Remington conversion ID

[pohill]

I don't have a pic yet but here's a description of a gun I'm trying to identify.
It's a Remington .36 (barrel threads showing) labeled "Factory conversion" on the tag. It has a loading gate, a one piece cylinder, but no sign of a loading lever at all. The cylinder is removed by flipping a tab at the tip of the arbor.
I saw it in an antique shop - the seller is in FLA and not reachable.
So, basically, it's a Remington .36 factory conversion with no loading lever. I haven't seen any pics or info of a conversion with no loading lever. Any ideas?

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

There were some Remington 44 caliber C&B revolvers that were sent back to the factory and converted to fire cartridges. These were all converted to 44 Rimfire as far as I know. The conversion was done by Remington under license from S&W because S&W still controlled the Rollin White patent at the time.

Here is a link to one of these cartridge conversions that is going on auction next week. Clicking on the photo will enlarge it.

http://www.amoskeagauction.com/87/448.html

As far as I know, this was the only factory authorized conversion of the Remington. However it was fairly common for gunsmiths to convert them to cartridges on a one at a time basis. The item you are considering is probably one of those gunsmith conversions, particularly since it was a 36 caliber C&B, not a 44.

 

[pohill]

Apparently both .36s and .44s were sent back to the factory to be converted to cartridge, but they have two piece cylinders - this cylinder is one solid piece. But I think you might be right - it's probably a conversion done by a talented gunsmith. It has no ejector (or loading lever) so the cylinder has to be removed to be loaded and unloaded. Im going to have another look at it and pay more attention to details (serial number, rimfire vs centerfire, etc).

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Apparently both .36s and .44s were sent back to the factory to be converted to cartridge, but they have two piece cylinders - this cylinder is one solid piece. But I think you might be right - it's probably a conversion done by a talented gunsmith. It has no ejector (or loading lever) so the cylinder has to be removed to be loaded and unloaded. Im going to have another look at it and pay more attention to details (serial number, rimfire vs centerfire, etc).

I don't think so. I believe the conversions done by Remington had one piece cylinders. Not like today's R&D cylinders. If you look at the one in the photo, the cylinder is one piece. The backing plate that was attached to the frame is very thin, only about 1/8" thick.

Check out this video. Towards the end Mike shows one with a one piece cylinder and the thin backing plate.

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,41300.0.html

 

[pohill]

Now I'm scratching my head trying to remember what I actually saw on the gun. I'll see if I can get some pics of it tomorrow.
Thanks for the info.