1917 Colt & Smith Revolvers

[dharris]

Hoping someone can answer a question for my dad and I. We have two Colt 1917 revolvers and one S&W. The holes in one of the Colts are large enough so that a 45 ACP will fall through while the 2nd colt and S&W the cartridge will seat. If I load 45 RIM it works fine. If I use moon clips it works fine. Can someone explain to me why the round will slide through the cylinder holes on one gun but not on the other two?

Regards
Daniel

 

[Necron 99]

.455 Webley?

 

[dharris]

Thanks. I consider that but don't have that caliber to verify. I do need to do some research on that. The barrel is marked DA 45 so I assumed it was 45 acp. That at least gives me something else to look at.

 

[alleycat]

One was made to use .45 auto rim and the other just regular .45

 

[dharris]

Thanks guys. I found my answer in C&Rsnal's Colt 1909 and 1917 Revolvers YouTube video. Appears the first 30k (or first month of production) were produced by Colt without the rebated chambers because of the invention of the moon clips. At that point the gov. ask Colt to make the changes so like the S&W counterpart the guns could be fired without the half moon clip. So, it appears that one of the Colts I have is a very early 1917.

Again, that you for your thoughts.