Educate me on "cartridge conversion" revolvers.

J

Jo6pak

New member
Maybe this should be in the Revolver forum, but I figured the BP guys would have a bit more info.

Another thread started me thinking of cartridge conversion revolvers of the mid-late 1800s.

I know the basic mechanics of the weapons, but was wondering if anyone had any information of the actual effectiveness, reliability and durability of the designs.
Where they in widespread use, or more of a rare item or novelty.

What caliber/cartridges were prevalent? I assume they were mainly .38 and .44 caliber, but what were the actual cartridges they fired?

Thanks for any info
 
I believe that's going to be .44 rimfire and .44 Colt. I know the Remington was the first to be converted and was originally chambered as a five shot .44 rimfire.
 
The U.S. navy had their 1851 Colt .36 revolvers converted to .38 rim & center fire..used them right up into the 1880's..then adopted the dbl. action
Colt .38 "New Navy" in 1889.
 
Where they in widespread use, or more of a rare item or novelty
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They were much more common than the 1873 Colt until the mid 1880s at least. The 1873s didn't start showing up on the frontier in any kind of numbers until the mid to late 1870s, but at $17 (when some folks made $1-$2 a week) not everyone could afford one. A conversion could be purchased for $5-$7, and were just as reliable and deadly. Heck, there are written accounts of fellas carrying cap & ball revolvers into the 1890s.
 
There were more conversions than actual manufactured cartridge revolvers post Civil War. An excellent book on the subject is the Colt Conversion Revolvers.
Mace
 
I have a replica Colt pocket that's been converted to shoot 32 S&W

but would speculate the 44 caliber black powder revolvers were the most popular for conversion

I think there were several designs, & it was actually a common period gunsmith job that most any gunsmith worth his salt could perform ( at least the basics ) I'm sure there were more refined revolvers done by master smiths, but I think most smiths probably did at least the basic conversions & reliability on quality conversions was probably at least as good as the original weapon
 
From what little I have been able to reaqd on the topic, the Cartrige Conversions were pretty good, reliable arms. The main thing that sold the rRemingtons was the aspect of it's frame strength and that's why Colt eventually gave in and made full framed guns. I think that the conversions are beautiful piecec of work!
Heck, I trust my C&B Colt replicas not to fall apart...
ZVP
 
Thanks for the info guys. These weapons seem to be a forgotten part of firearms evolution. It is difficult to find alot of information or historical references to them.

Similar to early self loading guns, they epitomize one of the transitional periods of firearms development, which always interest me.

From the Ubertu site, it seems that the entire barrel assembly of the colts was swapped out. But the remingtons appear to just have an ejector rod added to the side of the loading lever.

I'm thinking I may need some hands on these types of pistols.:)

Keep the info and discussion coming..
 
I'm thinking I may need some hands on these types of pistols.
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I like mine...even if it is only a .38:)
Picture.jpg

It's a Cimarron/Uberti 1851 navy conversion. I also have a Uberti 1863 Remington conversion in .44-40. Third down.
SN852567.jpg

Both are good guns.
 
The thing to remember is that cartridge conversion revolvers were very popular in the 1870s due to price and ease of loading. The cap and ball six-shooter had really only been in common use for a little over 20 years when these came out and even if one had to remove the cylinder to reload it with cartridges, it was still simpler and quicker than a muzzle loader. I remember reading once that Colt's conversion of the 1862 Police to .38 rimfire was the most popular conversion on the market followed by Remington's .38 belt holster with a removable cylinder for reloading.
 
R&D drop in cylinders for bp44s work better in the rem piettas. We could not get 38 conversions for uberti 36c navys to work.The colt model 44's made by pietta should work in Pietta 1860 army types. But specify a pietta cylinder. Make sure it is a cylinder designed only for pietta. Um/ Uberti is tricky

Anyone had success w/ 38 conversion cylinders for uberti?

WBH
 
I did mine....

I converted my new Uberti .44 cal 1st Model Dragoon to .45 Colt with a Kirst Konversion Cylinder. The right recoil shield must be dished out, and the cylinder is a drop-in. Kind of pricey but the result is fun to handle and shoot. EVERYONE who has handled and shot it has had a big smile on their face....:D
 
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Ihad so much trouble with a cylinder that came with my .36 Uberti London, that I sent the conversion back and got refunded for it. The loose powder cylinder works fine!
I think someone got the .38 conversion spec's wrong and they just didn't fit the guns!
ZVP
 
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