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What are the dimensions of the New Service cylinder?
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Which ones?
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Very nice.
Length and diameter.Comment
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Cylinder length on Colt New Service .44-40 is 1.624", and diameter is 1.695".
Cylinder on New Service Model 1917 .45 ACP will be slightly shorter but overall length will be the same. Cylinder stop on frame will also be slightly wider.
The New Service shown is a Target in .45 Colt caliber with adjustable front and rear sights, checkered grip straps, and no lanyard loop.Last edited by Johnny P; 01-07-2025, 01:47.Comment
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They came in a bunch of calibers. Don't know all the cylinder variances though.
And yeah, very nice. Probably the best I've seen. The checkering on the strap appears to be part of the grips.Comment
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Well the original post to the above question disappeared, so here goes again.
The Colt was originally shipped to Oklahoma City Hardware Company in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on March 12, 1927. It was returned to Colt on November 17, 1931. It was then shipped to Sportsman's Supply Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on April 21, 1932.
The checkering on the front and back straps and trigger was done by hand at the time.Comment
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All you see now are people (Bubba) who stipple their guns using a welder striking arcs on the front and rear straps perhaps for a better grip. I suppose some use a center punch. They destroy their guns collector and appearance wise then try to sell them to someone else on GB or such.
The hand checkering is quite a contrast.Comment
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The Model 1917 Colt Revolver was a New Service pressed into service during WWI. Smith and Wesson also built them on their .44 Hand Ejector model. Since the .45 ACP cartridge was rimless, to eject all rounds simultaneously Smith & Wesson developed the "half moon" clips which held three rounds. The cylinder had to have the back relieved to make room for the .45 ACP cartridge in the clip, making the cylinder slightly shorter.
The U.S. military also purchased a few of the New Service revolvers in .45 Colt, known as the Model 1909. The .38 revolvers sent to the Philippines was found to be inadequate on the hopped up natives, and the Model 1911 was still in development. The Army, Navy, and Marines all ordered small shipments of the Model 1909 Revolver.
A Model 1909 U.S. Army revolver shipped to Manila in the Philippines. Colt was still using the old charcoal bluing, producing a brilliant blue finish.
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We still have my Grandfathers Colt New Service 1917. Like mentioned, it is chambered for the 45acp using the half moon clips.
My brother and I both played with it when we were young kids (yeah, I know). My Mother would drop me off for my Grandmother to baby sit when she went off to work (I was 3 or 4). I played with her big tom cat (my first "best friend"), watched Captain Kangaroo while loading and unloading the Colt (again, yeah, I know). My Grandfather had a cigar box full of different 45acp rounds including some shot cartridges (we called them "jungle shots") along with a bunch of the half moon clips. No accidents ever and no one was concerned either. Educational at the time. It and the cat were my toys when at her house.
After my daily toast and coffee there were plenty of things to see and do outside. This was farm life then.Comment
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The first Model 1917 Colt revolvers did not have a shoulder for the .45 ACP cartridge to headspace on if no half moon clips were available, but at about serial number 10300 Colt machined their cylinders to have a shoulder.
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Smith & Wesson Model 1917 Revolver.
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I don't have access to the gun now so I can't verify the serial # range. We/I always used the clips for extraction purposes. I never tried it w/o the clips.Comment
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"It was made in the popular large caliber revolver cartridges of the day: .38-40, .44-40, .44 Russian, .44 Special, .45 Colt, .450 Boxer, .455 Webley, and .476 Enfield."
+ the 38 long Colt, 38 spl, and 357. Then the 45acp on the 1917.
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The early Colts had to use the half moon clips as there was no shoulder for the cartridge to headspace on, but the S&W worked fine except you had to pick the empties out one at the time.Comment
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