.36 conversion cylinder idea...

[Busyhands94]

i heard about folks using a .38 special conversion cylinder in a .36 caliber gun, and how the accuracy tends to be poor in the oversized bore, basically it's a .35 caliber bullet in a .36 bore, that's a small difference in diameter but enough to make a difference in accuracy. but what if instead of having to re-line the bore to accurately shoot .38 special they designed a .36 caliber cartridge specially designed for cartridge conversions and a .36 cylinder to go along with it! that way, if a person wanted to remove the cartridge cylinder and shoot it with the cap and ball cylinder they could if they wanted to. any ideas toward this? i mean it might take a little while to catch on and for the ammo to be available, but that seems like a good idea!

 

[ChasMack]

I just posted a similar qestion, although mine was more along the line of how do you do it and is it worth the cost and trouble? I didn't really think using a HBWC would be very accurate. To reline the bore seems like it would be pricey. I may just buy one already set up for 38spl...the cowards way out! A 36 cal would be great but laike most things if there is not enough demand there is no action.

 

[Busyhands94]

or how about i invent the cartridge, i will call it the .36 Dabney. and the longer version, that will be the .36 Dabney Magnum. i hope that hundreds of years from now, people will remember me as that guy who made conversion cylinders a lot easier for the .36!

 

[black_powder_Rob]

I have looked into converting one of my 36's too, there is a way to shoot 38 spec. out of your 36 barrel without losing to much accuracy. shoot a hollow based bullet. the hollow base expands and fills and becomes a 36.

As for the 36 cartridge I hust don't think there would be enough intrest for most makers to justify producing one and if they did it would probably be pretty darn expensive.

 

[[email protected]]

Why don't you just put a 38 barrel on it like mine. Well mine is actualy is a
9mm barrel. The cylinder is .357. and the barrel is .355. Just right. I would
think a new barrel would be best. I bet mine would shoot 38's just fine.

 

[Shotgun Willy]

How about taking the .38 cylinder and boring it out to accept .38 S&W, they're .360 or .361.

 

[Curator]

Why not cast the correct heeled bullet with the nose portion at .375+ and the heel at .357". That way you could use .38 S&W Special brass and won't have to reline the barrel to .357 groove diameter. That's what both Colt and S&W did in 1868

 

[Jim Watson]

Sorry, Busy, Colt and others figured that out long ago.
As Curator says, the original cartridge conversions were for .38 Long Colt (actually its predecessor, known then just as .38 Central Fire (or rimfire.)) They had heel type bullets (look at a .22 LR) that were the full diameter of the case and took the rifling nicely.

I can tell you from personal experience that a .38 S&W's .003" larger bullet does not do a bit of good.

A conventional hollowbase wadcutter will sometimes, not always expand enough to take the rifling. But the ones that don't make real kewl rectangular keyhole hits.

I did not try the hollowbase bullets used in late production .38 Long Colt, I just had my barrel lined to .358".

 

[Berkley]

what if instead of having to re-line the bore to accurately shoot .38 special they designed a .36 caliber cartridge specially designed for cartridge conversions and a .36 cylinder to go along with it! that way, if a person wanted to remove the cartridge cylinder and shoot it with the cap and ball cylinder they could if they wanted to

It's been done:

 

[ChasMack]

That is what I was trying to think of in my post. A heeled bullet. How does one reload those, and where do you get the bullet from...or do you cast them yourself?

 

[7mm Rubrbnd Shootr]

"Dyin ain't much of a livin boy"
that was Clint Eastwood Chaz... was it in "High Plains Drifter"
or which movie did Clint quote that infamous saying in?
.: BADD

 

[junkman_01]

That quote IS from "The Outlaw Josey Wales" 1976, Clint Eastwood. Just like ChasMack said!

 

[duelist1954]

I have a Rapine 158-grain, .357" hollow based RNFP mold that solves that problem nicely.

 

[Nicodemus38]

9mm makarov is alot closer bullet wise then the 38 special is.

there IS a company that makes a pistol cartridge that uses a .375 diameter bullet, and it uses a standard style straightwall case. but from what little ive found, it would probably be to fat to use if it had a rim.

 

[ChasMack]

To 7mm...it was Josey Wales who said that...played by Clint...so I wrote Wales said..

 

[ChasMack]

AHH...just saw where Junkman was on that...wish Clint had made more westerns!