1851 Colt converesion

[Montenegrin]

I was recently thinking of buying conversion cylinder for my 1851 Colt Navy.But many people say that in conversions of Colt 1851 ,you have to use light loads of .38 spl or to use black powder in 38s shell.Why I can't shoot normal loads of .38 special or 38s wadcutter trough my converted Colt (if I convert it) ? I have Colt 1851 Uberti London model with steel frame and steel backstrap and I do not see difference in quality of metal compared to 1873 SAA's I seen,so I do not think it will blow up under normal loads,just wanted to hear ur opinions

 

[Old Fuff]

The barrel is held on by a key or wedge, that passes through the barrel and a slot in front of the cylinder arbor. If the arbor cracks at the front of the slot, the next shot will take the barrel down range. That, and the overall materials are designed for "black powder only."

You also have a problem in that some .36 C&B revolvers have bores that run up to .380", where the diameter of a .38 Special bullet is .358". This may drop pressure in the barrel, but also cause miserable accuracy.

On the other hand, if you buy a revolver that "comes converted" from the factory as a cartridge gun it's made from better material and the bore correctly matches the bullet.

 

[Fingers McGee]

.38 special bullet diameter is .357. .36 Cal 1851 Navies are .375. Shooting a .38 special bullet in a converted 1851 will result in the bullet rattling down the bore and giving p$## poor accuracy. A hollow based bullet will bump up to fill the barrel and give decent accuracy. Lining the barrel will allow use of standard .38 specials. Standard velocity .38 specials with lead bullets are safe to use in a steel framed cartridge conversion with a lined barrel.

 

[mykeal]

I do not see difference in quality of metal

The manufacturers of the conversion cylinders specify the loads the cylinders were designed for. They know exactly what materials were used in the design and manufacture of the parts and as such are the only ones qualified to make such statements. Are you a metallurgist with sophisticated testing equipment that can provide data to use in making such a judgement? If not, good luck - you may well be one of the statistics we talk about here someday.

 

[junkman_01]

<deleted> regular .38 Spl. is not a proper load for an open top gun. They were not DESIGNED for it. They can use the original black powder loading, but not the smokeless loading.

 

[BHP FAN]

You can shoot smokeless Cowboy Action [black powder ''equivalent''] loads in it all day long, but unless you get ''heeled'' bullets [Rapine makes a special mold for them] your accuracy will still suffer.

 

[CraigC]

I do not see difference in quality of metal compared to 1873 SAA's I seen

You can determine this with your bare eyeballs???

 

[Montenegrin]

Mykeal,I wasn't talking about quality of cylinders,I was talking about quality of gun itself.

 

[CraigC]

IMHO, with zero scientific data to support it, the factory cartridge guns are significantly better made guns than the percussion guns. Further, we KNOW that the factory cartridge guns are proof tested and we know they are built of strong enough steel to withstand a lifetime of shooting metallic cartridges loaded to SAAMI maximum pressures. So for me, unless I'm having Bob Millington build me one out of a 2nd or 3rd generation Colt, if I want cartridges, I'm buying a factory cartridge conversion.

 

[Montenegrin]

One more question-can conversion cylinder handle loads from 699 to 760fps (in smokeless) ?

 

[Old Fuff]

One more question-can conversion cylinder handle loads from 699 to 760fps (in smokeless) ?

All of the ones I know of will, and probably more. But that isn't the most important issue.

The larger problem is that the cylinder arbor (the pin the cylinder revolves on) may crack at the front corners of the wedge slot. Then you may find the barrel going down range. This is agravated because smokeless powder burns faster so the pressure peaks quicker then is the case with black powder. Also, as has been pointed out, while the steel used in C&B models isn't bad, that used in cartridge models is better.

Next, if the bore is too large for the bullet, accuracy may be rotten.

These and other issues won't occur if you buy a made-for-cartridges revolver in the first place.

Keep in mind that the first modern C&B > cartridge conversions were made for the movie industry, but they were intended to fire blanks, not bullets.