Pietta 58 Rem Navy Conversion Cylinder

C

CameronP

New member
I noticed that the 36 conversion cylinder is offered in 38 special.
Question:
Would a special, hollow-based cast bullet be required to work accurately in the 0.375 bore ( 0.375 vs 0.358)? I would think so, but just had to ask.
Are molds available for the required cast bullet??
Would like to hear from someone having went this route.
 
Cameron,
I can't answer your question but I look forward to those who can-
I have several 58 Army's, Uberti and originals and think a Navy in 38 would be a nice size too.
 
I noticed that the 36 conversion cylinder is offered in 38 special.
Question:
Would a special, hollow-based cast bullet be required to work accurately in the 0.375 bore ( 0.375 vs 0.358)? Yes. A hollow based bullet would be required to get any kind of accuracy
Click to expand...

While I don't have a conversion cylinder for any of my .36s, people I know that do have either had their barrels sleeved, or use hollow base wadcutters. While I don't know for 100% sure, I'm fairly certain there are hollow base molds out there that can be used.

I'm sure others with more experience will chime in soon.

FM
 
I have zero practical experience, but I've done a lot of reading on the subject because I want to get a .38 cylinder for my '51 clone.

Given the choice between shooting hollow base wadcutters and lining the barrel, I think that I'm going to have the barrel lined. Here's why:

The HBWC bullet relies on the skirt expanding to grip the grooves of the barrel, but there seems to be some question on just how to make that happen in a BP cartridge conversion. The problem seems to be that the skirt has to be pretty thin because there's not a huge amount of powder in the case to generate the pressure to pop the skirt out. Finding a bullet that's both soft enough and has a thin enough skirt seems to be sort of a holy grail. Lyman used to make a mold, but apparently doesn't anymore. Supposedly Hornady makes a swaged bullet that's adequate for the task.

Obviously, lining the barrel obviates the need to find a special bullet. But it's also (relatively) expensive and locks you into using the cartridge cylinder for good. So, like most things, there are tradeoffs to be balanced. For me, lining the cylinder is good for me. Everybody else has to make their own decisions.
 
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