I have an Colt SP-1 in very good condition. The bolt carrier has a "c" near the front of it so I assume it is a Colt carrier. The bolt appears to be in excellent condition. The problem is after I load and fire the first round it fails to pick-up the next round. I tried several different magazines but it did the exact same thing with each mag.  I then replaced the bolt and carrier with a generic one out of my kit and the rifle proceeded to function flawlessly with any mag.  
    I purchased the rifle second hand and the reciever appears to have been refinished. Although done quite nicely, a close insp will reveal minor imperfections in the body of the reciever. What I'm wondering is maybe the bolt has also been refinished after severe use and is actually worn-out even though it appears to be in good cond?

What other reason can you see that would lead to this malfunction?


thanks for your input,   jp

Try replacing just the bolt to rule out a loose or leaking carrier key.

The bolt needs to seal at 2 places: the rings and around the tail.  Check the diameter of the tail of the bolt.  I had one that measured .243 and it short stroked about 1 in 10 shots.