Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 1860 Army with .45 conversion cylinder

As I plot my next gun purchase, I'm looing at:

1860 Colt with a .45 Colt conversion cylinder (best of both worlds???)
or
1871-1872 Open top in .45 Colt.

So my question is...
Does anyone own an 1860 with conversion cylinder? Any quirks I should know about that would turn me off? How far off are the sights with the conversion cylinder?

Two reasons I would recommend you go with a Remington New Army Revolver instead of a Colt. Firstly, every time you want to reload a Colt, you will need to knock out the wedge and remove the barrel to gain access to the cylinder. Secondly, when converted to smokeless powder cartridge guns, Colts are reputed to have a very short service life, due to stretching of the barrel cylinder gap. Their frames are made of relatively soft steel, and the absence of a fully enclosed frame design makes it super vulnerable to the increased pressures. A Remington design has a fully enclosed frame, so can bear the extra pressure without damage, and it's much easier to remove the cylinder to reload with cartridges.

I should have mentioned... These guns will shoot black powder almost exclusively; which is why I'm sticking with the Colt's. Remington's tie up from powder fouling much sooner than the Colt's, and I like the removable barrel for cleaning, that's pretty handy when shooting black powder.

Even if I shoot smokeless, it will be a very light 200gr load. I'm very aware of the limitations of the Colt.

I've shot both Colt and Remington replicas extensively with real black powder. In a typical range session, you would hardly notice the difference in terms of residue buildup. You might have to, halfway through your shooting session, remove the Remington's cylinder, spray down the cylinder pin with a can of Ballistol, and some in the cylinder channel, wipe, and back into action, while a Colt could go the whole session without needing that. That's the only practical difference you will experience. In a combat situation, during the Civil War, that might present an issue. At the range, not.

I have a Uberti 1860 converted to .45 acp.
It seems to handle 230 gr +P without issue, but I am a bit leery of trying .45 Super.
I do need to put a taller front sight on it, but haven't gotten around to making one yet.
I don't pull the cylinder to reload - I just use the loading gate like an SAA.

Since this original post, I have decided I have more than enough .45's and when I buy a cartridge conversion revolver it will be in .38 Special. Cheaper to shoot, easier on the gun, closer in power levels to the original .44 Colt so the gun wont be stressed in any way. Just a fun gun for the range, and I may even plink at a Cotton Tail...Not something I need in a large bore.

Thank you for your insights. I have, for a couple years now, been on and off considering acquiring a lighter, more trim black powder revolver as an alternative to my stainless Old Army, perhaps even a cartridge conversion. I find my thoughts align quite closely with yours.

My ranch is in the desert, so I have ZERO need for magnums anymore. Black bears around here are skittish, and my Great Pekinese keeps them away. No one has seen a murder kitten in these parts in nearly a decade, so. Just no need for magnums. Long shot at a coyote, or a short shot at a fox (if you ever see the little SOB). I don't shoot the cottontails and quail on the ranch, and we have an agreement with the neighbors that they're nicer to look at than to eat. Proper hunting of either is only a 10-15 min drive down the dirt road.

All that to say, .38 special has become one of the newfound, old favorites. 125gr JHP has me covered for any critter I may need to deal with, and even works well on longer shots on jackrabbits. Cast loads generally do the same job, most any critter hit squarely is done. Almost never carry .357's, only sometimes just to burn up some of the too many boxes that I bought.

Settling into my ranch now, I'm getting ready to turn a shed into a reloading room like I had in Arkansas. These days I have a LOT of different cartridges, and some are just downright expensive.

"when I buy a cartridge conversion revolver it will be in .38 Special".

How do you plan to downsize the bore and chambers to accomodate the .38 Sp ?

How close is the 36 cal, ala 1851 Navy?

I'd just get the 1872 open top in the caliber I prefer.

that would be correct the 36 caliber black powder stuff is the equivalent of modern day 38..
they measured the board's differently back then..

Not an 1860, but to answer your question about point of impact changes with a conversion cylinder, I have a Ruger Old Army with fixed sights that shoots POA very nicely with the percussion cylinder and round balls. I bought a conversion cylinder in .45 Colt, and it shoots just over a foot higher than POA at 25 yards with .45 Colt ammunition with 250 grain bullets. It took most of the joy out of having the conversion cylinder for me.

Yeah. My niece has a pair of Cimarron Richards-Mason conversions in .38 Special that she absolutely adores.

I love my 1872 clones . Super smooth and point great. I have and Remington New Model Army with a 45 Colt cylinder . It shoots great with 45 Cowboy Action loads. I would limit my brass loads to black powder or CBA loads.

With a .457” round ball weighing just 143 grains, the resulting change in the point of impact when shooting 250 grain .45 Colt bullets should really come as no surprise. The laws of physics just don’t cut you no slack.

"How close is the 36 cal, ala 1851 Navy?"


Not close, and it varies somewhat between manufacturers.
From memory, the 1851 Navy 36 cal is about .372 to .380 (I use .380 balls in my Uberti 36 calibers).
38Sp/.357Mag is .357.
.380acp/9mm is 0.355
If you want to shoot .38Sp in an 1851, you'll probably need to either hand load heeled bullets, or alternatively chrome electroplate a 0.007" thick layer on the inside of the barrel and a slightly thinner layer in the chambers in front of the case mouth.

The factory navy conversions have proper .357 bore sizes. If you put a conversion cylinder in an 1851 C&B revolver, those have .375 and you'll need a hollow base bullet.