How do I convert a Uberti????

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WASR-10

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well here is the story, i bought a Uberti reproduction of an 1858 Remington .44 caliber, it is a cap and ball pistol, and i would like to convert it to a cartridge pistol if possible.

the guy i bought it from said it is easy and he sells the necessary components and directions, but i have not been able to get in touch with him for awhile now, and he has been absent from the last couple of gun shows around here.

so do i buy a kit? where from? how do i know which one to buy? being a novice, will i be able to do this myself?

thanks for all the info and help.
 
There are cylinder conversion kits for this. You have to take the thing apart to load it.

Keep in mind these are not made for pressures higher than you'd originally see. The "cowboy" loads seem to work OK, but be careful.

I have one of these, the R&D. There are others. Truthfully it sits in a closet, it's almost more trouble than its worth :)

It cost more than I paid for the gun LOL. But it's kinda cool.

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Link below is for an old army, there are others. It was just the first one I found :)

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=488404
 
thanks so much, found the one for the 1858...it does seem like a pain to have to remove the cylinder for each reload. are there any black powder reproductions that are more user friendly?

thanks again all.
 
thanks so much, found the one for the 1858...it does seem like a pain to have to remove the cylinder for each reload. are there any black powder reproductions that are more user friendly?
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A pain? Compare it to loading the unconverted cap & ball revolver and count your blessings.
 
i have, and that is why i want to convert it

will order the cylinder from midway if i don't see it for sale at any of the shows this month.
 
I bought one of those once, and ended up selling it for less than half of what I paid for it. I think I put maybe two boxes of ammo through it in the several years that I owned it. I really, really wish I could have that money back.

Consider that you can get another complete revolver for the price of a conversion cylinder. I'd recommend keeping your Remington as it is, and buying a Peacemaker clone with the money you would have spent on a conversion cylinder.

If you're dead set on converting it, and you don't want to remove the cylinder for each reload, I believe that there are kits available that utlize a SAA-style loading gate. Installation would be more complicated than a drop-in cylinder, but it might be closer to what you're looking for.

packarat posted as I was writing this. That Kirst Konverter is what I was thinking of. I must admit, that's pretty cool if you don't have anything better to spend your money on. :neener: That's a little bit cheaper than I expected, too. I think I wasted...err, spent...over $300 on my drop-in cylinder.
 
Also keep in mind that some cap & ball revolvers have bores that don't match up to the cartridge bullet size. For example, the diameter of a .45 Colt cartridge bullet is .452" The groove diameter on some .44 cap & ball revolvers can run as high as .460" Uberti now offers the Remington New Army as a cartridge revolver, with a conversion ring that includes a gate, and a barrel that's bored to match the cartridge's bullet.

There is more to it then simply dropping in a cartridge cylinder. This will work, but it doesn't always work well.
 
Old fuff makes an excellent point. Not all .44 C&B shoot the 45lc bullet effectively. You need to know your barrel diameter. DGW shows two Uberti 1858's, one with six groove , one with seven groove barrel. Both have .440 lands and .460 grooves.
There are two or three manufacturers of the conversion kits, check them all out before you buy.
 
I have extra cylinders for both of my BP revolvers so that reloads are only a matter of bopping out the wedge, taking off the barrel on one or pulling out the centerpin on the other.

I got pretty quick with them for a while and could have either my 1858 Rem, or 1851 Colt firing the second cylinderful about as fast as most people can reload a swing open cylinder.

Just another approach..
 
The neatest thing about doing a BP cartridge conversion, at least in my state is that it is never registered as a firearm.
 
WASR, I thought about doing the same thing you're thinking about when I had a .36 cal (which would translate into .38 special rounds) of the same model, and was under 21 and wanted a working revolver.

Truth be told, I never did it, sold the revolver, and just didn't want to futz with it. If you had the type that has the loading gate, it could be spiffy, but before you even do anything like this--I would REALLY recommend checking out the availability of "cowboy load" rounds for your chosen calibre, as modern "smokeless" rounds could make it kaboom rather badly. If you have the expense and money for a steady shooting supply of "cowboy load" rounds, AND the drop-in cylinder, then go for it.....but it's really a lot easier to ask for a single action as a gift for, say, a birthday, inauguration day, or because it's Tuesday--pick a reason. And an Uberti Cattleman does darn near the same thing for almost the same price as all of your components together will cost, but can take "standard" modern smokeless propellant rounds.

But its your money.
 
Accually it would take a .38 Healed round. Concave in the bottom to fill the rifling. Which also take a few more bucks. One must be well heald so to say.
 
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wow guys, tons of great info, thanks so much.

i talked to the 2 guns shops i frequent and neither carries cowboy loads, one is willing to get but he has no idea of the price. i am definitely considering leaving it as is because it is way too nice to sell.

packarat, thanks for that link, definitely more of what i wanted

will definitely need to do more research before a purchase, like what the hell is the difference between 45 lc and 45 acp, what can the barrel handle etc. etc.

man, rifles and shotguns are so much easier.
 
like what the hell is the difference between 45 lc and 45 acp, what can the barrel handle etc. etc.
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At one time there was a difference, but today .45 Colt and .45 ACP cartridges both use .452" diameter bullets. So far as the cartridges are concerned, the .45 Colt is longer, has a rim, and is intended to be used in revolver. The .45 ACP is shorter, rimless, and can be used in some revolvers although it's intended to be a pistol cartridge. For this discussion the question may be moot, because I don't know of anyone making a conversion cylinder chambered in .45 ACP.

Barrel strength isn't an issue either, but accuracy is. If the barrel groove diameter is as large as .460", and the bullet is .452" the revolver won't blow up, but the shots may be scattered all over the side of a barn.

So called "cowboy loads" are simply downloaded and made with lead bullets. They are sometimes expensive ($30.00 / box of 50) but can easily and inexpensively be duplicated if you handload your own.

If you like the Remington (or Colt for that matter) style revolvers, but want to shoot metallic cartridges I suggest that you forget converting your present gun and put the money toward buying another one that is "converted" to start with. Then you won't have to worry about bullet v. bore diameters or any of the other issues that have been brought up. To see some examples of revolvers of this kind, go to:

www.cimmaron-firearms.com
 
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