Pietta Colt 1851 Navy - trigger / lock work quandry
Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2017 1:03 am
I'm a tad stumped at the moment. I seem to have a bit of a bitsa gun.
As mentioned in another thread I bought a Pietta Colt 1851 Navy recently.
After much debate it was established that the previous owner had fitted a hammer from a Uberti.
So far so good (also it transpired some or possibly most of the reciprocal Uberti parts were also fitted).
The other day I had it apart for a good clean and to remove a cap that had fallen down into the lock works.
Whilst it was still cycling and locking up OK a number of parts were on the tired side and would benefit from being replaced.
Looking on Henry Krank's website I saw the listed maintenance kit (Product Code: PSPK2) for the 1851 doesn't include a hammer so I phoned up to see about buying one in addition to the kit. Turns out that a kit with a hammer IS available - it's part number AC070 for the Red Nord navy .36/.44. It's also compatible with the 1860/1861 Army.
The kit arrived yesterday and I set about fitting it today. Or rather trying to fit it. Everything fits together fine but it's hardly crisp - it needs a fair bit of fettling. OK - I've discovered I'm quite good at fiddling with Swiss files and wet 'n' dry - so I can do that.
BUT ... the biggest problem seems to lie with the trigger. When I fitted the trigger guard to see how everything was shaping up I discovered the trigger was way too long. It actually jammed up on the bottom of the finger guard. I had to remove at least an eighth of an inch off the bottom in order to fit the guard. And then I had to trim a little bit more off just to get a clear arc when squeezing it back. Not only that but the trigger doesn't mimic the curve of the guard like the original did.
Something not right there!
To be frank I ought to have quit as soon as I saw the guard wouldn't fit rather than mod the trigger but ... I figured that'd be my only obstacle. WRONG.
The trigger is tight up the left hand side as it passed through the guard - so it drags. I thought I'd polish the side of the trigger a tad to free it up but at that point I decided that this can't be a normal thing to have to fettle. The lock work sure ... maybe clean it up a tad, polish off burrs etc. but not basic clearance dimensions on the frame parts.
So then I had good look at the trigger guard and something seems not quite right. There's a number on the front strap (#A1910) - it's stamped like a serial number but it isn't the that of my pistol. So now I'm wondering if the trigger guard is perhaps off a Uberti Colt Navy - I've read these are slightly smaller than Piettas so this could account for the trigger not fitting properly.
Having said that the grips and rear strap appear to fit nicely together with the guard and frame in all other respects.
I'd have thought the parts would not be interchangeable between the two manufacturers.
So if that's not the issue then perhaps the problem lies with the parts kit being wrong for my gun regarding the trigger.
I would have thought that Pietta wouldn't have bothered to change the internals between the ordinary Colt Navy and the Reb Nord Navy. As far as I can see the only differences are the latter have a brass frame. Did they make the trigger guard larger? That would account for a longer trigger in the kit.
I just don't know!
For now I've put it all back as it was with the Uberti hammer - see the picture below. Notice the trigger looks proportional and mimics the curve of the trigger.
The three pictures below that show the trigger from the maintenance kit that had to be shortened to fit - it just doesn't look right and is tight to the guard.
Any ideas on my plight?
As mentioned in another thread I bought a Pietta Colt 1851 Navy recently.
After much debate it was established that the previous owner had fitted a hammer from a Uberti.
So far so good (also it transpired some or possibly most of the reciprocal Uberti parts were also fitted).
The other day I had it apart for a good clean and to remove a cap that had fallen down into the lock works.
Whilst it was still cycling and locking up OK a number of parts were on the tired side and would benefit from being replaced.
Looking on Henry Krank's website I saw the listed maintenance kit (Product Code: PSPK2) for the 1851 doesn't include a hammer so I phoned up to see about buying one in addition to the kit. Turns out that a kit with a hammer IS available - it's part number AC070 for the Red Nord navy .36/.44. It's also compatible with the 1860/1861 Army.
The kit arrived yesterday and I set about fitting it today. Or rather trying to fit it. Everything fits together fine but it's hardly crisp - it needs a fair bit of fettling. OK - I've discovered I'm quite good at fiddling with Swiss files and wet 'n' dry - so I can do that.
BUT ... the biggest problem seems to lie with the trigger. When I fitted the trigger guard to see how everything was shaping up I discovered the trigger was way too long. It actually jammed up on the bottom of the finger guard. I had to remove at least an eighth of an inch off the bottom in order to fit the guard. And then I had to trim a little bit more off just to get a clear arc when squeezing it back. Not only that but the trigger doesn't mimic the curve of the guard like the original did.
Something not right there!
To be frank I ought to have quit as soon as I saw the guard wouldn't fit rather than mod the trigger but ... I figured that'd be my only obstacle. WRONG.
The trigger is tight up the left hand side as it passed through the guard - so it drags. I thought I'd polish the side of the trigger a tad to free it up but at that point I decided that this can't be a normal thing to have to fettle. The lock work sure ... maybe clean it up a tad, polish off burrs etc. but not basic clearance dimensions on the frame parts.
So then I had good look at the trigger guard and something seems not quite right. There's a number on the front strap (#A1910) - it's stamped like a serial number but it isn't the that of my pistol. So now I'm wondering if the trigger guard is perhaps off a Uberti Colt Navy - I've read these are slightly smaller than Piettas so this could account for the trigger not fitting properly.
Having said that the grips and rear strap appear to fit nicely together with the guard and frame in all other respects.
I'd have thought the parts would not be interchangeable between the two manufacturers.
So if that's not the issue then perhaps the problem lies with the parts kit being wrong for my gun regarding the trigger.
I would have thought that Pietta wouldn't have bothered to change the internals between the ordinary Colt Navy and the Reb Nord Navy. As far as I can see the only differences are the latter have a brass frame. Did they make the trigger guard larger? That would account for a longer trigger in the kit.
I just don't know!
For now I've put it all back as it was with the Uberti hammer - see the picture below. Notice the trigger looks proportional and mimics the curve of the trigger.
The three pictures below that show the trigger from the maintenance kit that had to be shortened to fit - it just doesn't look right and is tight to the guard.
Any ideas on my plight?
