ghitch75

i was offered a king cobra that has a bent crane assembly and won't open and loaded!!!.....i think i can get it cheap....100 buc's or so.....question....what will it take to open it up?...

jbcalhoun

BFH?

one eye joe

A VBFH. Bigger is always better..... Hopefully someone who ACTUALLY has a clue will respond. Where are ya dfariswheel ? ?

dfariswheel

Got him on another forum.

Basically, my advice was to first make sure there wasn't actually a squib load bullet caught between the chamber and barrel.

If not, point it down range, pull back the cylinder release and bump the cylinder with a rubber or rawhide mallet...... gently.
Once unloaded, send it to Colt for repair.

In the case of a genuinely badly sprung crane, and a loaded cylinder, your options are limited on how to get it open.

Most important point is to look it over carefully before doing anything to be sure what the problem is.
Most firearms botch jobs are caused by fixing the wrong problem.

one eye joe

Hey dfariswheel, just outta curiosity how would you approach it if there actually WAS a squib load bullet caught between the cylinder and the barrel ? ?

dfariswheel

First step is to put a rod down the bore and measure it to be sure it's only ONE bullet.
I've seen them with 6.

The idea is to push the bullet back into the chamber so the cylinder can be opened.
This is done with a brass or aluminum "squib rod". This is a very nearly bore diameter rod with a flat end. You don't want it to be any longer than necessary, so if you have a 4" gun and a 6" you'd have two rods. This is to prevent any rod flexing.
First insert the rod, and holding the gun tightly, put the rod against a firm surface and try to push the bullet back.
If that doesn't work, brace the gun somehow so it won't move at all, and use a hammer to tap the bullet back into the chamber.

The only "watch-out" is NOT to try to use a cleaning rod or a wood dowel.
The cleaning rod is too small and can off-center and dig into the barrel.
The wood dowel can splinter or "give" and this can deform the bullet and cause it to lock even tighter in place.
That's also why the gun has to be well braced. If the gun moves, the force is dissipated and the bullet deforms.

Most any machine shop or lathe owner can make a good squib rod, or you can buy one from Brownell's.

one eye joe

OMG, dfariswheel. I can't imagine 6 squibs in one barrel--people continue to amaze me. I'm glad that I never had such a problem and glad that there are guys like you around who know the cure. Thanks for respondin' to my question. I ALWAYS learn something from you.......