I acquired an original Colt Richards conversion a while back, story was that it was found in the wall of an old house that was being demolished. This gun was missing parts and the barrel had been shortened at some point in it's life. It was what you would expect of something stored in the wall of a house for who knows how long. Disassembly and cleaning was a job as rusted screws and broken parts were everywhere, but the cylinder was intact and the bore, though corroded, still had solid rifeling. The 1860, or parts, it was made from dates to 1861.
These guns were for the most part converted surplus 1860 army revolvers left over from civil war contracts. Colt wanted to use up parts and get a cartridge revolver into the public's hands as quickly as possible. The SAA, while in the wings, was not available yet. You can still see the holes where the Root cap and ball loading lever rode when ramming balls into the cylinder.
After sourcing some replacement parts including screws and a new wedge to hold the revolver together I started looking for an ejector. Originals are unobtainium so I modified an Uberti replacement. The screws, springs, and other small parts replaced are also from Uberti and it's a testament to that company that you can use their parts, with some fitting, in old guns.
Finishing up the revolver, adjusting the timing, and having a new front sight made for it by Ingo's own T-Dogg, the revolver was ready for "cap" test where I load brass with primers and no powder or bullets. This worked well. It was time to make ammo and get it on the range. While the gun does have a "junkyard" appearance, it must be remembered that these guns continued to sell well even after the SAA. Considered working man's guns they were very attractively priced, far below a SAA.
To get something that would work with the now bored through cylinders and larger bore diameter Colt developed the 44 Colt cartridge, a heeled round, it's about like a 44 special with a smaller rim and a heeled bullet. You can buy everything you need to make this ammo and I didn't even look for commercial cartridges. Taking it to the range produced a decent group at 7 yards shooting off hand with heavy gloves and a coat on, no fun in this heat, but I'm always apprehensive about firing old guns for the first time.
I'll do a little more work on this gun, but it's pretty much done. For those who like this style of historical revolver there have been an number of modern reproductions made over the years. Closest to my original would be the Cimmarron, but you can get ones with the old barrel length. The ASM gun just above my resto is even chambered in 44 Colt, but with bore of .429 so you can skip the heeled bullets and even use smokeless powder.
These guns were for the most part converted surplus 1860 army revolvers left over from civil war contracts. Colt wanted to use up parts and get a cartridge revolver into the public's hands as quickly as possible. The SAA, while in the wings, was not available yet. You can still see the holes where the Root cap and ball loading lever rode when ramming balls into the cylinder.
After sourcing some replacement parts including screws and a new wedge to hold the revolver together I started looking for an ejector. Originals are unobtainium so I modified an Uberti replacement. The screws, springs, and other small parts replaced are also from Uberti and it's a testament to that company that you can use their parts, with some fitting, in old guns.
Finishing up the revolver, adjusting the timing, and having a new front sight made for it by Ingo's own T-Dogg, the revolver was ready for "cap" test where I load brass with primers and no powder or bullets. This worked well. It was time to make ammo and get it on the range. While the gun does have a "junkyard" appearance, it must be remembered that these guns continued to sell well even after the SAA. Considered working man's guns they were very attractively priced, far below a SAA.
To get something that would work with the now bored through cylinders and larger bore diameter Colt developed the 44 Colt cartridge, a heeled round, it's about like a 44 special with a smaller rim and a heeled bullet. You can buy everything you need to make this ammo and I didn't even look for commercial cartridges. Taking it to the range produced a decent group at 7 yards shooting off hand with heavy gloves and a coat on, no fun in this heat, but I'm always apprehensive about firing old guns for the first time.
I'll do a little more work on this gun, but it's pretty much done. For those who like this style of historical revolver there have been an number of modern reproductions made over the years. Closest to my original would be the Cimmarron, but you can get ones with the old barrel length. The ASM gun just above my resto is even chambered in 44 Colt, but with bore of .429 so you can skip the heeled bullets and even use smokeless powder.
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