I have a colt officers model 38 special with a bull barrel well worn but still tight that is starting to misfire on handloads and factory ammunition, I think the tip of the hammer is worn and is there anything I can do to avoid a 120 mile trip to the gunsmitht, the hammer has a small removable tip but I don't know where to get one or how to take it out. Thanks.

John, just a guess but I think you may be barking up the wrong tree. Unless the f/p tip is obviously broken, I doubt that's the problem. It may be a weak mainspring or one of a dozen other things that can go wrong with a Colt revolver. Working on one is not for the faint of heart. They also don't respond kindly to learning-on-the-job-gunsmithing. If your distant gunsmith knows his way around the insides of a Colt d/a revolver, it's worth your while to take it to him.

Just a thought..I have an older Colt, Trooper, not a Mark III but older made in the 50s that did the same thing. Go to Colt's web-sight and contact customer service. About the hardest thing for me was going to the UPS center to ship it, because UPS will not pick up a handgun at your home, or even a dealer. They will go over it and inform you of what it will cost to fix, very resonible, and they know what they are doing.