Posted: 6/4/2011 3:12:58 PM EDT
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I just bought an old Colt Bisley that is basically a grey gun. It has all four clicks and looks like a great old cowboy gun. All serial numbers but the cylinder match. Looking at the front of the cylinder and the muzzle - it appears that the cylinder holes are slightly larger than the muzzle hole. I dropped a 44-40 into the cylinder and it seated flat on the rim. Obviously a 38-40 seated in the cylinder as well.
Can a 44-40 cylinder be seated into a 34-40 frame? For example is a guy had two Bisleys - one in 38-40 and one in 44-40 cal - could he swap the cylinders without any mechanical issues? I don't know much about this gun so I am going to have it evaluated by a gunsmith. It is a neat old gun and I was hoping I bought a shooter and not a wall hanger. Any shared thoughts will be appreciated. Regards |
| the outside dimensions of the cylinder would be the same- so if you are asking if someone could have mistakenly put a 44-40 cylinder inside a frame with a 38-40 barrel on it or vice versa the answer is yes. In fact it would not be common(done on later guns especially) where a smith would take say a 357 cal single action put a new barrel on in a larger caliber then rebore the existing cylinder to the new caliber to avoid having to fit a new cylinder. |
| bisley cylinder and saa cylinder the same- I think I saw some for sale on gunbroker recently. Also if you just want to shoot it some italian clone cylinders can be fit as well. Modern Colt 38-40 cylinders are slightly different and may or may not be fittable to a first gen gun. The experts in such work are peacemaker specialists- they have parts and will fit them to your gun plus make repairs to beat saa's- expect big bucks however. |
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Quoted:
You really should slug the barrel and cylinder mouth before you draw any conclusions. Without exact dimensions it's all guess work. Yes. Since both ends of the barrel are beveled, it is really hard to tell by looking at it. The holes in the cylinder will always look smaller than the openings to the barrel. The front of the chambers are not beveled. What you really need to know is the throat diameter of the chambers and the bore diameter of the barrel. You cannot measure the barrel directly, it must be slugged. Are there no serial number clues on the cylinder ? Last two digits, perhaps ? |