Cimarron open top 1872

stubbicatt

New member
Actually saw one the other day in a dealer showcase.

No ejector. (???)

Glad I had a chance to look at one before buying. I guess that means a conversion is in my future, should I decide to buy such a revolver, as at least it has an ejector rod affixed to the side of the frame.
 
Was there a rear sight on the barrel? A '72 open top certainly has an ejector - google Uberti, Taylor or Cimarron and take a look. I'm thinking that it was either mis-identified or whoever you asked, didn't know what they were talking about. Were you able to see the box/label it came in? If it was new and a '72 open top, it should have had an ejector on it - if it was "used" - the previous owner may have removed it. What barrel length was it? If it was in the showcase and you didn't handle it - either the tag was wrong or it wasn't what you assumed it to be? All of the barrel lengths are supposed to have the ejector . . .
 
Well gents. I understand your disbelief. I too was gobsmacked.

No photo on the internet is necessary to tell me what I saw in person. The glass on the top of the display case in which the revolver was resting, was less than 18" from my nose. The revolver itself may have been another 24" under the glass I was looking through. There was a coiled snake metal gizmo affixed to the wood grip, and the hang tag said "Man with No Name" or "No Name." Barrel looked to be about 7 inches in length. The loading lever looked to have been made of two pieces of tubular steel, joined in the middle.

The starboard side (right side) of the revolver was facing the glass. The rear sight was above the forcing cone on the barrel. There was a loading lever, yes. There also was a loading gate, in the same location as one would find a loading gate on an 1873, on the starboard side in the recoil shield. There was no ejector rod on the side of the barrel, or frame, or anywhere to be found on the starboard side of that revolver. There *may* have been one on the left side of the revolver, but since I didn't actually handle the piece, I don't know. Heck there may have been a second loading gate on the left side of the revolver. I didn't see it. But unless someone tells me that there is a second loading gate and an ejector on the left side of the revolver, I think I'm safe in going forward with the belief that there is none.

If one were to use the loading lever as an ejector, in the customary fashion, by unclipping it from the spud near the muzzle of the barrel, and pivoting it downwards, to push the case out with the short length of cylindrical, cupped, metal customarily used for seating lead balls in a cap and ball revolver, one would have a devil of a time extracting the empty cartridge through the meat of the recoil shield, around the hammer, and internal lockwork of the firearm. Perhaps one removes the barrel wedge and pulls the barrel and somehow turns it about on its axis to use the loading lever to push empties out. Seems a whole lot of work to accomplish what could be much more easily achieved using a small stick in the field.

Perhaps the loading lever, being what looked to be a two part affair, has a telescoping, readily removable, pin or something in it. Perhaps one unclips the lever, pulls the telescoping pin out of the lever, and uses it by hand to individually push the empties out. I would be concerned that the loading lever in its arced descent would enter the chambers and lock the mechanism as one probed with the pin to push out an empty.

All I know is I'm glad I didn't buy one sight unseen. They didn't have any "conversion" models, which I haven't seen in person, but which I have seen photos of at Taylors and Company website. They quite obviously have an ejector assembly affixed to the barrel in line with the loading gate on the starboard side of the barrel.
 
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Stubbi,
That's what I thought, its a Man with no Name .
The loading lever comes apart and you poke the empties out with it. The part of the lever that stays with the plunger is hollow and the rod you poke with fits in the hollowed section.
Kinda cool I thought.

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com
 
BC, I thought the "conversions" had the sight as a notch in the hammer nose. This one definitely had the sight on the rear of the barrel.
 
Just a guess, but
There probably are (and were) as many cartridge conversion versions as there are (were) manufacturers, and people doing them.
 
The "Man with No Name" "conversion" isn't really a conversion. It is in fact a 1851 navy barrel assembly on a 1872 open top frame. In a conversion, there is a conversion ring at the rear of the cylinder, that houses the loading gate. In an open top, the loading gate is milled into the frame itself. Do a google search, there is a difference between the two revolvers. The "No Name" gun isn't a historical firearm replica. It is a replica of a gun Clint Eastwood used in a couple of his "spaghetti westerns" as his "Man with No Name" character. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly being one. It is a copy of a "hollywood gun". That being said, I wouldn't mind owning one.

This is an open top.


This is a conversion.


This is the "Man With No Name".


Look at the area between the hammer and the cylinder. The "No Name" has the same frame as the open top.

For reference, this is a 1851 conversion.
 
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MJN hits it right on the head!

The "Man With No Name" is exactly what he says . . it's a "fantasy gun".

Somewhere out there in "You Tube Land" there is a video on that particular model. I say it quite a while ago when I was googling the '72 open top - sorry I don't have a link to it. Anyway . . . in that video is is clearly explained that the "Man With No Name" is a "made up" model - primarily for the Cling Eastwood "wannabes". :D Nothing wrong with that model though and a number of folks like 'em a lot.

As far as the '72 open tops go . . . even the ones available today (clones) are not 100% "authentic". The originals came out in 44 Henry rimfire to be companion pieces for the popular 1866 Winchesters that were chambered in the same cartridges. Unfortunately for Colt, Winchester was coming out with the 1873 model - not in 44 Henry. :) An interesting study in "marketing" and what was going on.

Whether 100% authentic or not - the conversions and open tops can be a lot of fun. The "new ones" . . i.e. the ones made as a conversion and not a BP C & B revolver with a conversion cylinder added . . have barrels with "modern" dimensions. One in "38" will have a .357 bore just like a "modern" pistol - so . . "modern molds" for 38 spell./357 can be utilixed as well as "modern" brass - 38 Colt Short, Long & 38 Special if the cylinder is made for the longer 38 Spl.The same with the other calibers offered.

I'm somewhat of a "purist" when it comes to long guns for BP . . but I personally won't let a little "un-authentic" variant in a revolver prevent me from buying or shooting it - they are too much fun! I love my Uberti Bisley and several "open tops" are on my "to buy" list . . . a '51 Navy R & M conversion in 38, a Uberti Cattleman in 45 Colt and a '72 open top in 44 if I an ever find one.

If you currently shoot a BP C & B . . the transition to one of these "conversions" is a natural one. You don't need a lot of fancy equipment to load/re-load BP (or smokeless) cartridges for them. Life is too short . . . if you can swing it . . give it a try! :)
 
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