Home-smithed cut-down revolvers

[MISSEDSHOT]

I know there was an 1860 Colt offered by Cabelas and have seen it in action on youtube.I read one article by Red Meinecke in The Best of the Backwoodsman III about an 1860 he cut down to four inches and removed the loading lever.Has anyone done an 1858 Remington in .44?What of accuracy?I look forward to hearing from yall..MISSEDSHOT.....

 

[Old Dragoon]

I have cut 2 Remy's (Euroarms) to 4 3/4" bbls (my Gunslinger's) and they shot as good as when they had 8" bbls.Balance was markedly improved. I cut down the loading levers on mine. Just be sure to crown the muzzle correctly.

 

[Old Fuff]

I once handled an original Remington New Model Army that had been converted to metallic cartridge and cut down sometime during the 19th century in southern Arizona.

The 'smith (or whoever) has drilled and taped a hole in the flanged part of the cylinder base pin. The end of the screw would enter a shallow hole drilled into the bottom of the barrel. This arrangement kept the pin from moving because the bullet rammer assembly had been removed. The barrel was cut to about 3 1/2" and a new front sight dovetailed into the end of it.

It was an interesting and fully functional conversion.

 

[KarbineKrazy]

this thread is worthless without pics.

 

[Cincinnati Slim]

Short barrels...

Got two, both Piettas, so called "Sherrif's models" with 5 1/2 inch tubes.
Ones a NMA Remmie the other a 1860 Colt clone. Got a Kirst for the Remmie and an R&D for the Colt. Ordered extra stainless percussion cylinders for both
from Cabela's. Use TRM nipples, 30 Gr. fff Goex, wonder wads. 454 balls, Remington #11 caps for percussion, 28 Gr, Triple-Seven, .060 fiber wad, 250 Gr. RNFP soft lead in cartridge loads.

No problems with accuracy vs. 7.5 or 8 inch barrels, draw and ballance is better. There is more muzzle jump and flash than with the longer tubes. Probably give up 50-100 fps but I don't have a chrony so don't know for sure.

Biggest downside; LOADING LEVER IS TOO SHORT TO HAVE ENOUGH LEVERAGE, this is especially true on the Colt.

I use a "Dick Dastardly" cylinder loader so this is not an issue for me. Lever is still very useful for getting barrel off the arbor to clean/reload.

I like the 5 1/2 inch barrel length. Balance is good and it clears leather much better.

Happy Trails,

Cincinnati Slim

 

[brentn]

That colt job you have there is very very nice slim.
I have my frame, loading lever, trigger and hammer looking the same way, where the other parts are still blue.

Are the fluted cylinders ok to use with max loads on the army?

 

[Cincinnati Slim]

Stainless fluted cylinder...

Yea that fluted stainless cylinder is the one Cabela's sells as a spare one for the Laser engraved short barrel .44 caliber "U.S. Marshal's" 1851 polished stainless revolver. No problems with 30 Gr. loads of fff Goex or Triple-Seven.
I use a "Wonder Wad" under the ball so 30 Gr. loads are pretty much max due to chamber depth limitations. You could probably get more powder in without the wad but with the short barrel you are reaching a point of diminishing returns velocity wise. More powder just burns OUTSIDE the barrel after the ball is gone. More recoil, smoke, flash and boom but very little additional velocity !

Pretty much everything interchanges on the Piettas; "Army" and "Navy" frames are the same. Bigger "Army" backstraps and trigger guards can be swapped to "Navy" vesions. One thing to note, the historicaly incorrect .44 caliber "Navy" barrels usually have the smaller .36 caliber loading rammer which will leave dents in a .454 caliber balls. Cylinder chamber are almost always undersize for the bore; see my post re. reaming chambers to bore groove diameter for better accuracy. The stainless/polished steel guns and parts are a better quality than the blue versions; better finish and tougher metal.

Notice in my picture, the trigger guards on both the Remmie and Colt are nickel plated. I don't like the look of brass so I had the local custom chrome plating shop do 'em in nickel. Easier to clean-up; that's why so many revolvers from that era were plated!

Happy Trails,

Slim

 

[biermkr]

How do you crown the muzzle correctly?

 

[Cincinnati Slim]

Bobbed barrels...

Get a Wheeler Engineering dovetail cutting jig from Midway or Brownell's. Comes with a smooth side triangle file. Has instructions to use it to cut the barrel square using the hardened fixture as a guide. I like to get the dovetail mounted Uberti made blade front sight from the Remmington 1858 MNA. Dixie and V.T.I. Gunparts have 'em for like five bucks. I like the dovetail mounted Uberti Remmie blade 'cuz you can drift it back and forth to correct for windage and It's plenty high to file down until elevation is correct. I've seem several pictures of original guns with cut down barrels and a lot of 'em sport new dovetail mounted front sights. Nothing new here, I'm sure 19th century 'smiths mounted plenty of dovetail sights "back in the day".

The main thing about the barrel cut is to get it square. The Wheeler jig helps. There are barrel crown cutting tools sold. I just use my Dremel and an assortment of cone shaped stones and polisher attachments to smooth off the muzzle opening.

Slim

 

[brentn]

I was looking for a steel trigger guard for the army, becuase I don't like the brass either. However, I found nothing.
Just recently, here on the boards, someone told me (old fluff) that you can use SAA parts, such as the trigger guard on the 1860 army. So I think I'll be getting one of those instead of brass, may not be historically correct, but will look interesting non-the-less.
Havent decided if I want to polish it or what, but I have some time to think about it before it arrives.
Your right about the loading lever on the 44 navy's, they are defenitly designed for .36, it doesn't leave a huge indentation on the ball though really. A small mark at best.

I've collected slugs out of a phone book once from my 44 navy and I can tell you that with that loading lever for a 36 it would make very little difference in how the round is flying through the air.

 

[Old Fuff]

While the Model 1873 Single Action Army trigger guard will fit on a 1851 / 1860 frame (from the same maker) it won't match up to the 1860 Army backstrap, which is about 1/4" longer. They don't make 1860 trigger guards out of steel because the original guns had brass ones. Colt did make 1851 Navy's with steel backstraps and trigger guards, especially in his London Armory. These were carried forward into the 1873 Model. The 1860 Army had a steel backstrap to add extra support for a detachable shoulder stock, but the stock was seldom issued You may notice that your steel 1860 backstrap has a groove in the bottom that is there to provide for attaching the stock.

You can have a brass trigger guard satin-chrome plated to simulate the silver plating sometimes used by Colt on commercial (not military) 1860 Army revolvers.

 

[6_gunner]

Slightly off subject, but I saw a pretty cool-looking hacked revolver in the movie Ned Kelly. It appeared to be a Remington New Army with the barrel cut right in front of the frame and the loading lever removed. Another interesting configuration I've read about is the "Avenging Angel" revolver. This was a short-barrelled Colt 1860 with birdshead grips. I'd be interested to know if anybody has built something like either of these.

 

[StrawHat]

6_gunner,

Here's one for you.

This is a before photo. The after photos can be seen here.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=281174

I have seen some original "Avenging Angel" but non of them had birdshead grips.

One did have the Navy grip installed.

 

[Wwalstrom]

I Cut down a Stainless 1858 Remington

Before:


After:


Used a Hacksaw and Miter Box to cut the barrel, cleaned the rough cut up with a file and emery cloth. Made the new front sight by hand.

 

[Cincinnati Slim]

Nice Job !

Looks like the next project I've got planned...

Have a Pietta stainless Remmie with the long barrel. It's just "that much" too long for my taste and the holster I have. I like the look when it's bobbed to the loading lever latch. Nice job on the "home brewed" sight. I'll just use an Uberti part and cut a dovetail to match.

Happy Trails,

Slim