45 colt...conversion vs new gun?

[1858rem]

does anyone here know of any -45 colt round- firing revolvers that would out shoot shoot a kirst converted 1858 Remington, and that could be had for under 275$.... i can get the cylinder with a loading gate needed to fire the cartridge rounds with for $275, for a gun i already have..... i was wondering if any new guns could be bought for that price and be just as accurate/reliable? i have read of about 3"@25yd with the conversion and the gun when shooting cap and ball is very reliable itself. and it is interchangeable between cartridge and back to cap and ball.

 

[Sistema1927]

I don't think that you are going to find a full revolver for $275, but I could be wrong. Possibly you can find something on the used market.

All three of my .45 Colt revolvers were $400 or more, but if I didn't already own several I would invest in the conversion cylinder for my 1858. Does the Remington require any modification to use the Kirst gated version? If so, then you might be best to go with an R&D drop-in, especially since removing the cylinder with the Remington is so much easier than with a Colt.

 

[Prepster]

I'd be wary of a conversion. I had a very bad experience with an R&D drop in cylinder.

I purchased one for a Uberti Colt Walker, which is the exact model the cylinder was supposedly made for. It didn't fit well, and took considerable effort to get in place. Once in place, the hammer pull appeared to be twice as heavy, and getting it to rotate to full lock-up was difficult without using a second hand on the cylinder. I promptly returned it, and the fine folks at Midway USA gave me a full refund. My Walker is still bp only.

Also, I believe the instruction manual said to only use cowboy action loads. For shooting at cans that's fine, but for something more serious you might want a gun that can actually handle full pressure .45 colt rounds.

I can't answer the modification question, but the one I bought didn't use a loading gate.

 

[BigBlock]

You can buy a used Blackhawk easily for $300. In .45 Colt, it will thoroughly kick a converted 1858's butt.

 

[1858rem]

well.....yes, and no as far as mods to the gun for a gated conversion. yes if you want to use the gate the side of the frame must be ported, but you can use this the same way as a r&d conversion removing it each time to load also... kirst makes both designs and they cost the same so i figure ill go with the gated version an port the gun later if i want to... sound pretty cool? if i could get a ruger 45 colt for 300 id totally go with that, but i do like how awesome the 1858 Remington looks too-14.5" long and a 8" octogon barrel!- i guess ill go check out the pawn shops tomorrow first. btw i saw a 45 colt cartridge for the first time today HUGE! cowboy loads of trail boss is what i plan on loading...ummm, any suggestions on bullet molds.. i see loads for 160,180,200,215,230, and 250g bullets, which are good all around shooting bullets

 

[BHP FAN]

I use the 250's in my 1875's,but when I had the 1858 and the R&D [which worked GREAT,BTW] I used lighter bullets...to cut recoil,and improve my time between shots.As I'm sure you already know,the heavier the bullet,the heavier the recoil,and vice versa.Lately,I found I like the boom,the recoil and smoke,so I reload with either 2f Goex,or Triple Seven ...

 

[1858rem]

cowboy reloading booklet showed max "cowboy"(low pressure?) load was 8g trail boss under a 160g bullet, all the way up to a 250g bullet and 5.5g trail boss in between velocity ranged from 1010fps w/160g to 775 or so w/250g all under 13500 cup..... do these sound safe for the conversion cylinder?

 

[1858rem]

with the lee classic reloader would it be better to use bulk hard cast bullets at 500/$40 or cast them at about .02 each, or 10$/500. as far as rate of production with that loader? is a hard cast better in a cartridge than pure lead bullets?

 

[BigBlock]

is a hard cast better in a cartridge than pure lead bullets?

If you're using an 1858 replica you need to stay with soft lead ONLY.

 

[fastbike]

Uberti

You should be able to find a new Uberti 1873 Cattleman for ~$275. Based on the one I have, it will shoot as well as you can. Bear in mind that this is a Colt SAA replica, so the sights aer not adjustable.

 

[1858rem]

ill look an see if they list a hardness to see if the bullets are usable cause thats a pretty good deal.

 

[6_gunner]

I've seen Uberti Millenium revolvers for around that price. It's a SAA copy with a 4 3/4" barrel. The finish is either parkerized or some sort of matte blue, giving it a very plain, no-nonsense look. I'd buy one of those over a conversion cylinder.

I bought a conversion cylinder for my Remington which I ended up selling at a considerable loss due to lack of use. It was fun for a while, but it was the first thing on the chopping block when I needed to scrape up money for a more practical firearm.