Project Revolver

I've had this same idea multiple times but just remember ASM parts are no longer sold. Even older Ubertis and Piettas may not be compatible with the new parts available. Expect to custom build parts, even little things like a spring or wedge screw that you think you'd be able to order won't fit. And you can forget about things like finding a replacement wedge.

Keep an eye out for rock island auctions online only auctions.
They have stuff that isn't good enough for the premier auction, they have basket case originals turn up now and again.

Maint, if you want to do this, stay away from brassers. Older ones have usually been overloaded, rode hard, and put up wet.

Please go with a steel frame, no matter if it is an 1851 Navy, 1860 Army, 1861 Navy, or, if you venture so far, an 1862 Pocket Police .36 or a 1862 (some say 1865) Pocket Navy .36.

My hands/fingers are too large/long for a Colt Pocket of any model.

I am not a Rem NMA guy, as you may ascertain.

I think you will have better luck with parts for a Pietta or an Uberti 1851 Navy steel. Pietta started using CNC machining ~2000 and I think Uberti did so just a year or so later. Those are your best bets.

As a previous very wise poster said, stay away from ASM, ASP, G&U,and other older pistols as parts can be hard or impossible to find. Those guns are for replica collectors within a certain niche and not what you are looking for at this point in time. I have an ASM Pocket (XIX 1963) that has a bad trigger/bolt spring and is just a wall hanger these days: no parts available.

If you find one, be sure of the manufacture date. I will post this date stamp table again so you can compare your newly found gem:

IMO, if you want a good steel shooter, buy a steel Pietta, take it apart gingerly (Guido the Gorilla still works there) insofar as the screws. Piettas have a very good arbor to barrel lug fit so you won't have a problem with the wedge shooting loose.

After that send it to Mike http://www.goonsgunworks.com/ .

He does exceptional work for a very fair price, and I am sure you will be very pleased. His guns are slicker than owl snot on a doorknob.

Just my $.02 worth.

Jim

Visit a few gun shows. There is usually a few BP revolvers. Some are in better shape than others. Prices can be very reasonable, especially for a beater.

IronHand

Here's a project for you. You can find stripped Pietta steel frames on gunbroker. You could change one of your brass framed guns over to a steel frame.
I did that and it turns out it not a simple parts swap. The internals need fitting.

Here is a somewhat spendy idea to entertain, but consecutive serial numbers if that interests you:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PIETTA-185...521242?hash=item4b3eb3d99a:g:WP4AAOSw5i5aqJhy

The barrel assemblies/wedges are not there. For consecutive serials, the arbor ends look dissimilar (which may mean a modification may have been done to one or the other), the wood fit to the frame is very good for a Pietta 1851 (unusual: newer Piettas always have wood not flush with the frame), and the wood fit to the trigger guard/backstrap on both are poor and are not consistent between the two pistols. In the back of my mind I am thinking parts guns.

I cannot discern any date codes, but the grips, backstraps, and trigger guards are of the newer Pietta style commencing in 2015.

Prior to that, the grip style was the infamous "tail" grip, and I believe it only pertained to the Pietta 1851 Navy (back to around ~2000 and maybe before) and not the 1860 Army which has a longer grip. The older style "tail" grip will fit any newer Pietta 1851 Navy frame but only as a 3-piece unit (backstrap, trigger guard, and wood), and vice-versa. The geometry and dimensions are different within the grip sets between the newer and older styles. The frames are all the same.

As always, buyer beware! If you are interested in any used items on any site, get your ducks in a row, prepare a list of questions, and send them to the seller. If he can't or won't answer to your satisfaction, walk away.

Beware of a "no returns" clause. Any seller worth his salt selling good parts will accept returns within a certain minimum period of time, even if you have to pay shipping back. Many sellers want a USPS money order and it is hard to get your money back in case of a return using this route. If the seller will accept a credit card (even at a 3% premium) you can cancel payment much more easily.

If the answers are satisfactory, you can always try to negotiate a price if no one else bids on it. All BP C&B revolvers are Federally legal to ship via USPS (except to states who have their own state laws prohibiting that) and if the seller insists upon shipping to an FFL only, it will only cost you more FFL fees from the receiving FFL holder, in addition to what you forked over for the purchase.

Ask me how I know that from a few years ago.

Bought a used Replica Arms El Paso Texas 1848 Colt Pocket .31 6" on a whim because I liked the squareback TG for much more than it was worth. It was manufactured by ASM in 1963 [XIX], and had not much care in its life. No return possible. So I have a good looking wall hanger that does not work, and no parts available (as in non-existent). I am awaiting word from another guy here who wants it and if he does I am sending it to him gratis.

Sorry to be so wordy, but when I get on a roll...

Just paying it forward.

Maint, good luck in your endeavors, sir!

Jim

Looks like the seller has gone to ebay.

I've been looking for black powder revolvers in poor condition for a while at a fair price to salvage parts and do the same thing you want to, but I can't find anything online that fits my criteria or price. All the black powder revolvers on gunbroker are in good enough condition that their value isn't under 200 and those that are in bad condition and are listed by a certain pawn shop in Alabama as being in "good condition" will run you over 200.

Stripped 1858's (basically the frame and barrel only) will run you 120 on GB. There's a reason most stuff doesn't sell on that website and just sits there forever.

I'd hit the pawn shops in your area, they're a safe bet to have repros as they pay sellers more for them than gun stores do.

Check your local gunsmith. He may have what you want in his parts bin.

IronHand