Henry Rifle Forums

You know I watched reviews of the new Anaconda before I bought one and I heard about how tough and well built they were...."It can handle God's thunder of a 44 Mag load" and be very accurate too. So to my dismay when I had several light strikes for the first time since I have owned it.
When I got home I noticed a good bit of cylinder shake and more than it was when new. Got the feeler gauge out and a .002 slipped in and with forward pressure on cylinder it tightend right up on it so maybe .0015. Then the thickest gauge was .007 with cylinder pushed back and it is snug.
Not too happy with .0055 of end clearance and with only 100 rounds or so thru it and 90% of those mild 44 Mag loads like 200-240 gr. over 9 gr. of Unique or BE-86. This was also the first time I had several light strikes with same ammo I had shot before with no issue. Would not fire my mild loads in DA but would in single which has more hammer travel. The hotter 180 gr XTP loads would fire in DA without issue...at least 10 of those did.
Surprised this beefy thing would loosen up this fast and due to the way Colt builds it cylinder shims will not work with this one. You have to send it to Colt and they use a press to expand the bushing. So even if I do that what will prevent the same beat down from happening again??

Picture shows my selection of Smith and Ruger DA revolvers above the ruler that still have .0015 -.002 cylinder end play after many rounds and my favorite of the 44 Mag bunch is that little Smith Model 69....still tight after hot rounds and mid level rounds thru it. The throw away cheap Charter Arms 45 Colt has .008 cause they are built loose and next to it the big beefy? Colt Anaconda with .0055 or .006 will it get worse over time?

Guess I will have to send it back to Colt and then decide whether to keep it. Right now it don't make the cut!


UPDATE... The Anaconda returned this morning and the repair slip read...Reduced cylinder end play and replaced hammer link.

It left here with .001-.007 measured gap and came back with .003-.006 and will take to the range and see if any misfires.
Question is will it stay at .003 end play cause no mention of how it got loose.

Shame you are having an issue with your pistol. After all the 'good' press on the Colt. Hope it is only 'growing ' pains.

For what those cost it should be built like a tank. Good Luck Forty whatever you decide to do.

Yeah if it gains another .001 it will start hitting the forcing cone! It like other revolvers built for 44 Mag loads should take some beating of the standard or lower level loads. What also lights my fire is I finally got those wood grips to stay tight and now have to put the factory rubber on for trip to Colt.

End shake issues after 100 rounds? That's pathetic. Sounds like a metallurgy issue of some kind. Keep us posted.

I can understand. Hopefully, it will be made right.

Unfortunately Colt no longer has the craftsmen to do the hand fitting that they did on their revolvers so many years ago. I hope that they make it right or you will just have to get a Redhawk instead. My old Trooper .357 that I bought used has had several thousand rounds through it and is still tight with a strong lockup. I think that they should send you a new revolver as that one appears to have escaped the Q.C. check. Good luck.

I hope Colt gives you a quick and permanent repair.

Please keep us advised of the results.

Found my stash of .001 shim stock and now we are at .006 end shake as the .001 was tight with cylinder forward. That part of the center bushing on cylinder is one piece machined cut and the way Colt fixes it is by inserting a shaft inside the cylinder center hole and using hydraulic press to expand the material forward and then refit the cylinder. Seems to me that causes a stress point. Anyway it has to go back. But question is how did it get that way after so few fired moderate rounds?

Thanks for the information forty. I have been eying the new style Pythons and Anacondas when I have seen them lately. I'm not so interested in the Anaconda now.

Now here is an interesting find... I took my Charter Arms 45 Colt Bulldog revolver and checked it's cylinder end play. Unloaded it was .003 with cylinder fully pressed forward and .014 fully back. Put 5 rounds of Colt 45 in the cylinder and now it was same .003 forward and .008 backward !
Smart folks they are to build them cheaper and loose but use the case head as a bump stop!

But you know when you have a revolver for sale the first thing a buyer will check is cylinder movement! Of course most know that a Bulldog is a lower cost revolver designed for SD and occasional range use. People expect a high end revolver to be tight!

I got a King Cobra Carry last year. Before I took delivery, it was sent back for cylinder failure to lock up. A bushing was replaced. I have shot less than 50 rounds through it. I will see how it holds up at the 100 rounds mark. Yet, it is a shame to be concern of such a thing with those type firearms. Supposedly, that's a reason the premium paid for them: made to a higher standard of workmanship. Yet, people are people; some try and get as much as they can for as little as they can.