I have owned some Colts, and posted about some of them on this board. I did carry a Trooper (pre -MK III) and a New Service .45 Colt, and a Python at times when they were my primary defense items. As a teen, I often used a M-1917 (New Service variant) as a house gun. (I didn't have a father, so home defense was up to me. My mother and two brothers hadn't a clue.)
Those guns, and a Police Positive Special at times, served okay. I rotated them with a Colt .45 auto and several S&W and Webley revolvers. I also saw some Colts in use in the USAF. And for years, I frequented a gun shop, where I examined MANY used Colts. I have a friend who was told by Jim Clark, the famous gunsmith, that he couldn't be sure that a Python that he'd timed wouldn't be back for more work within a few hundred rounds. Using .357 ammo caused more wear than .38's, BTW, or so he said. Probably true of all brands.
IF you can find a modern gunsmith who will even work on a Colt revolver, he will probably charge more than for Ruger or S&W work. And the gun will go back out-of-time sooner!
A very famous gun writer, who was until quite recently the shooting editor at a major outdoor magazine, discussed just this issue in one of his books. He, too, concluded that Colts don't hold their timing as well. And this guy has done a lot of gun tuning.
Massad Ayoob reported that a primary cause of the MK III and later Colts being introduced was to improve cylinder timing, as well as to lower manufacturing costs. (Being smarter than me, he may avoid this thread if he sees it.
He is a member here.) I believe I recall him writing that Colt lost police sales to S&W over this very issue!
Another point to consider is that N-frame .38-44 and .357 S&W guns also go out-of-time sooner than smaller ones. Why? Look at that massive cylinder! The hand takes added wear in use! This doesn't happen in .41, .44, and .45 N-frames, because more steel is bored out of the cylinders for the larger ammo. The N-frame was designed around the .44 Special cartridge.
With modern steels and heat treatments, smaller cylinders can be used than was the case with the M-27 and M-28 S&W guns. The Colt .41 (Python) frame seems to be about ideal for .357 ammo, and Ruger GP-100 and S&W L-frame guns are on par. K-frames hold timing better than N-frames, I think, but are more likely to crack barrel throats with really hot loads and indifferent cleaning. Some K-Mag barrels may also have suffered from faulty heat treatment, over the years. (No, I don't know which batches of guns were questionable. That's never been released data. )
K-frame .357's do develop cylinder endshake sooner than larger Smiths, if shot enough with heavy loads. That has been borne out by my observation and in conversations with gunsmiths and police armorers. I've also discussed it with ammo company engineers, to whom I had access by virtue of being a gun writer.
I'm getting tired of going over this matter. Maybe the topic should be a "sticky." It's an often- asked question.
OP, do this: ask QUALIFIED gunsmiths what they think of the Colt timing issue. Don't ask someone whose shop is trying to sell you the gun. Ask independent repairmen, if you can still find any who work on Colts. The very paucity of men who'll repair a Colt should tell you something.
One member in a different thread here said that the Colt timing issue is just BS. Because that contradicts what I'd posted, I took it personally.
I've had my say, and seem to be in the minority here. And I'm not claiming that a Colt is a bad gun, when it's in tune. It isn't, although the sights are more likely to be "off" on fixed -sighted guns. Col. Askins had to turn most of the Colt barrels on the guns that he bought for the Border Patrol in the 1930's. (To bring the sights in line.) I asked why he didn't just buy S&W Heavy Duty .38-44's. He told me that the Smith salesmen were snobs, and that he liked the Colt men better! So much for govt. purchases...In evaluating this, keep in mind that Chas. Askins had a certain personality, which might just not have endeared him to the Smith lads as much as to the Colt ones, who were more in tune with his nature.
For the record, the Colt service grip fits my hand better than equivalent S&W's. (Replacement grips will nullify this advantage.) I think that Frank Pachmayr noticed this, and I believe that his Presentation grip was based on Colt's more oval symmetry. But that's just a guess, based on how the small size Pachmayr fits my hands.
It would be useful if more men here who've encountered a lot of Colts speak out. I've given my honest view. I hope it helped, and that no one is just trying to find excuses to defy the accumulation of data.
T-Star
