New 1858 NMA Project

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I recently received a Pietta 1858 from a forumite here and have launched a new project. Among other things I am going to attempt a home-grown cartridge conversion in .44 Colt- the original style with a .451 heeled bullet, not the modern .429 version. Other than that I was a bit up-in-the-air about what to do. I've already done a snubby so I decided to ge a different direction with this one. 3.5" barrel, and aside from the 'pinky groove' this one would remain a plow-handle grip. I shortened the loading-lever and reversed the section with the latch to engage a slot in the head of the cylinder-axis pin.

I found that I liked the look of the squared-off loading lever, and I carried that further making a sight-rib. The rib is slotted so I can insert different sight blades and pin them in place. I'm really pleased with the esthetics and handling of this gun! Unfortunately I'm now at a standstill until the new drive-belt for my lathe shows up so I can start work on the cylinder. At this point I am planning on the breech plate having a pass-through for cartridges rather than a loading gate, but who knows?

I've also tossed around the idea of getting some barrel-liner and doing a caliber-conversion as well. For some strange reason the two that are sticking in my head are .41 Special and .32-20. Well, we'll see...
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Tinker

Like the concept and the way you kept the original grip relatively intact. Addition of the "pinky groove" is a nice touch!

I've found that that groove on the handle makes all the difference for me on Remingtons. Just not right for my hand with the original shape.
 
Since my Kirst Konverter from the Pug dropped right into the new gun I decided to try it out at the range. A slight problem- I hadn't installed a front sight blade! Oops. Still, at five yards it was easy enough to put rounds on paper. The second problem was that, as I had feared, the latch was not robust enough for the longer loading lever and the lever dropped. I'll need to replace it with a stronger system. Oh well, live and learn, eh?
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Good for you, Tinker. Interesting little project. Please follow up and let us know how you fix the latch problem. When I started reading this thread, my first thought was, will the latch hold? I think something more than a stouter spring will be required. Let us know your solution. Also let us know how much weight you knocked off the original. I'm guessing the gun will now weigh 39 ounces. Also, when you have time, show us a side by side with your pug and give us the weight of the pug. Thanks for sharing.
 
I enjoy your projects, always learn something and then get a desire for something I will probably never get. Thanks
 
The drive belt finally arrived so I spent some quality time with the lathe this evening. I turned down a Peitta Remington cylinder to match the Kirst Konverter breech-ring then bored it through. Once I ream the cylinders to .454-.456" the cylinder will be ready for finishing. Since .44 Colt uses a heel-base bullet I just need to bore the chambers straight-through.

I was planning on making a pass-through breech plate, but I think instead I will buy a Kirst gated ring. It's not just better and easier but it means I will be able to switch cylinders between the new gun and the Pug. Woods-walking? .44 Colt will do just fine. Going hunting? Swap in the .45 Colt cylinder! Versatile... I like that.

The pics below show the reworked cylinder and a mock-up cartridge. The casing is .44 Special; normally you would shorten it for .44 Colt but I am not loading black powder so why bother?

I've already got 'The Outlaw,' 'The Shopkeeper' and 'The Pug.' This gun needs a name too. Any thoughts? No, I am not going to call it 'Gunny McGunface!'
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RevolverLoverMember
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Really like the custom grips you have made, I'm actually going to do something similar.
I have been thinking about hydro-dipping the fake ivory grips by adding some kind of cool decal on the grips.... there are so many cool decals/art works to add to the grips..... Check it out.
 
Really like the custom grips you have made, I'm actually going to do something similar.
I have been thinking about hydro-dipping the fake ivory grips by adding some kind of cool decal on the grips.... there are so many cool decals/art works to add to the grips..... Check it out.
 
Linda's favorite suggestion was 'The Dandy,' so there you go. Spent basically the whole weekend working on this gun. Made a base-plate with a rebounding firing pin and a cartridge pass-through and tested the gun with primed brass. Then I made a swaging block and a few other tools and laboriously reloaded 24 rounds by hand. The load is super-light for testing, but if it works out I'll creep up the power. I loaded a 200gr Heel-base LRNFP over 3.0gr. of Trail Boss. Out of my gun this ought to get about 550fps. and about 134ft/lb of energy. I hope in the end to get 750fps and 200+ ft/lb from this. Not a powerhouse, but then neither was the original. The Army load was a 225gr. conical bullet over 15gr. of FFFg black powder which was good for 650fps and 207ft/lb of energy.

I was left unsupervised late last night with the printer...
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Here's the completed gun- it testing goes well I'll detail-strip and refinish the gun-
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