Pedersoli Colt lightning feed issues

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

On 1/9/2020 at 9:19 PM, Major General Shagnasty said:

I did buy an AWA .45 and have been practicing with dummy rounds. It will fly when I get the timing correct. I have found that a dry lube is far better than a wet lube of the action, and windchester brass works better than star lite, might be the diameter is smaller ww brass.

 

Greetings, General.

 

My first lightning was/is an AWA in .45 Colt, and it quickly became my favorite main match gun, and infected me with the Lightning virus, whereby I know have 5 of the things.   The only problem I've ever had with mine was I let it once go to long between cleanings, and gunk got into the firing pin channel, causing the occasional misfire.   After flushing out with Gunscrubber, and always cleaning it after each and every shoot, this problem has never been repeated.  [About a year ago, after using this gun for a few years, something internal broke, causing it to jam closed.  I took it to Lassiter, who was able to fix it fairly quickly.]  Anyway, after the cleaning scenario, I said to myself, "If I ever find and AWA in  .44-40 I'm gonna buy one."  Well just a few weeks after saying that, I found one.   So I bought it.  In all truth, the chamber was too tight, and thus it had trouble chambering ammunition.   A quick trip to a local gunsmith to hone the chamber, and all is well.     A curious anomaly with this gun was how loading rounds 8, 9, and especially 10 was very difficult.   To make a long story short, there was a plastic plug in the magazine that limited you to 10 rounds.   Took that out, and now I can load up 10 with no problem.  And it functions just fine.   Not tried going beyond 10, as there was no reason.

 

My third Lightning is an actual Colt in .30-20, which is a caliber I really like.   It was advertised as being "beautifully restored and has had an expert action job."  This has made it function flawlessly, look exceedingly beautiful, and made it affordable for me to purchase.

 

Fourth Lightning is another Colt in .44-40, military surplus from a South American country, I forget which one, complete with a bayonet lug.   Not fired it yet, but it cycles dummy rounds just fine.

Nor have I yet to fire my Colt in .22 Long.

 

I wish you all the luck in the world, and welcome to the bizarre subset of Cowboy shooters who have taken this old timey pump gun to heart.

[Major General Shagnasty]

9 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

 

Greetings, General.

 

My first lightning was/is an AWA in .45 Colt, and it quickly became my favorite main match gun, and infected me with the Lightning virus, whereby I know have 5 of the things.   The only problem I've ever had with mine was I let it once go to long between cleanings, and gunk got into the firing pin channel, causing the occasional misfire.   After flushing out with Gunscrubber, and always cleaning it after each and every shoot, this problem has never been repeated.  [About a year ago, after using this gun for a few years, something internal broke, causing it to jam closed.  I took it to Lassiter, who was able to fix it fairly quickly.]  Anyway, after the cleaning scenario, I said to myself, "If I ever find and AWA in  .44-40 I'm gonna buy one."  Well just a few weeks after saying that, I found one.   So I bought it.  In all truth, the chamber was too tight, and thus it had trouble chambering ammunition.   A quick trip to a local gunsmith to hone the chamber, and all is well.     A curious anomaly with this gun was how loading rounds 8, 9, and especially 10 was very difficult.   To make a long story short, there was a plastic plug in the magazine that limited you to 10 rounds.   Took that out, and now I can load up 10 with no problem.  And it functions just fine.   Not tried going beyond 10, as there was no reason.

 

My third Lightning is an actual Colt in .30-20, which is a caliber I really like.   It was advertised as being "beautifully restored and has had an expert action job."  This has made it function flawlessly, look exceedingly beautiful, and made it affordable for me to purchase.

 

Fourth Lightning is another Colt in .44-40, military surplus from a South American country, I forget which one, complete with a bayonet lug.   Not fired it yet, but it cycles dummy rounds just fine.

Nor have I yet to fire my Colt in .22 Long.

 

I wish you all the luck in the world, and welcome to the bizarre subset of Cowboy shooters who have taken this old timey pump gun to heart.

Hi Uriah,

Thanks for the word on the lightning, after getting infected by the lightnings, I was bidding on one in 44-40 on gun broker a week or so ago, but let it go when I was able to close a deal on 4 lightnings from an estate sale.  .22, 32-20,  38-40,  and 44-40. So I guess it is true that lightning strikes the same place twice, or in my case 4 times. lol.  So I am now reading all the information I can get my hands on about these gun.

Thanks for your help.

[Mad Cap Zack]

Update on my Lightning. Roger Rapid fixed it's feed issue that was the tension/resistance of the lifter that was the problem. The lifter wouldn't stay up while the bolt moved forward to chamber the round. Now it Chambers fine with no issues. Big thanks to Roger the Lightning Doctor!