Howell 1858 Pietta conversion seems funky

[TruthTellers]

I bought a Howell conversion cylinder for my Pietta .44 cal '58 Remington from Midway, which after all discounts cost about $193, and tried installing it today.

The fit was super tight, which I've heard is expected because Pietta's tolerances can be pretty wide. After a little bit of filing the frame, I was able to get the cylinder in.

Pulled the hammer to full cock to check the timing and it was fine, but when I lowered the hammer to protect the firing pins from being dry fired, the cylinder rotated the opposite direction. Has anyone experienced this?

I then put a cloth over the hammer and did as safe a dry fire as I could and it didn't look like the cylinder rotated the wrong way like when the hammer was being lowered.

This is my first experience with C&B conversion cylinders, so I don't know if this is normal, if I need to do some more filing on the frame or if I should be filing the back of the cylinder. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[sltm1]

It sounds like the cylinder slightly over spun when you cocked it, then went back to battery as the hammer was lowered and the bolt engaged. To fix that problem the hand should be shortened, however then it might not work in the bp mode. Just cycle it slowly and there shouldn't be a problem unless you're in a gun fight. However, when in a gunfight use your pistol for it's main purpose, to buy yourself enough time to get to your rifle.

 

[45 Dragoon]

I think it's the hammer cam interfering with the bolt arm as it passes by (on its way down). It's a somewhat common thing. Don't file on the cyl or frame until you address this issue first.

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com

 

[dickydalton]

Please call me Mike.

 

[TruthTellers]

I've already done some light filing on the front of the frame, where the base pin is just under the barrel. It helped make installing the conversion cylinder easier.

I'm not interested in altering the hand and possibly eliminating the ability to shoot cap and ball style, I want to be able to convert between the two as I wish. If this can't be done, then I'm not so sure I want this and will think about sending it back.

 

[Crawdad1]

I had a few Pietta Remingtons with their conversion cylinders and everyone of them I had to file the back end of the barrel to get the conversion cylinder to fit properly. But eventually they fit. The lone Uberti Remington I had the conversion cylinder fit like a glove.

 

[TruthTellers]

It's too bad Howell doesn't have any videos on youtube about troubleshooting conversion installations. I don't think there are any videos about the actual installing of conversion cylinders, just shooting them.

 

[Crawdad1]

You could send it to Howell and they'll fit it for you. I have my '51 Colt up there now getting fitted for a conversion cylinder. I'd stick with it because Remingtons really take to these cylinders and can be extremely accurate and a lot of fun.

 

[TruthTellers]

Sounds like that would cost money and still not give me what I want.

 

[DTOUR]

http://1858remington.com/discuss/index.php?topic=5188.0

This speaks of the Taylor (R&D) Conversion cylinder with the same problem.
Good discussion on what to look for and safety issues this situation creates.

I have (well, had) a Pietta with the exact same issue. The link above corrected my problem.

 

[TruthTellers]

http://1858remington.com/discuss/index.php?topic=5188.0

This speaks of the Taylor (R&D) Conversion cylinder with the same problem.
Good discussion on what to look for and safety issues this situation creates.

I have (well, had) a Pietta with the exact same issue. The link above corrected my problem.

The first post appears to be the issue. The bolt is not fully up when the Taylor's cylinder is in and so because it's not fully seated in the slot, when the hammer is dropped in any way the bolt retracts like it was on half cock and then springs back up when the hammer is fully down.

My options are to either modify the bolt myself or send it to Taylor's and Company to do it and hope they get it right so that I can switch between Pietta's BP cylinder and there's.

You'd think if this issue was that widespread that Taylor's would put a note somewhere that the newer Pietta's may require a new or modified bolt in order to safely fire the conversion cylinder.

The BBB may get a letter from me on this.

 

[45 Dragoon]

Thanks for the link to the post DTOUR !

This is exactly what I was talking about. It won't alter the use of the bp cyl. it has to do with the difference in notch depth between the two.

In a perfect world, everything would work like a charm . . . .

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com

 

[Crawdad1]

It's not all that widespread. The small variances in the factory revolver can cause problems when matched with the small variances in the conversion cylinder. The instructions I got with my conversion cylinder spells that out pretty clearly.


And here is their standard warning.

(If, after installation, you are unsure of the fit, please take your revolver to a competent gunsmith or contact R & D Gun Shop to make sure you have the cylinder installed correctly.)

 

[TruthTellers]

Looking at the shallow depth of the notch, were it the depth of the bp cylinder, it would break through into the chamber, which is enlarged due to the case diameter of .45 Colt.