Colt Agent - timing problems?

Jorge

October 12, 2011 06:42

I just purchased a used Colt Agent Serial M696xx. I know nothing about the former owner.

It's a short frame in alloy, refinished in matte black, shrouded ejector and hammer. Just beautiful!

When manually cocked, the cylinder will not quite sit in place, however, when the trigger is pulled (while holding the hammer) it will click securely in place as the hammer falls.

Is this the gun design, or is there something wrong? I noticed the latch has what appear to be file marks. Could this be seizing the rotating cylinder?

Thanks in advance.

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  nmyers

  October 12, 2011 07:59

  Common to most revolvers. When you pull the trigger, there is a semi-circular piece that rises from the bottom of the frame (the cylinder bolt) that engages the notch in the cylinder to align the cylinder at the moment of firing. That's why we check for tightness only when the hammer is fully forward, & we do that on all charge holes in the cylinder.
  
  I don't know about the file marks on the latch. Alloy frame revolvers are subject to stretching after firing high power loads, or excessive use. If you have any doubt, find a competent gunsmith to check it out.
  
  Neal

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  Jorge

  October 12, 2011 08:23

  Thanks Neal.
  
  In my other revolvers (Smiths and Colts), the latch will engage upon manual cocking, however, the Agent will latch after the hammer is released. Is this normal?
  
  Moreover, the edge on the bolt's face appears rounded, not flat. Is this a factory feature?

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  tjh1948

  October 12, 2011 09:09

  IIRC, an old saying; Smiths lock when they cock & Colts lock when they drop.

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  Hangfire

  October 12, 2011 13:18

  I dug out my 1st model Agent(no elector shroud), and my 2nd model Detective Special.. The cylinder bolt should be fully engaged in both cocked and fired positions.. Sounds like yours might have had some work done.. Maybe the hand isn't fully positioning the cylinder until the hammer's dropped.. As far as file marks, replacement bolts and hands are slightly oversize, and need to be final-fit.. This could also be a clue that it's been worked on.. Have someone take a look..

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  dfletcher

  October 12, 2011 21:50

  The Colt Agent is made on the "D" frame and uses a 2 stage hand - since the Colt can be cocked with the cylinder swung out you can watch the hand operate (left side of cylinder opening) if you manually cock the gun. You'll notice the top of the hand (1st stage) moves up, this engages the ratchet first. It turns the cylinder to allow the lower edge (2nd stage) of the hand of the hand to pick up and completes the turn. The ratchet on the Colt engages up & down, the Smith engages from the side.
  
  On a well timed Colt with a nicely fitted hand, when you press the trigger and the hammer falls the hand will exert just a touch of upward pressure on the ratchet to hold the cylinder tight. If you thumb cock the hammer and lower it slowly you may also feel an ever so slight rub as the SA sear releases from the SA sear notch at the same time the hand presses against the ratchet. It's unlikely you'll find this on a well used gun, there's nothing wrong with it being absent it just means the parts have worn in a bit.
  
  The cylinder should lock up with a manual cocking, but the hand can get a bit "lazy". How much is acceptable is hard to say, I would say so long as your older Colt locks up nice & tight when the trigger is pressed and the movement is almost imperceptible you should be fine.
  
  Fitting a Colt hand is a bit of a challenge - there's a reason the darn things cost about $35.00 and the Smith costs $9.00 ....[;)]

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  RCrosby

  October 13, 2011 10:23

  Another indication of the possible severity of what may just be a slightly (and typical) out of time situation:
  In "borderline" (i.e. personally I wouldn't worry about it) cases, the cylinder will lock up before hammer fall if the revolver is fired double action at a normal rate or if the hammer is cocked "normally".
  If cocked at a very slow rate (either double or single action) so that cylinder momentum doesn't come into play, then you are more apt to see the bolt not clicking into the cylinder notch until after the hammer is released.

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