A Colt for all Seasons

[Zeke38]

My neighbor has gotten into revolvers and he fell in love with an Old New Service that had seen much better days. Long story short he sent the Colt NS in pieces to Diagonal Road Gunshop to let Andy Horvath resurrect it. He wanted a belly gun and Andy fulfilled his end of the bargain nicely.
Shortened the gripframe and made walnut grips to match
Reamed the cylinder and bobbed a 45 Colt barrel to 2.2"
Fabricated a front sight
Timed and tuned the action
Bobbed the hammer
New parkerizing on the firearm
Went from parts box to finished product in 13 weeks
Chambered in 45ACP
Gonna put the first rounds through it tomorrow

[oregon45]

What a fabulous sixgun, and a great choice for leather too! Looking forward to a range report.

[Half Moon]

My neighbor has gotten into revolvers and he fell in love with an Old New Service that had seen much better days. Long story short he sent the Colt NS in pieces to Diagonal Road Gunshop to let Andy Horvath resurrect it. He wanted a belly gun and Andy fulfilled his end of the bargain nicely.
Shortened the gripframe and made walnut grips to match
Reamed the cylinder and bobbed a 45 Colt barrel to 2.2"
Fabricated a front sight
Timed and tuned the action
Bobbed the hammer
New parkerizing on the firearm
Went from parts box to finished product in 13 weeks
Chambered in 45ACP
Gonna put the first rounds through it tomorrow

Absolutely gorgeous!

Be interested in the test results. Sample of 1 but my 1917 Fitz clone has a tendency to keyhole with 230 grain bullets and likes 200 grain better. Figure the short barrel doesn't let the 230's get up enough speed to stabilize.

Also the hump at the top of the frame above the grip has a tendency to thwack the nerve cluster between thumb and forefinger. Makes shooting somewhat uncomfortable for extended sessions compared to s&w .45 acp's. The BK Colt grip adaptor, while intended for the smaller frames, does fit and changes the recoil geometry significantly for the better.

[rainman]

That is stellar, both the concept and the execution.

Looking forward to hearing how she shoots.


-Rainman

[03RN]

Very nice

[Hambo]

Incredible, but Andy's work always is. I'm glad to hear he's still working. @Zeke38, that's one where you tell your buddy, "If you ever decide to get rid of it, call me first..."

[RevolverRob]

That is cooler than the other side of the pillow.

[MK11]

"It's a Colt New Service. It's a giant's gun, the biggest Colt has ever made, its frame spreading the hand wide on it, its trigger pull taut, even its hammer-pull a little tense. It's ugly, hump-backed, with its checkered wood grips, a Pachmayr grip adapter to swell out the gap between grip and trigger guard. But it's the pre-eminent man-stopper; in fact, many knowledgeable New York detectives carry such a piece, but with its barrel cut down to two inches. They know that if they have to put a man down, they have to put him down fast and solid, and Jack has done his research." Stephen Hunter, Pale Horse Coming.

[Tarrrnation!]

Zeke38,
Thanks for posting those pictures and the background info. That is one beautiful package. I really like the grips.
Tar

[Zeke38]

Shot it today and it keyholed 230 ball and some plated 225 FN. Powder was 6.5 grains of Longshot. It did shoot the 200 SWCs well and they did one hole at 7 yds. Working on load development and hopefully on the bullet diameter. They rattle a long way down the cylinder before meeting the forcing cone. I know I don't want to get shot with that thing. More work to be done.