1858 Remington Homemade Upgrade

[mommicked]

Home made quick release lever from aluminum. Very fast cylinder changes. I'm not really into cowboy action shooting, this is fast becoming my favorite woods gun. With the 45 Colt cylinder, some ratshot for snakes, and cast bullets for bugger pests, this has become my go to pistol. It's a shame I can't share it on the 1858 Remington Forum (another site), but my application to join has been passed over twice, so I'm giving up on them. Enjoy!

[Jniedbalski]

I like it

[Pine Baron]

Very interesting. Does the lever pull the cylinder pin? How is it secured in the up position?

[mommicked]

The lever merely secures the cylinder pin in place; it works via a tiny spring in the rear section. When you push the pin back into place, the lever snaps up gently but firmly. I made this one for myself out of aluminum stock, expecting to fail several times before getting it right. This was the 'first draft' and I hope to remake one just like it from 1095 steel one of these days, and blue it properly (degrease, heat, cold blue, repeat). I just colored this one with sharpie pen till I can get some aluminum black or make a steel one. Since I don't use the BP cylinder much, I may remove the original loading lever 'stud' under the barrel, beneath the front sight. We'll see...

[Pine Baron]

Simple, but effective. Good job.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I`ve got an Uberti Model 1858 Remington that I am doing like you with the quick change lever. What loads are you putting thru the conversion 45 Colt cylinder? I`ve not heard what makes up a good but safe load for this type pistol.Robert

[mommicked]

What loads are you putting thru the conversion 45 Colt cylinder? I`ve not heard what makes up a good but safe load for this type pistol.Robert

Most any 'cowboy action' load should be safe. I'm running 6.4 grains of unique and a cci 300 large pistol primer with a 230 LEAD round nose. They say these shouldn't be used with jacketed bullets as they build substantially more pressure than lead. The load I'm running seems like mild recoil, just enough 'thump' to know I'm shooting a 'real gun'. I keep a few rat shot for snakes (much cheaper to load than buy) and a few of these. I've also loaded some hotter 255 lead flat points. I'm not sure if they're 'safe' in the gun or not, but I shoot them very rarely, and see them as self defense loads to be rarely if ever fired, not something I'd make a steady diet of, as it could stretch the frame and ruin one of my favorite guns!
I've also loaded some 240 gr flat nose lead over 300 cci large pistol and 8.7 grains of unique. I'm thinking that this load may be hotter than the pistol was designed for, and don't plan on loading any more. A lot of this is guess work, and while I could certainly buy another pistol like it, I'd hate to damage it. If I had any sense I'd be more afraid of damaging my hands as I'm fond of those too!

One other advantage of this setup is that it doesn't flop down and lock into the bottom cylinder, binding the action up during reloading like an original loading lever does. It's nice that this stays out of the way and snaps back into place when the cylinder pin goes back in place. It has a little side to side play, but not enough to bother me.

[William Yanda]

I believe 1858 Remington site owner has encountered health issues leading to economic issues and dramatically less time on line. I urge you to have patience.
Bill VonSteuben

[mommicked]

I believe 1858 Remington site owner has encountered health issues leading to economic issues and dramatically less time on line. I urge you to have patience.
Bill VonSteuben

Do the moderators not have the ability to approve members? Plenty of moderator activity since I applied the second time. Seems like a very informative board, but someone messaged me and told me that they could be very clannish over there. I'm just trying to learn all I can about the 1858, it's just about become my favorite pistol.

[hylander]

Looks great.
I want one !