My dad has an old Colt Police Positive that I would like to get shooting again, but the cylinder doesn't allways rotate fully. I can pull the trigger in double action, and the gun will work as intended most of the time but sometimes the trigger doesn't allways set and the cylinder turns only 1/8 of a turn. When I pull the hammes back and pull the trigger in single action, the cylinder almost lines up with the chamber but not hardley. I have allready replaced the cylinder stop, but that didn't change anything. I was thinking of replacing the part that turns ths cylinder(arm I thing) but I don't waste the money if it won't fix it. Does anyone know that is wrong with this gun? I would really like to get the old gal going again. Thanks Brandon

btt

Those older Colt double action revolvers are pretty tricky to work on.  You best bet is to find a knowledgeable gunsmith.

Simply dropping a new hand in probably won’t work (if it does, immediately go out and buy a lottery ticket!!).  While replacing the hand might fix everything, it sounds like you’ve probably got a couple of problems.  This might include a weak mainspring and/or binding parts.

If you’re determined to work on it yourself, I suggest you get a copy of Jerry Kuhnhausen’s “The Colt Double Action Revolvers, A Shop Manual, Vol. 1”.  Be prepared to spend some hours working on your pistol.

Police Positives are actually great little guns – made back when Colt knew how to make handguns.

Going for entrapment again JBT? I know what will go down. You will send that gun to a smith and as soon as he touches it, you and the goon sqaud will bust in and arrest him for possession of a firearm with a defaced serial #. This is how you all got Bob Stewart, only in his case it was a converted AR15.

Damn.

Working on Wheelguns is a bitch for the novice, since the tollerences are supre critical to maintain timing.

If the cylinder isn't "clocking" correctly, that is likely 1 of 2 problems. Either your cylinder rotator notches are cashed, which means you have to get an entirely new cylinder, or, your hand is worn (most likely). If your hand is worn, that's easy to replace, but the key is fitting it so your timing isn't screwed, since most of them come oversize anyway. Too much or too little material, and you won't lock up corectly.
Someone said a weak mainspring, which I disagree with. If that was the case, it would reflect on your hammer, not your cylinder.

You also said your cylinder wasn't lining up- Again, that's a lock issue. That little piece that jumps into the notch when the gun is cocked, or in battery?
Examine that to see when it is released.
It should jump into the notch at the correct time. If it is "dragging", it will show as a line on your cylinder where the bluing has worn away. That's an easy fix if you know what to do, but again. Fixing wheelguns isn't like fixing an automatic with drop in parts. It's a game for those who know that game.

But, likely, it sounds to me like it's a hand problem. That could be screwing your timing up suficiently to cause the gun to not lock into battery at the right time. If ti is indeed your cyl rotating notches, that's an expensive fix.

Hope this helped

McUZI