parts and repair of my .32police positive special

[jattgosal]

photo (9).JPG

i have a colt police positive special.Its a real pain to cock the hammer.Is there a gunsmith in North India who can fix it because i have been to numerous ones and nobody could help me .I would love to find out if i can get the main spring and the hand spring assembly for this particular revolver

[BowMan]

Some questions first.

1. I can see a lot of what seems like metal shaving on the firearm. What are these?

2. The hammer seems to be of unusual colour. Any reason for this? Is it rusted?

3. Is the issue faced only when there are cartridges in the cylinder or also without any cartridges? OR only when a particular cartridge is used?

4. Has it been cleaned properly? Specially around the cylinder head and forcing cone area and extractor star?

5. Can you check the revolver for timing? This is not as difficult as it sounds. Do a check of cylinders lining up and bolt stop lining up properly at the notches while slowly cocking the hammer.

6. Has the revolver ever been opened or repaired or some parts replaced? I can definitely see that the cylinder yolk has been removed a few times.

Regards,

[Vikram]

Bowman,

You have been missing for sometime. Hope all is well?

[jattgosal]

Big folly. Got it blued but yes the problem persisted even before that. Yes the hammer has been deliberately left like that. Problem is there with or without cartridges. The revolver has been professionally cleaned inside out on many occasions . Now a gunsmith did repair but the firing pin would miss and the revolver won't fire so had to resort to how it was. Yes the hammer has been changed acquired from colt parts but sadly other parts were of some other colt revolver and the revolver has been opened many times just to fix this problem but in vain. Most gunsmiths tell me that it is the mainspring which is beyond repair. Would really appreciate some help. Thanks and regards

[dr.jayakumar]

''sadly other parts were of some other colt''
can you list the parts exchanged?maybe one of them is a culprit.
maybe the firing pin isn't long enough?i am sure it can be fixed if you have patience.
more details with dissamabled pics could help.
regards
dr.jk

[BowMan]

Bowman,

You have been missing for sometime. Hope all is well?

All's well my dear friend. Just a bit caught up and now I'm itching to get back into action...

[BowMan]

Yes the hammer has been changed acquired from colt parts but sadly other parts were of some other colt revolver and the revolver has been opened many times

Now I am beginning to wonder if this gun is even safe to fire!!! Can you detail all the parts that were interchanged and which gun did these parts come from?

If you wish for a new mainspring then you can order it here (part number 29). Or if you have access to the proper tools than you can try gradually shaving off sides of the mainspring to reduce tension.
http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Manufacture ... htm?page=3

However I'm getting a feeling that this will not be the solution of your problems.

[jattgosal]

Only the hammer was changed and acquired from coltparts. USA. I did order other parts as well but didnt fit the revolver and on further enquiry found out that the company didnt have the required parts. Guess your link might help. I will though e mail them but again most sites have parts for police positive but not pp special cause as far as I know the frame is different Appreciate your advice. Thanks.

[TC]

jattgosal,
I am really sorry to see a Colt going through pain. From what I can make out from the photograph and your posts, this revolver has been handled badly by too many gunsmiths and too many original components are missing.
To start with, the trigger seems out of alignment and it is certainly not one made by Colt (if at all) for this police positive. The arc (of the trigger) is not uniform and has an odd shape towards the top. This could be the route to your problem.
Another route to your problem could be the hammer because this too does not seem to be made by Colt for this model. In down position, the tip of the hammer spur seems to be positioned too high and almost aligned with the sight channel. Also, it seems there is a hole in the hammer, something this PP model cannot have at that spot.
The cylinder rod also does not seem to be a Colt. Its too thick and the head has been bobbed.

Can't look inside but I am quite certain too many things have gone wrong with this gun. I really wish you found a good doctor for your Colt.

Best wishes
TC

[TwoRivers]

Difficult to tell from the picture, but it looks to me as if the trigger were too long, cannot move back in the guard, and will bind almost immediately.

[timmy]

TC has noted that the hammer spur is too high.

This is because the hammer has not returned to the rebound position.

When the gun is fired, the hammer falls all the way down to the position yours is in now.

As long as the trigger is pulled back, it holds the rebound lever up.

When the trigger is released, the rebound lever is pushed down by the other leg of the mainspring, forcing the hammer back to the rebound position and withdrawing the firing pin back out of the frame. This allows the cylinder to then rotate.

I suspect that you cannot cock the gun because the firing pin is protruding into the cylinder. When you try to pull back the hammer or pull the trigger in double action mode, the cylinder must rotate, but it cannot because the firing pin is still protruding into the cylinder, keeping it from rotating.

The mainspring has two functions: one arm of it pulls the hammer down to fall, and the other arm pushes against the rebound lever to push the hammer back and retract the firing pin from the frame.

Your hammer is not rebounding back. The rebound lever could be stuck somehow, or the rebound arm of the mainspring could be broken.

Since the gun is not apart, I can't tell.

You need to take this gun to a real gunsmith, and not one of the shoemakers you have been to before. They are idiots who obviously don't know how to do anything but take your money and lie to you.

[Vikram]

To my mind, one of the best gunsmiths in the country is our very own Cottage Cheese, a moderator here.He is not your run of the mill local butcher. However, he lives in the NE. I am sure he will restore it to its functioning best possible.

Best-
Vikram

[BowMan]

Makes me feel sorry for all that that gun has gone through. Perhaps there should be some law that qualifies a gunsmith to work on such fine old guns...also perhaps the same for old cars.

Have you tried contacting http://www.brownells.com/

They have pretty much every part one would need.

[BowMan]

Can't look inside but I am quite certain too many things have gone wrong with this gun.

Agree

I suspect that you cannot cock the gun because the firing pin is protruding into the cylinder.

I'm curious TImmy. Will this not totally lock up the action rather than make it difficult to cycle as is the case in this gun?

[jattgosal]

Thank you BowMan. I guess I ll try arranging the mainspring and rebound lever and see how it goes from there and in the mean time look for an expert who ll help me change .