State of the Colt cartridge conversion collection

[CraigC]

As some have probably surmised, I love the Colt cartridge conversion guns. This is what I've managed to accumulate so far. I'm also going to include the 1871-1872 Open Top cartridge models as well, since they're in the same vein.

Most recent is a fantasy gun in the form of a Richards Type I conversion in .38Spl. An early Cimarron ASM gun that is an 1860/1861 hybrid. It's essentially an 1860 Type I but in .38Spl with a Navy grip. The Richards Type I was only done on the 1860. So it should be either a .44 or an 1861 Richards-Mason pattern conversion. Cool sixgun, either way.



Another fantasy gun, a pseudo-1861 Richards-Mason. Actually an 1860 Richards Type II in .38Spl, fitted with a Navy grip frame and Uberti pearls.



Cimarron's "Tuco Special", built on the Open Top cartridge frame in .45Colt with a Leech & Rigdon style barrel.



My pair of 1860 Richards-Mason conversions in .44Colt.



Whatever the hell this is. An ASM 1861 with a Legal Guardian gateless conversion and a non-functioning ejector. It's a paperweight.



My early Cimarron 1860 Richards Type II .44Colt has been cut to 5.5" and fitted with giraffe bone grips.



This is a Uberti 1851 Navy .38Spl conversion by Kenny Howell with a relined barrel.



Uberti 1851 Richards-Mason conversion .38Spl from Dixie Gun Works.



I've converted this aged Pietta with Kirst bits but it ain't ready for show business just yet.



The Open Top 5.5" Navy .44Colt with Uberti ivory polymer.



The flagship, the Cimarron Open Top .44Colt engraved by Michael Gouse, finished by Turnbull and stocked in ivory by Jack Huntington.



There's two more we're not gonna go into, one is a botched conversion by a half-assed gunsmith. The other is the Cimarron Pocket .380.

[drycreek]

Nice revolvers all !

[dobegrant]

That is quite a collection, well covered

[x101airborne]

Wow!! I have been to firearms museums that didn't cover the open tops like that!

[justplainbill]

Wow! What a cool collection. Your photography is top notch as well. Thanks for sharing.

[45dragoon]

Beautiful bunch of revolvers CraigC!!!

Mike

[hounddogman]

The Colt 1861 and various conversions are some of the most graceful handguns ever made. Very nice collection.

[bigbrowndog]

Craig, I noticed or didn’t notice base pins?? How are the cylinders held in place and what did they rotate on???

I recall Clint Eastwood doing a cylinder swap with a cartridge conversion gun in one of his spaghetti westerns and thought I saw a base pin in his gun, however do not notice one on your guns.
Trapr

[CraigC]

Feb 10, 2023 21:25:35 GMT -5 bigbrowndog said:

Craig, I noticed or didn’t notice base pins?? How are the cylinders held in place and what did they rotate on???

I recall Clint Eastwood doing a cylinder swap with a cartridge conversion gun in one of his spaghetti westerns and thought I saw a base pin in his gun, however do not notice one on your guns.
Trapr

See the part that I've circled? That's the wedge. Colt percussion guns have an "arbor" where the solid frame guns have a basepin. This roughly 3/8" diameter rod is screwed into the frame and pinned in place. In the opposite end there is a slot, with a corresponding slot in the barrel. The wedge enters that slot from the left side and is captured by the little flat spring you can see in the picture. The wedge is what holds the barrel to the frame assembly. A lot of the work that gunsmiths to do these guns involves the fitting of the wedge and arbor.




Here's a web pic I found of one broken down. All the Colt "open top" percussion and cartridge conversion guns are like this.

[Encore64]

I really admire this kind of enthusiasm about revolvers. Nice to see some of a different variety posted.

It's good to see some fun stuff posted. Not everything has to be about raw power.

Kudos Craig...

[bigbrowndog]

The exploded drawing is perfect. I knew the wedge held the barrel on but didn’t realize the “base pin” was permanently mounted to the frame and the wedge slid into it. Thank you sir.

Trapr

[CraigC]

Feb 11, 2023 7:07:20 GMT -5 Encore64 said:

I really admire this kind of enthusiasm about revolvers. Nice to see some of a different variety posted.

It's good to see some fun stuff posted. Not everything has to be about raw power.

Kudos Craig...

Thank you, I agree. These are purely fun guns that do get carried during blackpowder season. Mostly because I hate cleaning C&B guns.

Feb 11, 2023 10:00:01 GMT -5 bigbrowndog said:

The exploded drawing is perfect. I knew the wedge held the barrel on but didn’t realize the “base pin” was permanently mounted to the frame and the wedge slid into it. Thank you sir.

Trapr

You're welcome! You can remove the arbor. Just have to drill out the mild steel pin from the rear, in the hammer well. I did that to send my Type II to River Junction for the bone grips.

[dirtydan22]

How did you convert your Uberti 1851 Navy .38Spl to cartridge while retaining the original navy engraved barrel?

I’m looking to buy an 1851 navy London model and I want to convert it but from my research the Kirst cartridge conversion has to replace the barrel.

Yours has the conversion with the barrel and I’m guessing you have 6 shots too?

[CraigC]

Here's another to add to the list.

Jan 3, 2024 15:35:35 GMT -5 dirtydan22 said:

How did you convert your Uberti 1851 Navy .38Spl to cartridge while retaining the original navy engraved barrel?

I’m looking to buy an 1851 navy London model and I want to convert it but from my research the Kirst cartridge conversion has to replace the barrel.

Yours has the conversion with the barrel and I’m guessing you have 6 shots too?

Kenny Howell built that gun, I bought it secondhand. I assume the cylinder is not the original but one he built and then engraved to match the original but I can't be sure. The barrel is relined to use standard .358" cast bullets.

[45dragoon]

That 45acp is awesome!! Shot anymore Russian ammo out of it?
Gonna load some this weekend for mine and some "Dragoon" test loads !!