Messing with the Cimarron .45 Colt

by JimT, Texas, Friday, December 05, 2025, 10:38 (8 days ago)
edited by JimT, Friday, December 05, 2025, 14:15

Last June I picked up a Cimarron in .45 Colt. It has 2 cylinders, one in .45 ACP. And the dealer gave me a good deal on the gun and then knocked off 20% because I was a Veteran.

The gun was in good shape and apparently had not been used much. I posted photos of it on here earlier but ..

The trigger pull was heavy but it did not have a long pull. I installed a Heinie trigger and bolt spring and worked on the pull until it was to my liking.

The gun is well built and finished pretty nicely inside and out. No rough castings like I have seen in early Italian guns. They did change the spring for the cylinder hand from a flat spring to the Ruger style coil spring that goes into the frame above the backstrap screw.

The flat spring on the hand can break .. I have had a few over the years .. and I understand the reasoning behind this change. I like the old Colts but ....

Because the guns are imported, it had to have a Safety. They accomplished this by making the cylinder pin extra long and with 2 detents. The first detent is the FIRE position. The second detent is the SAFE position. It keeps the hammer from falling all the way to the primer.

I have no use for such stuff and don't want anything interfering with the gun going off if I need it to, so I cut the end off the cylinder pin and use the forward detent only.

The one problem it had was that I could not remove the cylinder bushing. It obviously had a removable bushing, but it was locked in. Using an aluminum rod I drove the bushing out. When the rear gas ring cleared the cylinder the bushing dropped out.

After checking it over I found that the rear gas ring was too big. Apparently "hand fitting" meant just driving it in place. I chucked it in my electric drill and with a sharp file turned down the gas ring.

Then I discovered that the bushing itself was also too large at the forward end. Again, a little metal removed and polishing and it slips in and out just like intended.

If removing metal from the rear face of the rear gas ring did not increase barrel/cylinder gap it would at the least introduce "end shake" .. fore and aft movement of the cylinder.

So the gun is working to my satisfaction. I have not cut the front sight yet as I have not settled on a preferred load. That will come in time.

It ain't a Colt or a USFA but it does scratch an itch I had.

BARREL MARKINGS

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Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.