saw that a step in the hammer was rounded off, and cut it square again with a diamond file...took longer to find the file set than to cut that corner square again, and it now holds and lets off smoothly in SA.
I guess you guys have seen this before!

Thanks very much. Going to remove some of the rust from the blue, and look at the cylinder stop.

I had the insides flushed with CLP overnight, and it seems to work fine.

I might actually get to shoot this old guy!

Thanks again!

mark

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Liberals made the USA

Try the side-plate screw to see if it can be loosened? If so, it will be relatively easy to remove the side-plate. Remove the stocks and take the barrel and cylinder in one hand with the side-plate down. Rap the underside with a rubber mallet and the plate should fall off. Many recommend rapping the butt frame on a wood work bench as that will work as well. Soak the internals with a good quality penetrating oil and let stand overnight. Take aerosol choke and carb cleaner or break cleaner and spray the insides until the runoff is clear. Pay particular attention to the areas where the springs are. Use compressed air to blow out the cleaner and use a good synthetic oil to re-coat the mechanism.

You might have just fixed the problem.

Results-I did take the sideplate off, removed the grips and soaked the revolver with cylinder separate in a sort of Ed's Red mix. The lockup is much improved. I got some .44 russian ammo and am soaking it again to get all I can out of the bore, preparing to shoot it when it finally warms up a bit here (More snow for Monday...) It's a really nice old revolver, and I see why they were popular for such a long time.

Thanks again.

mark

__________________
Liberals made the USA