BP only?
- Thread starter ZVP
- Start date
Magnum Wheel Man
New member
realistically the "conversion" cylinder is an alloy that can take the higher pressures of those "cowboy" smokeless loads with enough "safety margin" built in... the frame type, & material are the limiting factor here... open tops are weaker, by design, & the metal alloys used may not be hardened, or able to properly harden... obviously the closed top revolver have a stronger frame design, yet are likely still made of softer, or less pressure resistant alloys than a smokeless revolver ( I know it's hard to imagine a big old Remington, being "weaker" than an aluminum framed J Frame, but by design, the aluminum J frame can better handle the pressures than the Remington )
you may have seen my Colt Walker conversion, that was built to shoot smokeless powder in the 45 Black Powder Magnum case ( the 460 S&W case
) because of the frame style, & trust me, lots was done to strengthen it, which I could go into deeper later, I'm limited to standard or "slightly" higher pressures, than a standard 45 Colt... putting a 460 in the gun would be a problem, so we shorted the chamber slightly, so a factory 460 round won't insert into the chamber...
a standard open top revolver with a conversion cylinder would shoot loose in very short order, shooting standard pressure cartridges... & even with mild loads, may have limited life...
you may have seen my Colt Walker conversion, that was built to shoot smokeless powder in the 45 Black Powder Magnum case ( the 460 S&W case
) because of the frame style, & trust me, lots was done to strengthen it, which I could go into deeper later, I'm limited to standard or "slightly" higher pressures, than a standard 45 Colt... putting a 460 in the gun would be a problem, so we shorted the chamber slightly, so a factory 460 round won't insert into the chamber...a standard open top revolver with a conversion cylinder would shoot loose in very short order, shooting standard pressure cartridges... & even with mild loads, may have limited life...
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Driftwood Johnson
New member
Howdy
Some of you fellows are missing the point. Frame strength relates to how much pounding from recoil the frame can withstand over time. That is very different than pressure. Modern C&B conversion cylinders can withstand the pressure generated by smokeless, not Black Powder, cowboy loads.
You will notice the BP Only warning is usually stamped on the barrel of a C&B replica. But it is not the barrel, it is the cylinder which is the actual pressure vessel. Conversion cylinders use a better grade of steel than typical C&B cylinders. Specifically, my R&D conversion cylinders are made of 4150 Aresnal grade steel and the caps are made of 4140. Whether or not they are heat treated too I do not know, but it is the better steel in the cylinders that makes them OK for Smokeless powder. The lower grade steel on the barrels does not have a problem with Smokeless because if anything is going to blow it will be the thin walled chambers, not the relatively thicker barrel.
Here are two scans of the pamphlet that came with one of my R&D cylinders.
Some of you fellows are missing the point. Frame strength relates to how much pounding from recoil the frame can withstand over time. That is very different than pressure. Modern C&B conversion cylinders can withstand the pressure generated by smokeless, not Black Powder, cowboy loads.
You will notice the BP Only warning is usually stamped on the barrel of a C&B replica. But it is not the barrel, it is the cylinder which is the actual pressure vessel. Conversion cylinders use a better grade of steel than typical C&B cylinders. Specifically, my R&D conversion cylinders are made of 4150 Aresnal grade steel and the caps are made of 4140. Whether or not they are heat treated too I do not know, but it is the better steel in the cylinders that makes them OK for Smokeless powder. The lower grade steel on the barrels does not have a problem with Smokeless because if anything is going to blow it will be the thin walled chambers, not the relatively thicker barrel.
Here are two scans of the pamphlet that came with one of my R&D cylinders.
1) As already stated, you DON'T shoot full power smokeless loads. For example the R&D conversion I have shoots 45 Colt; even most modern loads cannot stand the highest loads that cartridge is capable of with modern powders. "Ruger Only".
2) You're replacing the most important part of the gun, from a pressure perspective.
2) You're replacing the most important part of the gun, from a pressure perspective.
bedbugbilly
New member
snyper - some of my powder supplies have pretty red dots, blue dots and greed dots . . . does that make it O.K.? 
Just kidding - I agree with your statement 100%. Sometimes people DO need to be protected from themselves.
Just kidding - I agree with your statement 100%. Sometimes people DO need to be protected from themselves.
Driftwood Johnson
New member
I remember hearing a story about a guy who blew up a C&B revolver. When questioned whether he had used Black Powder, he replied that yes it was black. With little red dots in it.