Anyone have any experience with a colt 1908 .25?

[Bigrepp61]

so i finally recieved it from my grandfather... ill post up pics when i get the chance..

so it has a FTF on every round.. it strips a round from the mag but doesnt go into the chamber.. it looks like its on an extreme angle and it cant clear the lip of the mag to go into the chamber... ill probably have to send it out to a gunsmith to have him/her look at it... i wish i could get it to work correctly and reliably cuz i would carry it at a bug....

[dogngun]

Probably need a new magazine. I have an old Spanish .25 that uses Colt '08 mags...I got one from TripleK that works perfectly and cost around $30.

I have not had any problems since I got the new mag and tweaked the feed lips to better fit in my old BH pistol - it works perfectly, and I carry it all the time in a pocket as a JIC...It is great just to have around.

You might try to carefully bend the feed lips of the mag that came with it till you get a better angle to the chamber... use a small needle nose pliers padded so you don't mar the mag too much.
Just do a little at a time, try to cycle it by hand till it works.

FWIW, my pistol has some of the design of the '08 Browning/Colt and
this little gun loves to shoot...it IS worth fixing.

mark

[Bigrepp61]

yeah it deffinetly is worth fixing.... i was worried my grandfather was going to give it to one of my uncles and it was going to end up on ebay or something of the sort!!! ill have to take a look for some new mags then... hopefully that clears it up....

One other question for anyone who has one... can you look at the feedramp and see if you have a gap at the very end where it meets with the frame (near locking lugs) i have a gap between the two surfaces and im not sure if its supposed to be like that... just curious.

[dogngun]

The gap is pretty much standard - even the Spanish partial copies are like that.
FWIW, they are great pistols, and I think your original mag can be saved with a little tweaking...aznd take it apart and clean it out good! It has probably not been cleaned since it was made and there is a LOT of stuff in there taht should not be.
Once you get that working, or get a new mag working, you should be OK -

FWIW, recoil springs and mag springs are available from Wolff, and sperins and some other parts from Numrich - www.gunpartscorp.com


enjoy it.

mark

[Hawk]

Just curious. How did your grandfather transfer it to you? IIRC, it must be transfered via a FFL and a PICS check.

[Azzy]

grandfather to grandson is AOK, as is father to son. (insert daughter / mother in there where you need)

[Bigrepp61]

Just curious. How did your grandfather transfer it to you? IIRC, it must be transfered via a FFL and a PICS check.

id bitch you out if i wasnt a nice guy.... grandfather is cover undered the gifting to family clause.... and a little ignorance never hurts.. as long as when your corrected you dont go back to it...

i cleaned the hell out of it when i got it... popped out the extractor... the spring was completely full of grime.... it was pretty bad... apparently my great uncle used it while working and carrying money in the coal mines...

my fiancee has pliers and tweezers for jewelry making that i can use for that... i think i may buy the extra mag just to see if that is the problem...

ill tell ya what.. after i cleaned it real good and lubed it up it is amazingly smooth while cycling!! for being almost 80 years old that is awesome

[Noah_Zark]

Congrats on the 1908 Colt. They are great little BUGs, but you have to respect them and be aware of their loading state at all times. My FiL almost shot himself with his. Just sayin'.

As for the FTF problem. DON'T mess with the magazine before you invest in a new mag spring, recoil spring, and striker spring, and don't buy "extra power" springs. You're after original-spec springs. Install the new springs and try out the pistol first. Buying a spare mag is a good investment one way or the other. It's always a good idea to have a couple-few of them. BTW, the mag you have is original if it is blued partway up the mag body, and in-the-white at the top. Someone may have take cold blueing to it, but you should be able to tell where the original blue starts and stops. If the mag is not a Colt, that might be part of the issue, too, but I suspect the mag is the original since you are getting it from your Grossvater.

Best of luck,

Noah

[Bigrepp61]

If the mag is not a Colt, that might be part of the issue, too, but I suspect the mag is the original since you are getting it from your Grossvater.

Best of luck,

Noah

yeah the mag could be original but im not sure and knowing my grossvater... he could have bought an aftermarket one and forgoten by now... the striker doesnt seem to be the problem so im not worried about it yet... the mag spring could be replaced but id rather but a new mag just to be sure...

[Pete D.]

Is this the gun?
Schematic available at the link - Gunparts Corp.
http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/...spx?catid=7348

Pete