ordered a new wheel gun.

[johnson1942]

i have a 1871 1872 open top uberti colt clone 38 special and love it. shoots holes in hole. yesterday i ordered a uberti 38 special man with no name converted 1851 navy plain grips. expect the same accracy and fun with that gun. any body else have and shoot revolvers like these. i load my own. a resized .38 round ball to 357 and black horn 209 powder with a 60 thosands wad between powder and bullet. yesterday i put a hole in a snow bank at 20 yards and kept in that hole as long as i was shooting , reloading it several times. the hole was about the size of a 50 cent piece. what not to love about a gun like that. again, any body else like these old colt clones? i have to say though about modern gun. i love the ruger vaquaero bisley, it holds in the hand like a dream and points like a dream. my next one to save for. 45 long colt.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I do not own any open top cartridge revolvers, but would like to! I have about a dozen 1873-type revolvers and three open top black powder cap and ball revolvers. So, you didn't get the one with the snake on the grips like Clint's?

[johnson1942]

too much money and not my type of grip. will put a checked type navy grip on it some day.

[Blackwater]

Johnson, good on ya' brother! I love those old guns, but don't own one even though I love them mentally, because they just don't really suit my needs. I'm a poorer shooter for it, though. Only so much $$$ to pursue the hobby with, and now, with the world being what it is today, I prefer or "need" more modern guns, or at least think I do.

But I'd dearly love to have one of those old guns, and have been lusting for them for quite a few years. They really add some spice to your shooting, don't they? One of those and an old Slim Jim type holster would really suit me to a "T!" Good to hear yours are so accurate, too! You've really piqued my interest and desire for one. If I ever come across a used one in good shape at a decent price, I'll probably pick it up, just for the sheer fun and pleasure of it. That's important too!

Looking forward to another report on your new gun when it arrives!

[Hickok]

I have several cap and ball 36's and .44's, but I have always wanted one of the CB cartridge conversion Colt's. The .38 Special like you have would be perfect.

One in the original .38 Long with the heeled boolit would be cool, but getting the heeled boolit crimped in the case has always puzzled me. Just can't figure out how a person would go about it. I know that they loaded a hollow base "inside lubed" boolit also that slugged up to fit the bore, but I would just prefer the original heeled boolit.

But a regular .38 Special would do nicely!

Post some pictures of your hoglegs!

[johnson1942]

thats why i went with the 38 special, doesnt have to bump up. again i just use a .38 roundball downsized to .357 and man is it accurate. the bore is .355 and they have a short throat in the back of the barrel and that roundball never ever leads with a 60 thousands hard fiber wad between powder and bullet. i also have a ruger old army with a 45 long colt conversion cylinder and that really shoots accurate also. i have used full size 250 grain bullets in that also but my favorite is a 50 cal roundball downsized to .451. it just feels better to shoot. that ruger barrel also has a nice tappered throat also and i could easily shoot .454 roundballs in the 45 long colt cases. i like the 50 cal round balls reduced to .451 as then there is a nice bearing surface to grip the lands and grooves. these guns are slower reloading but i can shoot them fast and more accurate than a semiauto in my hands. in a tight situation, two of these will give you 10 rounds as i always have the hammer on a empty chamber. life is to enjoy and not worry worry worry. we are more worried about critters here than people critters. a mountain lion is coming in everyones yard again. as well as a couple of wolves at my place also. my guns will be enough for them.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

johnson1942 you are learning and teaching us the lessons Hickock learned but have not been passed down to us. Thank you. The strapless model aligns on target much better than the strapped model Peacemaker which requires acquiring the tiny front sight and positioning the tip of it in the rear sight. The strapless model can be aligned on target over the top of the barrel and the sights used for the final fine tuning of target acquisition. And the grip of the Navy '6 is Colt's best ever, designed by men who worked and used firearms in necessary engagements.

i've got today off and was going to the range for work with my new Peacemaker and my new RCBS 45 270 SAA boolits but now I'm motivated to pull out my brace of 1860 Army Colt's for a session with Holy Black too.

[rintinglen]

158764I have pair of Pietta 1860 Armies with Howell conversion cylinders for 45 Schofield fun. Slow to reload but fun.

[johnson1942]

your right about the open back colts. they really fit the hands. especially mine. i had a real colt ssa years ago and found it not comfortable at all to shoot. never want another one. these navy style opentops were made for me. very very easy to shoot fast with a perfect sight picture. when my 14 year old grandson can keep them in a playing card off hand at 15 yards it says something for both my grandson and the gun. for those of you out their who just want some real fun, get one of those conversions, you will never ever regret it.

[blackpowder man]

I'll pick up an open top one of these days.... I have owned and still own open top cap and ball colts in both army and navy configurations. I have numerous 1858 remmies as well and picked up one of the uberti 1858 conversion pistols a couple of years ago in .45 colt and it is one of my favorites. This is the one made to shoot cartridges not a cap and ball with a conversion cylinder. Super accurate and easy shooting. I haven't had a chance to shoot my bp cartridges in it yet, but I'll get around to it one of these days. I don't always have the time to clean them immediately so smokeless with the lee 235 rf has been my load of choice.

[bedbugbilly]

I was going to get an open top 38 this past summer but put it off in favor of a Uberti SAA 7 1/2" in 45 Colt as I have always wanted to load that cartridge. It is an awesome revolver and I am having way too much fun with it!

An open top 38 is next on the list though . . . Just can't decide if I want to go with a '51 Navy R & M conversion or a 71/72 open top. If I go with the 71/72, I will probably get the 5 1/2" barrel version of it. Either way, I'll stick with 38 Colt Short & Long out of it. The RB loads would be fun I'm sure and the nice thing is you use either BP or Smokeless.

Johnson - I've never tried a Ruger Bisley - I understand they are very nice! I bought a Uberti 4 3/4" 357 Bisley a year ago. My hands are smaller and I love the way it holds and shoots. The quality of it is fantastic - I love the Uberti clones. I have had a Uberti 1851 Navy for quite a while. Over the past 50 + years, I've owned a lot of different makes of '51 Navies and the Uberti I have has been the best one. I also have a Pietta NMA Navy and it, too, is a very good shooter.

Please post a photo of your new wheel gun when you get it. We look forward to hearing how you like it!

[johnson1942]

got the man with no name 38 special to day. will see if the wife can post pictures of it soon. shot about 50 rounds through it and was surprised that the sights are perfect with out doing anything to them. it and my 71 72 open top feel the same in the hand and both shoot very very accurate. i wouldnt be surprised that the back parts could exchange parts as they look the same. comes apart very easy but goes back together very very tight. makes it easy to clean when you can take the barrel off when you clean the gun. the entrance to the barrel has a tapered throat just like my ruger old army. spent a lot of time polishing the grips and some of the brass. the man with no name doesnt have a rod to eject the spent shells so i cut a wooden dowel off at about 8 inches and carried that in my pocket and could reload just as fast with that as if it really had a ejector. i like the looks of it without the ejector. looks like a precussion. again will try soon to get pictures up.

[StrawHat]

These are not Man With No Names, heck, they are not even Uberti's, but they are the first attempt by Colt to convert C&B with a bored through cylinder. One of the Colt engineers, Richards, came up with this design.

These were built by ASM and while not exact copies of the First Model Richards are very close. These are 44 Colt and my favorite single action revolvers.

158931

These were built with a 43 caliber bore to allow inside lubed bullets to be loaded. I use a 200 grain RNFP with FFFg powder.

Heeled boolits can be crimped with wire crimping pliers or a crimping die can be purchased from a couple of vendors.

[Hickok]

158961Strawhat, this is how I am looking at those hoglegs! Green with envy!!! In .44 Colt, wow that would be perfect. And you say they make a tool to crimp the heeled boolit.

The 45 Shofield that Rintinglen posted or the .44 Colt would super!

I have looked into the .45 Colt conversion cylinders, but never liked the idea. I don't think you can get them nowadays for the 1860 Colt, as they caused the barrel to crack above the arbor. Good for the Remington 58"s but I just prefer the 1860 Colt.

[johnson1942]

Hickok, look up howell converters, and kirst converters. my howell converter works perfect in my ruger old army. ive never heard of any problems with them. from what ive heard kirst is a little higher end than howell but i find nothing lacking in my howell as it is very well made. some have loading gates built into them and all you have to do is relieve a little metal where the cartridges slide into the cylinder and they work perfectly. you can even buy after market case ejectors to put on the barrel. its not needed as cartridges come out easy with a small wood dowel or just fall out. ive read and agree the colt army is about the nicest looking hand gun ever made. when my wife got home last night, she said where is that gun. i showed it to here and she said, i want to shoot it and it sure is pretty. my daughter, who is in college for a law enforcement, shot the 1871-1872 38 open top over christmas. she had never ever fired a gun before. she fired a model 17 smith 22 and the open top 38. she liked the open top 38 better and for a first timer did well with it. these things are nothing but fun, fun, fun.

[Hickok]

Johnson, like Jerry Clower said, "Yer fixing' to give me the cravins!" I like the conversions with the loading gate/shield. I have several C&B.44s, Colts and Rem., so some permanent alterations on one of them would hurt a thing!

[johnson1942]

if you get one dont try to shoot the big 250 grain bullet in them as the twist of these guns better apply to a short bullet. my ruger old army wont shoot a 250 grain cast bullet in the howell 45 long colt cylinder for ****. how ever when i take a 50 cal round ball and resize it down to .451 with my special resizer it shoots holes in holes. it has a slight bearing surface and more weight than a .454 round ball. i use just 16 grains of blackhorn 209 powder and a fiber wad between bullet and powder. the .454 roundball in a 45 long colt case would shoot really well also. must have a wad between powder and ball to prevent leading though. we have nice clean snowbanks here now so this morning i loaded up a bunch of these 45 long colts and punched holes in holes in the snow banks.very addictive. love those cowboy loads.