GatorFarmer
Member
When did cartridge conversions of what were previously cap n ball revolvers arrive on the market? Were these the brainchild of frontier gunsmiths, or were some offered by the factory, i.e. Colt, as a ready made product?
I noticed .38 Long Colt cylinders available for .36 revolvers today. Apparently not the historical .38 Long Colt of Moro infamy, but a downloaded .38 special meant to be loaded with a hollow base bullet - or does it need a heel based bullet- so as to engage the rifling.
For the .44 revolvers conversions can be had to fire the venerable .45 Colt.
The simplest conversions are meant to drop in and merely are a cylinder and a back plate for it with six firing pins.
A more involved conversion involves adding a loading gate, ejector, and new one piece cylinder.
Was this the basic competition among designs circa 1870 as well?
I was thinking of getting an example of the two piece drop in sort. I am not sure if they really add more utility, then or now. Today it allows smokeless ammunition allowed more places, but that was obviously not an issue in the days before smokeless powder.
Reloads would still seem to be a time consuming affair, largely best not attempted in a tight spot., at least with the drop in two piece cylinder.
Ballistics wise, is the resurrected .38 Long Colt suitable for anything aside from poking holes in paper? Are .38 special wadcutters and or shotshells an option?
The old .45 Colt would seem to still be effective in general even at a "cowboy" level, wouldn't it? Big heavy bullet and such. Does today's cowboy load replicate the level of performance a real cowboy would have had with period ammunition from the .45 Colt? Or is it so anemic as to be a paper puncher only and perhaps less effective than the .44 ball load?
Presumably the original conversions were in even earlier chambers, such as .44 Henry perhaps. What chamberings were common circa 1870?
I noticed .38 Long Colt cylinders available for .36 revolvers today. Apparently not the historical .38 Long Colt of Moro infamy, but a downloaded .38 special meant to be loaded with a hollow base bullet - or does it need a heel based bullet- so as to engage the rifling.
For the .44 revolvers conversions can be had to fire the venerable .45 Colt.
The simplest conversions are meant to drop in and merely are a cylinder and a back plate for it with six firing pins.
A more involved conversion involves adding a loading gate, ejector, and new one piece cylinder.
Was this the basic competition among designs circa 1870 as well?
I was thinking of getting an example of the two piece drop in sort. I am not sure if they really add more utility, then or now. Today it allows smokeless ammunition allowed more places, but that was obviously not an issue in the days before smokeless powder.
Reloads would still seem to be a time consuming affair, largely best not attempted in a tight spot., at least with the drop in two piece cylinder.
Ballistics wise, is the resurrected .38 Long Colt suitable for anything aside from poking holes in paper? Are .38 special wadcutters and or shotshells an option?
The old .45 Colt would seem to still be effective in general even at a "cowboy" level, wouldn't it? Big heavy bullet and such. Does today's cowboy load replicate the level of performance a real cowboy would have had with period ammunition from the .45 Colt? Or is it so anemic as to be a paper puncher only and perhaps less effective than the .44 ball load?
Presumably the original conversions were in even earlier chambers, such as .44 Henry perhaps. What chamberings were common circa 1870?
