Rebuilding SA

[Zer0]

I've been getting into old western movies and such and have been getting into the Dark Tower book series. So my question is, idk if this has been answered already, but is it possible to build a revolver that looks like a SA but fires like DA?
An example is Roland's revolvers in the dark tower

 

[Saddlebag Preacher]

That was a total fantasy gun made from an 1858 Remington repro and some major gunsmithing and attached parts. You can use extra cylinders for faster reloads in a Remington reproduction, but not speedloaders like they show.

 

[Zer0]

That was a total fantasy gun made from an 1858 Remington repro and some major gunsmithing and attached parts. You can use extra cylinders for faster reloads in a Remington reproduction, but not speedloaders like they show.

Can you somehow build in a DA trigger into it? Sorry if this seems like idk what the proper way is, im just curious

 

[Saddlebag Preacher]

Not really, the internal workings are totally different. It would cost a lot of money to redesign and build a working model, Think R&D and machining costs. Most movie guns like these aren't functioning firearms capable of live fire. Although I don't watch it, the show Westworld has a similar fictional cartridge conversion gun based on a LeMat Civil War era handgun. Looks cool on the screen, but not real.

 

[Saddlebag Preacher]

There is a post on here about a Starr revolver a member bought. They were Single Action and also they had a Double Action version, but the internals were very different.

 

[Zer0]

There is a post on here about a Starr revolver a member bought. They were Single Action and also they had a Double Action version, but the internals were very different.

Do you have the link hopefully?

 

[ClickClickD'oh]

but is it possible to build a revolver that looks like a SA but fires like DA?

The firearm you are looking for is the Remingon-Ryder New Model Belt Revolver

 

[Zer0]

The firearm you are looking for is the Remingon-Ryder New Model Belt Revolver

View attachment 779030

Holy crap that's amazing! Does it have a swing out cylinder by chance?

 

[ClickClickD'oh]

Holy crap that's amazing! Does it have a swing out cylinder by chance?

Nope. They are black powder percussion pistols. There apparently were some that had cartridge conversions done on them though.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

It's a cap and ball revolver.
A swing out cylinder would serve no logical purpose.

Like Saddlebag Preacher said, the movie gun is totally fantasy. Which I agree is very cool. But it is what it is, and what it is is fiction.

 

[Zer0]

Nope. They are black powder percussion pistols. There apparently were some that had cartridge conversions done on them though.

Nope. They are black powder percussion pistols. There apparently were some that had cartridge conversions done on them though.

im thinking they're no longer being produced? Unless Uberti is still making them

 

[ClickClickD'oh]

Unless Uberti is still making them

Not that I know of. It's kind of a niche of a niche market. Antique Western style guns that also happen to be double action.

 

[Zer0]

Not that I know of. It's kind of a niche of a niche market. Antique Western style guns that also happen to be double action.

Damn what a shame

 

[WestKentucky]

Holy crap that's amazing! Does it have a swing out cylinder by chance?

Smith and Wesson pretty much took the swinging cylinder bull by the horns with the hand ejector models in the early 1900s. Guns were already pretty much past cap and ball stage by then. I don't have the slightest clue what it was, but as a kid i remember seeing what appeared to be similar to a SAA that did incorporate a swinging cylinder.

 

[Zer0]

Nope. They are black powder percussion pistols. There apparently were some that had cartridge conversions done on them though.

Do you by chance know which calibers these guns could be converted too?

 

[ClickClickD'oh]

. I don't have the slightest clue what it was, but as a kid i remember seeing what appeared to be similar to a SAA that did incorporate a swinging cylinder.

Probably a High Standard Double Nine.

 

[ClickClickD'oh]

Do you by chance know which calibers these guns could be converted too?

Probably either .38 Colt or .38 RF

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

When I was a kid, you could buy the High Standard Double Nine. These were 22 Rimfire revolvers designed to look like an old single action. As you can see, it has a swing out cylinder. They are no longer made, but there were lots made and if you hunt you should be able to fine one. I saw one on Gun Broker a few minutes ago.








There were quite a few double action revolvers made in the 19th Century. At the top of this photo is a Smith and Wesson 44 Double Action. This one was made in 1881. It is chambered for the 44 Russian cartridge. I only shoot it with Black Powder. The smaller revolver is a S&W 38 Double Action, chambered for the 38 S&W cartridge.






Colt made the double action Lightning revolvers. They were chambered for 38 Colt and 41 Colt. This one is the 1877 model. It was a fussy revolver and they often broke down. A year later Colt introduced the 1878 model which was more robust.







Merwin Hulbert made both single action and double action revolvers. This is a photo of a double action Pocket Army. Don't be confused by the term 'pocket'. These were big revolvers, as big as a Colt. This one came with two barrels.






Of course none of these revolvers is made any more. The High Standard was made until fairly recently, and they can still be found, but there were not the same quality as a Smith and Wesson or a modern Ruger.

The rest are only available as antiques and some of them are very costly.

Regarding reworking a single action revolver into a double action revolver, given enough money, anything can be accomplished. But it would cost a great deal. Single action lockworks are completely different than double action lockworks, and the gun would need to be gutted, and probably the frame would need to be hogged out some more to fit in a more complicated double action. It would take a very, very skilled gunsmith, and it would probably take him a few tries to get it right.

 

[CajunBass]

If you look closely in a lot of old western movies and TV shows, you'll see that the single actions the actors are using are actually double action revolvers made up to look like a single action. They usually did this by simply adding a fake ejector rod, and not focusing on the gun too much. When a close up of the gun was needed, they just switched the gun out. You'll even see it change in the middle of a scene. It was probably done for actors who weren't that familiar with guns, and who it was a lot easier to teach to simply pull a trigger, rather than thumb cock then pull the trigger.

 

[reddog81]

The 1895 Nagant looks like a single action but fires in double action.

It can even fire .32 S&W long cartridges. It's also the only revolver that can be successfully suppressed.

However the cylinder doesn't swing out and it's got an 18 pound double action trigger pull.

 

[BobWright]

I've been getting into old western movies and such and have been getting into the Dark Tower book series. So my question is, idk if this has been answered already, but is it possible to build a revolver that looks like a SA but fires like DA?
An example is Roland's revolvers in the dark tower

Yes, its possible, and has been done. The Colt Model 1877 (Called the Lightning or Thunderer) was one of Colt's early attempts to make a double action revolver. It was built on a built -up frame like the Single Action Army but with a birdshead grip, and was also dubbed "a Birdshead Colt". The grip straps were held in place by screws, as in the SAA, so replacements could be made. Such a gun was made up for Broderick Crawford in The Fastest Gun Alive, which starred Glenn Ford.

Hamilton Bowen makes a SAA with multiple ejecting cylinder.

One nice thing about the old Colts, they were easily modified.


Bob Wright

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy Again

In the movie Winchester '73 when the Jimmy Stewart character shoots Waco Johnny Dean (Dan Duryea) the wounded Johnny discharges his revolver rapidly before falling dead to the ground. The revolver is not in close focus, but it was clearly a double action revolver to be fired that rapidly.

 

[Jim Watson]

I had an old Gun Digest article on movie guns. As said, it was common to put a dummy ejector rod housing on a DA, and there was a New Service with the grip frame modified into the SAA "plowhandle" so it would look right in the holster. For some reason, there were a lot of SAAs with webs added under the barrel to look like an 1875 Remington.

It's easier to go the other way, there was one gunsmith who specialized in putting the plowhandle grip on a Lightning and setting it up SAO. Most were converted to .22, kind of the grandfather of the Ruger Single Six.
There was the ammo company trick shooter who liked the SAA to shoot, but it was too slow to reload for his program. He had a very custom gun built with a S&W barrel, cyinder, and yoke, set in a new frame with SAA grip frame and hammer.

The Dark Tower guns and shooting are a triumph of the prop man's art and massaging of digital photography.
It is best not to get one's firearms expertise from works of fiction.

 

[BobWright]

It's easier to go the other way, there was one gunsmith who specialized in putting the plowhandle grip on a Lightning and setting it up SAO. Most were converted to .22, kind of the grandfather of the Ruger Single Six.
.

That was gunsmith Alonzo Crull, back in the late 'Thirties, early 'Forties.

Bob Wright

 

[Jim Watson]

Yeah, that's him. Just couldn't keep his name at the front of my head.
And the swing out SAA was the Gus Peret - Ashley Haines collaboration.