Colt New Service

Not long ago I was in one of my favorite shops and the proprietor asked for a smidgen of knowledge since I was an "old gun guy." I suppose I have earned the title. Old gun guys sometimes have good knowledge that isn’t strictly found in technical books. I have researched firearm history practically since I could read, beginning with books by C. B. Colby. Expedients used in war sometimes work well for general gunsmithing.

For example, getting wellworn M1 Garands shooting again can be helped with tricks first used on Guadalcanal. The same applies to the Colt New Service double-action revolver. The New Service is among the great, under-rated revolvers of all time in my opinion. Introduced in 1897 and offered in series production from 1898 to 1940, the Colt New Service served American and Allied servicemen, as well as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the New York State Patrol.

The most recognized Colt New Service revolver is the 1917 Model used dur- Below center: The Colt New Service is a rugged, reliable, effective revolver. It is also apiece of history. The holster is from WorldWarSupply.com low ing WWI. Some 360,000 New Service revolvers chambered for 11 different cartridges were made during its long life. Chances are good one will come into your shop. While the operating principles of double action revolvers are similar, Colts differ a great deal from the Smith & Wessons.

Most of the problems with the New Service tend to be simple aging. The holes enlarge, parts wear, and springs take a set. Abuse is common. Most 1911s of the day were spot heat treated and I doubt theses revolvers received much different. Anew bolt to engage worn cylinder notches may be needed but first look at the mechanism. There are two screws holding the sideplate. I like to set them aside and keep them carefully separated.

When removing Colt sideplates, tapping the frame doesn’t work as well as with the Smith & Wesson, however, working the action a few times always loosens it. The Colt also differs in that compression of the trigger action feels heaviest at the onset and then becomes lighter, the opposite of Smith & Wessons. For many years, the word was Colt for targets and Smith & Wessons for longevity. Personally, I’ve found that either served well in both roles.

Some like to modify the V-type mainspring to achieve a lighter let off. This isn’t difficult but there is a right and wrong way. The right way is to field strip the pistol and clean the action thoroughly first. Often, simply cleaning the action solves New Service problems. Some of these revolvers are over a century old and the "new" ones are pushing eight decades, so simply scrubbing away powder ash and other material may be all that’s needed. The wrong way often breaks the spring.

This is when a screwdriver is inserted into the "V" and the two parts of the spring are pressed apart. I have seen this old trick used with other Colt revolvers. Sometimes it works but it can break the spring. The best means of achieving a cleaner break is to place one leg of the spring in a the corner of a vise. With the spring carefully padded, begin with the spring leg clamped about 1/4" above the bend in the Vshaped spring. Then carefully pull the other leg outward.

Some of the work I have done focuses upon simply getting an old gun back up to normal operation. In one case, the hand was well worn and

Above center: This 1917-vintage Colt needs a good cleaning. Powder residue is much in evidence. simply refused to index, although it did meet the ratchet properly. The owner simply wished to get the piece back into shooting condition for occasional plinking. I took the hand out, placed it on an anvil, and struck it hard with a hammer several times. The hand was peened and lengthened. It worked, though I informed the owner there was little guarantee of longevity and that anew hand was needed.

A few weeks later he told me it was the best twenty dollars he had spent with me and last I heard it continues to work. Another non-standard alternation is to modify the bolt stop when the cylinder locking notches have become worn. Anew bolt might Simply press up and out of the hammer hook. Below center: The Colt is disassembled for the first step of thorough cleaning. It may be modified to an extent. not necessarily help.

While I have not tested these early revolvers for Rockwell hardness, it seems the heat treating is not modern. I’ve welded a ledge on the top of a bolt stop and then dressed it down as a fix. I’ve since found an easier means of achieving the same thing by mounting a pin under the bolt stop that kept it higher in the frame in relation to the cylinder bolt. If a shooter has one of the old Shooting Master revolvers or a revolver he enjoys firing, this work is worthwhile.

Anew hand or anew bolt stop when found would be even better. Cleaning these revolvers reveals this hoary action is greatly aided with good lubrication. A bit of careful polish on the rebound lever will also helps. To convince the bolt and cylinder to lockup more tightly, add metal at the front hump of the cylinder bolt stop near the pivot hole. After a bit of experimentation the piece will lock up very tight. For real smoothness, look at the trigger and hammer engagement.

As mentioned, I’m not certain of the heat treating so polish lightly and don’t redirect sear engagement. These old revolvers are pretty smooth as issued but the built up of powder ash and old oil should be removed. Chambering As with Colt Single Action Army and Smith & Wesson Triple Lock handguns, this is not the revolver to hot rod. Standard pressure .45 Colt loads are recommended. Black Hills Ammunition offers high quality Cowboy Action loads that are ideal for this revolver.

The Colt New Service was also chambered in .38-40 Winchester. Don’t use +P loads in the M1917s chambered in .45 ACP. Standard 230 grain FMJ

Bending slightly may help the action. Above center: V-shaped mainsprings are pretty tight at the closed juncture. A screwdriver could break it. Better to bend one of the long legs. is plenty hot enough and standard 230 grain lead loads are fine in .45 Auto Rim. Avoid rechambering the original British/Canadian .455 revolvers to .45 ACP by facing off the rear of the cylinder.

I realize this expedient kept old guns shooting but an original The .45 ACP at 230 grains/830 fps is stronger than the .455 at 265 grains/650 fps. Hornady offers first- 45 ACP cartridge. Far quality .455 Webley ammunition, which I’ve fired in a Webley (not a Colt yet) and find it accurate, clean burning, and pleasant to fire. When dealing with old steel, much of what we think we known is half known and half stipulated. Let’s stick with what we know for safety’s sake.

Also, note that a few very early 1917 Colt revolvers did not feature a chambering step for .45 ACP loads. The revolvers had to be fired with half moon clips holding three cartridges. Later revolvers did feature the chambering step. While the ejector star won’t eject rimless .45 ACP cartridges, the Colt will fire them. The Colt New Service is an interesting and effective revolver. I think that gunsmiths are doing a service to history in keeping them running and useful. AG