1873 Pietta SAA issues.

DARKSTANG

DARKSTANG

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OK,
My dad has(which I have now inherited) 2 1873 Pietta revolvers. Both in .357 magnum. One is a Great Western II and the other is not labled, but they look identical, other than that. The big problem is, the Great Western II has issues with its half ####. When you bring it to half #### it most times has to be messed with to get the cylinder to rotate, to load or unload. Sometimes it locks up completely and the hammer gets jammed along with the cylinder and you have to pull out the cylinder to unlock it. I've worked on many guns from double action revolvers to shot guns to black rifles, but never on any of the Cowboy stuff. He did have it into a couple of gunsmiths from the SAS community who fixed the problem but the problem returned months later. Anyways, I'm gonna fix these damn things and I want to make them perfect. I come to my brothers on CGN because I know out there somewhere is someone who has had and fixed this problem and I want to make sure I have good info before I drop the hammer on this project.

Cheers,
Darkstang

Pictures with any solutions would be awsome too.
CR0748.JPG
 
Could it be a problem with the cylinder release rod not being properly seated/far enough back? I uad similiar issues and that was my problem.
Hope this helps.
T
 
Curious, but did the rod come out slightly as you were shooting, or did it just not seat properly? Also, what remedy did you guys use? I'm imagining if the cylinder pin wasn't seated, it would cause the cylinder to tilt or have more play in it.
 
The cylinder pins have two notches on them. If you push it in ALL the way to the second notch it's like a safety in that it lifts the hammer up and the gun will not fire. So be sure you only push the in in to the first notch. Also the notch is only on one side, it's not a ring around the pin. So some care is needed to make sure the sprung latch fits into the notch during assembly.

One thing with the SA revolvers that use the old style original Colt action like your Piettas is to watch that you don't go too far back when going to half ####. If you do then you'll hit the next "click" which is the cylinder bolt (the little stop finger- it's called a "bolt" in Colt Speak) release and that'll stop the cylinder from turning. Also never force the hammer back down from half ####. It puts a lot of strain on the internal parts. ALWAYS go to full #### and then lower the hammer. This also applies if you're looking for the half #### spot but go too far and hear the extra "click".

There is really very few parts in these guns. But they play together in subtle ways. The trigger and bolt spring is one part which can cause problems. Spring kits from different makers replace the leaf spring with a better wire spring if you are having troubles.

A good way to check for operation is to leave the cylinder out and check what is going on in half #### and to slowly draw back the hammer and see/feel what happens at each of the four clicks that occur in the action. At half #### the bolt should retract and the hand should be easily pushed back in the frame with only a little spring tension that pokes it out again. As you continue to draw the hammer back the hand should move up and at another click the bolt snaps up. Finally at full #### the hand will be held out and only move back against the spring a little.

I could go on a lot more but it's all stuff that you can find on You Tube and generally on the web. I'll just add that when you take it apart and put it together again that you use GOOD fitting screwdrivers and don't go nutz on tightening the screws. You'll be taking the gun apart to clean and lube the parts inside often enough that a light to moderate pinch with the screwdrivers is enough. If the screws DO come loose then tighten them with just a slightly harder pinch.
 
Wow!
I'm adding you to my friends list. I think I hit the jackpot with you. Lol! I learned more in those paragraphs than I did trying to google and youtube it. Thankyou for the start. When I get the pistols in my hands ill start with what you've told me. I'm hoping its something that is as simple as that, as he's giving me the 2 guns for free. I may just have to take up Cowboy Action if I can get these working well again.
I don't know if this takes play on it or not, but, as my dad is an avid SAS shooter, these guns have had trigger jobs done on them. Lightest trigger pulls I've used on any handgun. I'm hoping that's not part of the issue. It sounds like its not, but I thought it worth mentioning.


BCRider said:
The cylinder pins have two notches on them. If you push it in ALL the way to the second notch it's like a safety in that it lifts the hammer up and the gun will not fire. So be sure you only push the in in to the first notch. Also the notch is only on one side, it's not a ring around the pin. So some care is needed to make sure the sprung latch fits into the notch during assembly.

One thing with the SA revolvers that use the old style original Colt action like your Piettas is to watch that you don't go too far back when going to half ####. If you do then you'll hit the next "click" which is the cylinder bolt (the little stop finger- it's called a "bolt" in Colt Speak) release and that'll stop the cylinder from turning. Also never force the hammer back down from half ####. It puts a lot of strain on the internal parts. ALWAYS go to full #### and then lower the hammer. This also applies if you're looking for the half #### spot but go too far and hear the extra "click".

There is really very few parts in these guns. But they play together in subtle ways. The trigger and bolt spring is one part which can cause problems. Spring kits from different makers replace the leaf spring with a better wire spring if you are having troubles.

A good way to check for operation is to leave the cylinder out and check what is going on in half #### and to slowly draw back the hammer and see/feel what happens at each of the four clicks that occur in the action. At half #### the bolt should retract and the hand should be easily pushed back in the frame with only a little spring tension that pokes it out again. As you continue to draw the hammer back the hand should move up and at another click the bolt snaps up. Finally at full #### the hand will be held out and only move back against the spring a little.

I could go on a lot more but it's all stuff that you can find on You Tube and generally on the web. I'll just add that when you take it apart and put it together again that you use GOOD fitting screwdrivers and don't go nutz on tightening the screws. You'll be taking the gun apart to clean and lube the parts inside often enough that a light to moderate pinch with the screwdrivers is enough. If the screws DO come loose then tighten them with just a slightly harder pinch.
Click to expand...
 
The cylinder base pin will back out unless it is in the correct position with the rear notch over the Base Pin Latch.
If it backs out you will get a problem similar to the one you mentioned
 
Happy to help out.

And yeah, cowboy action can be a lot of fun. And it's not only the shooting part. The folks tend to be a great bunch as well.

If worst comes to worst Marstar has rebuild kits consisting of the four main internal parts and the springs. I have not had to buy anything like this yet but I understand that they are not overly pricey.
 
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