45 LC centerfire cylinders

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MikeK

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I'm thinking of getting a BP revolver. One that I'm interested in, a Uberti 1858 Remington, will also take a 45LC cylinder.

Anyone have any experience with these? Do they work? More reliable? More accurate?

Even though they cost more than the gun, it seems worth the price to have a centerfire and a BP with no paperwork.
 
I'm considering getting a Ruger Old Army as my "BBQ" dress/open carry piece, and outfitting it with a Taylor's and Co cylinder. How strong will this combination be? Will it be close to the neighborhood of the typical "magnum-strong" Ruger, or closer to SAA wimpiness?

TIA,

John
 
I have the 58 remington and bought the R&D conversion cylinder. I will never part with mine. It's also a great conversation piece among my friends.
:D :D :D
 
Howdy:
I've got the R&D conversion cylinders for my Remington New Model Armies. The Conversions offered by Taylor& Company are the R&D Cylinders and R&D offers these for Uberti, Pietta and Ruger Old Army revolvers. I've been happy with the R&D cylinders. Kirst also offers conversion cylinders for Remingtons. The Kirst unit is a five shot cylinder in .45 Colt with a safety chamber. This feature isn't really needed on the Remington revolver as the Remington cylinders are safe with all six chambers loaded unlike the Colt design. Both the R&D and Kirst units are high quality. The Kirst sells for about $50.00 more than the R&D.
 
Before spending the bucks on a conversion cylinder for an Italian "Remington 1858 Army" slug the barrel's bore. Some of them run to .446 and even larger. Today most .45 Colt cartridges are loaded with .452 dia. bullets. The oversized bore tends to insure that the cartridge won't up pressures too high, but they also can result in poor accuracy and excessive leading.

Ruger "Old Army" bores are closer too .452 as a rule, so the conversion should work fine. Again though, slug the bore before buying a cylinder.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Old Fuff - Does slug mean measure - like put a slug in the bore to see if it's loose?
 
Yes. The usual way is to take a soft lead ball that is slightly bigger then the bore and drive it through the barrel from muzzle to breech using a wood dowel that will just slide through the bore. Carefully catch the ball when it comes out and measure it across the engraved flat with a micrometer (any gunsmith or machinist should have one).

Ideally it should measure around .451-.453, but don't be suprised if it comes out .456 or larger. .45 Colt bullets are sized between .452 (most common) to .454. Frankly, I wouldn't spend the money for a cylinder to fit a gun with a way-oversized bore. But I would consider having the revolver rebarreled and then going for a new cylinder.

The reason those bores are oversized is to reduce pressures for safety reasons. Remember these guns are intended to be used with black powder, and none of them has been proofed with smokeless. The only one that I'd consider to be safe with standard .45 Colt factory loads (or similar hand loads) is the Ruger - or a "58 Remington" clone with an oversized bore. But in that case don't expect fine accuracy. You might get it but that wouldn't be a sure thing.
 
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