1862 Colt Pocket Navy or Police

[tembotusk]

What would be interesting would be a kit that had a barrell,hammer and cyl
in 32 S&W but then i guess cost would be more than the gun is worth.

You are discribing an 1849 31 cal Pocket Colt. A drop in cylinder can be purchased from Taylor's or anybody else who sells BP revolver accessories.


Let's not loose sight of the goal ... converting a Pocket Colt to 38 caliber!


The 1862 Pocket Colt is like that heart stopping beauty at the dance who looks over her boyfriend's shoulder and winks at you ... makes you go funny in the head! You could convert her... if only ... they made a cylinder!!

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

The odd thing about this whole subject is that when in the day Colt converted the 1849"s to cartridges, they were all 38's not 32's. They just machined the step down flat so the frame was like the pocket navy. It is in Adler's book on cartridge conversions.

 

[tembotusk]

Gaucho, that is interesting info about those old Colt conversions.

Thanks for the reference to the Adler book. I just ordered a copy through Amazon.

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

I bought the book over 12 years ago and I never get tired of reading it again over the years. Every time I reread it I find something I missed before. Adler did some serious research and the pictures are great.

 

[StrawHat]

Been thinking about this over the last couple of days. If I remember correctly, the conversion to 38 Whatever causes the ratchet to be too thin for reliable function. Back in the day, the guns were seldom shot. Today, we shoot them more in a day than originals were fired in a year or maybe more than they were ever fired. The ratchet would wear out.

 

[damoc]

You are discribing an 1849 31 cal Pocket Colt. A drop in cylinder can be purchased from Taylor's or anybody else who sells BP revolver accessories.


Let's not loose sight of the goal ... converting a Pocket Colt to 38 caliber!


The 1862 Pocket Colt is like that heart stopping beauty at the dance who looks over her boyfriend's shoulder and winks at you ... makes you go funny in the head! You could convert her... if only ... they made a cylinder!!

and what are you going to shoot in it after you convert it to 38?

there isnt realy such a thing as a 38 pistol cartridge anymore

the 38 colt is .357

I think the answer to your whole question is (its an awkward size with limited sales potential and or needing large amounts of gunsmithing to produce an item which may or may not be safe)

yes it would be nice but i dont like the idea of overstressing my prettys and would be more than happy to step down to a smaller caliber
cartridge

 

[tembotusk]

I hate to admit it; the longer I look at this conversion the more it looks like a non-starter.

The cylinder would be dangerously thin which would lead to liability issues for the manufactures. Three strikes:

1: Difficult to manufacture
2: Liability issues
3: Very small market

Any one of the three is enough for a manufacture to say no thank you.

I guess I will continue to enjoy my 1862 the old fashion way!

 

[Crawdad1]

I hate to admit it; the longer I look at this conversion the more it looks like a non-starter.

There's the 49' Pocket with its conversion. Same frame as the 62'. They're not as sweet as the 62' but sweet enough.

 

[tembotusk]

I have been reading the book Metallic Cartridge Conversions by Dennis Adler ... Interesting reading!

I sometimes feel a bit impure because I want to shoot cartridge converted BP revolvers. After reading Dennis Adler's MCC book, I feel much better. Back in the day, they could not wait to make the change.

That being said; if you look at the cover of the book below, you will notice a modern converted 1860 and 1862 Police! Not only did they do a ton of 1862 conversions back in the day; here is an example of a modern version. What is really interesting is the fact that Colt converted most 1849 revolvers in .38 caliber!

I understand just because it was done by one or two gunsmith/artists today does not mean it is practical or economical. Of course, this does not stop me from lusting after an 1862 conversion and hoping one of the current conversion shops will do a trial run to test the market...

 

[Dan D]

If you're seriously intersted in the small frame colt conversions, you owe it to yourself to pick up/borrow :

A Study of Colt Conversions and Other Percussion Revolvers

by R. Bruce McDowell


and

Variations of Colt's New Model Police and Pocket Breech Loading Pistols: Type-By-Type Guide to What Collectors Call Small Frame Conversions

by John D. Breslin, William Q. Pirie, and David E. Price

Hope this helps,
Dan

 

[tembotusk]

Dan, thanks for those titles. Very interesting books!

Mind you, one would need to sell a first born to pay for the McDowell book!!