Build your own Colt?

[Blue Brick]

If you could special order a replica 1851, 1860, or 1861 Colt, selecting parts from all current production current models, would you? What would you use?

Barrel:
Frame:
Back strap:
Trigger guard:
Grips:
Caliber:
Cylinder:
Finish:
Sights:

 

[Busyhands94]

Assuming money isn't an issue, for me it would be a Colt Navy. Here's what I'd choose:
Barrel: 8"
Frame: color case hardened steel, gated.
Backstrap: brass, but if I could get steel I'd gofer' it.
Trigger guard: brass.
Grips: Engraved silver, or ivory from an endangered species like an albino rhinoceros.
Caliber: .32 S&W
Cylinder: conversion, .32 S&W, six shot (or seven I could never complain if that were the case.) and a cap and ball cylinder too.
Finish: Deep blue
Sights: regular ol' Colt type.

The reason I'd choose mine to be in .32 S&W Long is because I'm starting to grow fond of that caliber. Fired from my 3" barreled handgun they seem pretty accurate even with BP, and I would wager the ballistics could be improved with smokeless handloading. I'm talking a nice 98 grain SWC at maybe 900-1000 FPS. That would be an excellent small game cartridge I think, especially with a nice flat nosed wadcutter to anchor them bunnies like a lead balloon without goring it up.

That's not to say I wouldn't load my cartridges with round nosed bullets and BP, that's fun and I'd be sad if I couldn't do that. But in my experience so far (a few cylinders) the .32 S&W is a delightful little round.

My second choice would be one in .38 Special, or perhaps even .32-20.

~Levi

 

[Malamute]

I've long wanted a couple versions of the 1860. One, a 7 1/2" barrel (rather than 8"), navy size grip with steel straps, and better sights, like an early 1911 rear dovetailed into the rear of the barrel, (or a 3rd Dragoon 3 leaf type), and a dovetailed small blade up front, thick enough to give a sharp, square blade when viewed from the back. The second gun would be the same, but in 5 1/2". Either or both set up for cartridge would be good too, with a gate and ejector rod.

If I were to do it for real, I'd like to use late Colts.

 

[CraigC]

I'd do several but one that stands out would be an 1860 Richards Type I .44Colt, 5½" barrel, all steel Army grip frame, dovetail front sight, square notch rear sight, Turnbull case colors on the frame, conversion ring, hammer, gate, trigger and ejector rod, carbona blue on the remainder, one-piece ivory and full engraving. Maybe a lanyard ring.

I'd also like to see what one would look like with an 1860 frame, Army grip frame and `51 Navy barrel, also in .44Colt. I may even do a gated conversion on a .44 percussion 1851 just to see.

 

[Fingers McGee]

Mine would be based on the 1861 Navy:

Barrel: 7 1/2 inch round
Frame: CCH, not cut for shoulder stock
Back strap: Silver plated brass
Trigger guard: Large round, silver plated brass
Grips: Ivory
Caliber: .36
Cylinder: Round w/no scene
Finish: D Engraved in Helfricht style; CCH frame, trigger, hammer & loading
lever; Nitre-blued barrel and cylinder
Sights: dovetailed front blade and dovetailed rear on barrel

 

[BADUNAME30]

Barrel: 7.5" half round Douglas stainless premium air gauge in .50 with 11 degree target crown.
Frame: ROA stainless
Back strap:Very finely diamond cut platinum.
Trigger guard: platinum.
Grips:Custom molded to my hand and engraved sterling silver.
Caliber: .50
Cylinder:custom made fluted 5 shot
Finish:brushed stainless
Sights: Laser point.

Oh wait...

you could special order a replica 1851, 1860, or 1861 Colt, selecting parts from all current production current models,

Never mind.

 

[Jim K]

Platinum? Silver? Costly, and nice to look at, but it would be heavy as heck!

Jim

 

[Busyhands94]

You know what I'd like is a Remington NMA conversion that shoots .44 Magnums, or .357 Magnums. I'm talking a tempered frame, new barrel, reenforced frame but with the same lines, and with some nice hardwood grips.

Could a frame for a Remington be tempered to take the beating that .44 Magnums would produce?

 

[CraigC]

Actually Hartford Armory was a company that built (or was going to build) premium quality Remington 1875 and 1890 replicas that were chambered in .44Mag and .45Colt (strong enough for Ruger-only) loads. Far as I know, no design changes were made. Far as I know, they went under after producing very few, if any, guns.

 

[BADUNAME30]

A bit pricey Craig. But they make 'em.
Tho it's not an 18 '58' NMA like Levi wants.


http://www.hartfordarmory.com/remmies.htm

 

[CraigC]

Like I said, I do believe they are no longer in business and produced very, very few guns. If any at all. The only ones I've ever seen were those that John Taffin did an article on and that has been several years. I know he said 1858, which is why I specified the Hartford guns were 1875's and 1890's in my post.

 

[72coupe]

Hey Levi look at this. This is the Texas Jacks site. Look at the conversion cylinder for the 1849 pocket pistol.
http://texasjacks.com/BlkPowder/TJ-BlkPowder3.htm

 

[Busyhands94]

Those are so cool but so darn expensive! Love those .44 Mag Remmys and that conversion cylinder is the coolest.

Would it be possible to harden a Remington frame to take real hot loads?

When I've gotten my degree in gunsmithing (by the time I'll be 21) I could probably build REALLY strong 1858's and REALLY strong conversion cylinders. I'm talking .45 Colt bullets at around 1200 FPS, or .357 Magnums, or nice and hot .44 Specials, perhaps even Magnums.

I'd LOVE an 1858 with a 12" barrel and target sights in .357 Magnum.

Until then I could figure out a way to sleeve a conversion cylinder and barrel to accept .32 S&W Longs, that's still a pretty sweet cartridge. I've really been appreciating that ol' dinosaur of a cartridge lately, but I think it's not just an artifact. I see huge potential as a small game cartridge and I think that you could load it to be accurate and with something like .22 Magnum ballistics.

Let's face it, factory loads in that caliber are anemic. Reason being is because they don't want some dummy putting 1200 FPS loads in an old H&R breaktop and blowing the gun and their hand to smithereens. The cartridge could be seriously improved with handloading, a nice 90 grain wadcutter at 1000-1100 FPS would be deadly on small game.

But I think in a Remington NMA frame gun you could have some SERIOUS potential. The more cartridges I load the more I'm wanting a nice full sized revolver in the .32 S&W.
With Remington .38 Spesh conversion cylinders you aren't supposed to shoot hotter loads in them because the cylinder can't take it, neither can the gun.

But with a .32 S&W cylinder you could have a nice 5.5" Remmy that shoots .32 S&W shorts and longs. That sounds extremely useful, especially if it can safely chuck a 90-98 grain bullet at 1000-1200 FPS. You might even be able to have seven shots, not just six.

Just my thoughts on this. Say a few years down the road I were to make and sell Remmys that were .32 C&B and .32 S&W or .32 ACP conversion cylinders would anybody even want to buy something like that? I do know you could shoot .32 ACP in a .32 S&W, for all you non-handloaders.

Kinda thinking out loud here, I've got too busy a mind to the point where I'm coming up with stuff like this.

~Levi

 

[Blue Brick]

Mine would start out as an 1851 Navy and I would special order

Barrel: Griswold and Gunnison (Round barrel in 44 cal.) 7.5 inch
Frame: Steel – (Color casehardened)
Back strap: Silver plated over Brass (1851 Navy)
Trigger guard: Silver plated over Brass
Grips: Walnut (Varnished)
Caliber: 44
Cylinder: Dance and brothers (in 44 cal)
Finish: Blue (High polish if I could)
Sights: Fixed (hammer rear and brass bead front

 

[pghrich]

Hey Blue Brick, less the round barrel you could come real close to that by buying a pietta 1851 civilian, rich

 

[Crawdad1]

I sure wish they would make a conversion cylinder in 32 S&W for the 1862 Pocket Police or in 38 long colt for the 1862 Police. Those are the most beautiful open topped Colts ever produced.

 

[Blue Brick]

Hey Blue Brick, less the round barrel you could come real close to that by buying a pietta 1851 civilian, rich

Very close, it’s a combination of the 44 cal Griswold and Gunnison model and the Civilian model. I really overall like the Griswold and Gunnison model the most, but I think I should get something that has a little more strength. Does the Civilian model really use silver plated brass or is it just nickel plated steel? Is it magnetic?

 

[Busyhands94]

I sure wish they would make a conversion cylinder in 32 S&W for the 1862 Pocket Police or in 38 long colt for the 1862 Police. Those are the most beautiful open topped Colts ever produced.

Now that would be tasty. Look on post 12, 72 coupe posted a conversion cylinder for the 49 pocket that shoots .32 S&W's.

 

[Majes]

I sure wish they would make a conversion cylinder in 32 S&W for the 1862 Pocket Police or in 38 long colt for the 1862 Police. Those are the most beautiful open topped Colts ever produced.

I was under the impression the 1851 & 1861 Colt Navy cartridge converters would work in the 62 police, am I mistaken ???

http://www.kirstkonverter.com/coltnavy.html

 

[Kaeto]

To have my perfect Colt 1860 Army all that's left is to have my third barrel cut down to 5 1/2 ".

I've got the .44 Army with Colt thunderer grips
3" '60 barrel
8 1/2" '60 barrel to be cut to 5 1/2"
8 1/2" '60 barrel
Conversion cylinder to .45 Colt

Here she is sporting the 3" barrel.

 

[CraigC]

I was under the impression the 1851 & 1861 Colt Navy cartridge converters would work in the 62 police, am I mistaken ???

The 1862 .36 is a smaller framed, five-shot gun.

 

[Old Fuff]

The previous post is correct so far as original Colt cap & ball revolvers, but some of the Italian reproduction makers have made a short-barreled "Police Model" based on the Colt 1851/1860 frame - which is something Colt didn't do. These particular revolvers can be converted to use metallic cartridges.

 

[Busyhands94]

Would a .38 Special or .38 LC cylinder work in a 62' Colt Po-po? You could line the bore, cut a nice new shiny forcing cone, then load up some .38 Special with Triple Seven or perhaps, cut down the brass and shoot maybe 3 grains of Bullseye behind a nice Kieth SWC. That might make for a pretty accurate little gun, and with the wadcutters you'd get enough punch to humanely dispatch small game animals and make them drop like a stone. A good small frame pistol that has a caliber beginning in 3 and can give decent accuracy could make for a pretty sweet little pocket critter gitter, given it (and you) are accurate enough to put those bullets where they need to be.

 

[CraigC]

...some of the Italian reproduction makers have made a short-barreled "Police Model" based on the Colt 1851/1860 frame....

If this is true then the difference can easily be discerned by cylinder capacity. A big 10-4 for six shot .36's, a big negatory for five-shot .36's.

 

[Old Fuff]

If this is true then the difference can easily be discerned by cylinder capacity. A big 10-4 for six shot .36's, a big negatory for five-shot .36's.

Again, this is correct. I only brought the subject up because some of our members have purchased the Italian "large frame" Police Models and converted them to metallic cartridge using 1851 Navy or 1860 Army cylinders plus associated parts. More have cut down full-sized revolvers. Last but not least others have purchased the Uberti (already) cartridge converted revolvers and cut them down into a snubby. Here the advantage is that you don't have to sleeve the barrel or replace the cylinder, the frame is forged, and the revolver smokeless powder proofed.