Converted Colt revolvers

[ArmedOkie]

In the old army/navy revolvers that were converted to fire cartridges (.44 and 38 short colt), I haven't noticed an ejector rod. They appear to retain the "whatchacallit lever that presses the black powder load down into the cylinder" (please tell me what to call this). Did they just convert that lever into an ejector, or did they not have an ejector?

 

[LightningMan]

I will try and guess what your wanting to know, first I'm guessing you are talking about old Colt percussion (ball & cap) revolvers converted to fire metallic cartridges. If so, and they were accutally converted buy Colt then yes most models of Colt conversions had the loading lever removed and replaced with a ejector rod, with the exception of the Colt Thuer conversion models, which could be changed back and forth between ball & cap and cartridges. It would still have the loading lever attached not only to be used for loading balls into the percussion cylinder but also to seat the special tappered cartridges into the conversion cylinder. Another thing the loading lever was used for, to reload those special tappered cases as the inside of loading levers end was threaded to accept the primmer punch. BTW it was a complex system which didn't go over very well, so when the Rollin White patent expired Colt didn't waste any time converting their large inventory of percussion guns & parts to use bored-through cylinders. Now there were also conversions not done by the Colt factory, also known as blacksmith conversions and they could range from being crudely done to nearly appear like Colt had done it themselfs. Hope this helps, LM.
PS. A very good source of information on Colt conversions is a book written by R. Bruce McDowell, "A Study of Colt Conversions and Other Percussion Revolvers" It goes into great detail covering all models of Colts different conversions along with some expermental guns.

 

[CraigC]

I can add very little to LightningMan's excellent post. Some early conversions, particularly those not done by Colt did not have ejectors but most did. Here's a picture of one, a Cimarron replica of the Colt 1860 Richards Type II conversion in .44Colt. These still utilized the percussion barrel with an intricately machined ejector housing that fit into the old rammer slot. The Richards-Mason conversion that followed used the new S-lug barrel of the 1871-1872 Open Top model. This was a cartridge-specific barrel, which also featured an ejector.

McDowell's book is very expensive when you can find it, presently $190-$239 on Amazon. I would suggest Dennis Adler's book "Metallic Cartridge Conversions" in the meantime.

 

[ArmedOkie]

THANK you both so much. I have so much to learn about these guns.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I have so much to learn about these guns.

Same here, and there's always more.

 

[LightningMan]

I would add that there were conversions known as "long cylinder" usually found in 1860 Army models. These conversions used unaltered barrels with loading lever left intact, although it was of not much use other than to be used to seperate the barrel from the frame for cleaning purposes. These long cylinder conversions also did not use a conversion ring/recoil shield so most had no provision for a loading gate and the ones that did didn't have one anyway. LM

 

[CraigC]

If you guys are really interested in this stuff, I can't stress enough how good Adler's book is. It's recently out of print but should be available at fair prices. His book on Colt single actions is also excellent. Keep an eye out for McDowell's book.

 

[LightningMan]

CraigC quote; McDowell's book is very expensive when you can find it, presently $190-$239 on Amazon. I would suggest Dennis Adler's book "Metallic Cartridge Conversions" in the meantime.
Wow! that much, I assume because they are out of print. To think I could have had another copy for $75 a year ago at our clubs annual auction. Now I really wish I would have bid on that book as I could have made money putting it up for sale on e-bay or something like that. LM

 

[CraigC]

I'm definitely keeping my eyes peeled for an affordable copy!

Adler's book is out of print too and its price is climbing. They're now twice what I paid for mine but I did end up getting an extra copy.

 

[Lawdawg45]

One of the other threads on here mentioned that some or most of the 1858 Remington conversions didn't have an ejector rod or a loading gate, and to reload involved replacing the cylinder as was shown in Pale Rider!

LD

 

[CraigC]

I was looking for a more affordable copy of McDowell's book when I ran across an online version. It's a complete version and I assume it's legal. I would strongly suggest downloading the PDF version. The site ran a little funny for me.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/39482680/McDowell-Colt-Revolver-Conversions-From-www-jgokey-com

 

[CraigC]

Well, my patience paid off! I've been watching McDowell's book on Amazon for eight months now, ever since this discussion. It was $190 when I added it to my wish list and went as high as $240 and that was the LOW price. I looked at it the other day and there was one copy in like new condition available for $69. I hastily ordered it and it should be here in a couple days. The electronic copy was nice but I like to have a book in my hand. I look forward to thumbing through it this fall with a cigar and a cup of coffee.

Right now the remaining copies range from $142 - $999!!! Keep your eyes peeled if you want a copy. Might get lucky, like I did.

http://amzn.com/0873414462