1862 conversion

[Steve's 44cal]

Thanks for all the info everyone..I have everything polished inside and out on these two they are very slick and smooth ..My power went out for a few days so i got a room at a hotel i work at when my girl opened my bag there they were...she said really ..well i couldnt leave them at home to get cold and lonely

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

The folks at Colt might be shocked because they did offer cartridge conversions on the pocket .36cal models. Many were made from unfinished frames as new cartridge guns. All were .38 Short Colt, 72% were rimfire, 28% were centerfire.

Last I talked to Bob Millington, he'd build you a new one for about $1200, plus the cost of the base gun. Don't know if Kirst & Strite do them or not. I know nobody offers a drop-in kit.

But it doesn't perform just as well as the larger 1851/1861 Navies.

Because some of us are obsessed with the very period correct Colt cartridge conversions and all their variations. Enough so that we seek out $250 out of print books on the subject so we can learn about them.

Also when the the .31 1848\1848 Baby Dragoon\1848\Wells Fargo revolvers were converted to cartridge they weren't .32. All of the factory converted ones were converted to .38 Short Colt, the same as the 1862 Pocket Navy and Police models. They stepped the bottom of the frame so the rebated .38 cylinder would fit and bored out and rifled the barrel. This info is from Dennis Adler's very excellent book on cartridge conversions. I don't if any independent gunsmiths converted the .31 guns to .32.

 

[Panzerschwein]

The '62 police guns have better stopping power than the .31 calibre guns. The small pocket police is just as concealable.

S&W use to offer the J-frames in .32 only. When they brought out the .38 S&W SPC round in 1950 when, it was an instant success.

History doth repeatith thyself methinks.

 

[StrawHat]

The "I" frames were in 32 and 38 S&W. The frame was too short for the 38 Special (introduced in 1898) and needed to be enlarged a bit to accept the cylinder needed for the longer 38 Special cartridge.

The "J" frame was introduced in 1950.