Conversion cylinder for a 1858, Are they worth it??

[mikenbarb]

I have a couple BP 1858 repros and im looking to possibly but a conversion cylinder for one. Does anyone have one of them converted and is it worth it?

[badgeredd]

I have a couple BP 1858 repros and im looking to possibly but a conversion cylinder for one. Does anyone have one of them converted and is it worth it?

Same question...also for the 1860 repro.

Edd

[peter nap]

I had one that I looked at the conversion for a while but decided it just wasn't worth the money. I had a couple extra cap cylinders though.

While working on the Mini Series John Adams, I was %itching about the cost to the armorer and he showed me how to convert one of my spare cylinders. If you have a lathe, it isn't much of a job.

[jh45gun]

I don't think so for what they cost you can buy a cartridge gun and not have to mess with the conversion cylinders.

[mikenbarb]

Its at least a 6-8 month wait for a pistol permit in my state IF they process it fast. Welcome to New Jersey!!:takinWiz:

[Bent Ramrod]

A friend has one for his Ruger Old Army. It takes longer to get the cylinder out and apart, remove the fired cartridges and put in new ones, assemble the cylinder and put it in again, than it does to load, grease and cap the regular cylinder.

Except for the possible advantage one might see in being able to fire mild smokeless loads in a cap and ball revolver, it seems to me kind of pointless, but if it is the only way to possess a cartridge handgun, so be it.

[oldhickory]

A friend has one for his Ruger Old Army. It takes longer to get the cylinder out and apart, remove the fired cartridges and put in new ones, assemble the cylinder and put it in again, than it does to load, grease and cap the regular cylinder.

Except for the possible advantage one might see in being able to fire mild smokeless loads in a cap and ball revolver, it seems to me kind of pointless, but if it is the only way to possess a cartridge handgun, so be it.

You're right about the time it would take to reload, but I do see an advantage if you want to leave the gun loaded for extended periods or be able to unload it without firing it. Now the complete conversions may be a different story. a bored through cylinder, loading gate, and ejector. I have a new Uberti 1863 Remington I've been toying with the idea about a full conversion...This makes a little more sense.

[Buckshot]

............A SASS shooter friend of mine had a 1858 repro made by Pietta, and he bought one of those cylinder conversions for it. I was absolutely astounded at the accuracy it produced at 25 yards. Adding to my amazement, while I was inspecting the pistol I discovered that when they'd cut the crown they'd turned a wire edge up into the muzzle all the way around. You could for sure easily hook a fingernail on it.

When I showed it to him he asked if the whoopsie could be fixed. I suggested he just leave it alone! Man that thing was match grade. Who knows, it might have shot better (I dont see how) but more likely it would have shot worse. Of course thats no blanket statement that they'd all shoot like that, but dang I was impressed. It's also a good undercover way to get a cartridge revolver with no paperwork following it around :-)

.............Buckshot

[Hang Fire]

I have a Kirst in 45 LC and love it. I opted for the loading gate cylinder, to open recoil shield, just used a large hand file and finished up with different grits on sanding drum in Dremel flex shaft tool and was no big deal.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/TANSTAAFL-2/P1010004-7.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/TANSTAAFL-2/P10100022.jpg

Also have three C&B cylinders, only takes a couple of seconds to change from one to the other.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/TANSTAAFL-2/P1010004-8.jpg

[Slogg76]

I have been thinking about getting one as well. A couple of friends have them, and at first I was not impressed due to the slow load times. But then we shot paper-WOW! They were incredibly accurate. I beleive my friends were using R&D cylinders. A version with a loading gate would solve the slow loading problems.

[lathesmith]

Go to this site, and check out the "flash video":

http://www.kirstkonverter.com/remington.html

Anyone here really believe they could reload a BP cylinder this fast? You be the judge of that one...

I personally own and shoot one of Mr. Kirst's 45 Colt cylinders for my Pietta 1858 Remmy, and I absolutely love it! Yes, it's true, these conversions are a bit on the pricey side, but they are very well made and I believe perform as advertised. As Buckshot noted, they can be amazingly accurate, and I have fired mine with "standard" 45 Colt loads, which is a 255-grain slug in the 900 fps range. I would be more inclined to recommend a 200-grain slug in the 700-800 fps range however, both in the interest of gun longevity and shooting more to point of aim of the factory sights.
These things give me all the fun of the old-time designs without the bother of cleaning up BP if I don't want to. Besides, to me a '58 Remmy just "feels" right, and these conversions are a nice added dimension.
lathesmith