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Cartridge conversions and rifles cartridge compatabikity

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9245:
I’m looking to (eventually) do a cartridge conversion on an 1858 Remington but want to be as historically accurate as possible.

Which calibers were original conversions available in?  (Including weird period gunsmith one offs you may have seen)  Were any ever done (HISTORICALLY) in .44-40?

Were ANY of those cartridges also used in rifles?

Basically I like the idea of using just one caliber for the revolver and the rifle, but I don’t particularly want to just use an 1873 like 99% of everyone else seems to and I’m trying to come up with a historical work around.

What I will likely do in the real world is just get a .45 Colt conversion, which I could argue hypothetically COULD have happened historically if a gunsmith independently figured out the angled chamber thing, but the .45 Colt was never historically used in long guns because of the balloon head case, so I would like to just use .45 Colt as a convenient modern “stand in” for some period cartridge that actually could have been used sometime in the 1880s.

Yes I’m probably over thinking this but that’s just how my head works.

As a side note, were I actually living in the 1880s I still would not have used an SAA, it was simply obsolete by the time it hit the market (how it became as popular as it did was marketing genius), my preference would have been for a S&W .44 DA, or maybe a .455 “Bulldog” DA, were I artificially limited to Single Actions then the S&W .44 “Russian” wins hands down, that or a Merwin & Hulbert.   Solid frame gate loaders suck when you could have a break action, or a break action DA.

As for my “character,” he already had and was familiar and comfortable with 1858s having used them during the War of Northern Aggression and spending some quality time with Frank James in Quantrills Raiders.  (To be read as I like cap and ball revolvers, already have a couple, like them, and don’t have the money to drop on a repro Schofield tight now, which is what I really want so I built a character around what I happen to have on hand)

Professor Marvel:
Historically correct 1858 conversions would have been .46 Remington Rimfire using a healed bullet, and the various .45 “Colt type” centerfire cartridges due to the Barrel land-and-groove diameters. A .451 diameter bullet is ideal.

.44-40 would not work well due to that.

It might be posssible to do an “any other” if a heel based bullet was used , in the style of the .46 remington , but a lack of commercial
Ammunition made “custom” cartridges far less desireable. One does not see many of the British or European guns for that very reason-
Oddball cartridges could not be readily obtained!

In fact, the Remingtons made in .46 Remington almost all came with a compatible cap-and-ball cylinder fitted to the pistol So the owner could fall back on shooting loose powder and ball if req’d. Then the wait for the Wells Fargo Wagon to deliver a few boxes of cartridges months later.

Coffinmaker:

 :) Well Heck  ;)

There is a far simpler solution.  A couple actually.  First up is to fit a cartridge stop to the Carrier Block of an 1860 Henry replicant in .45 Colt.  Then shoot Cowboy 45 Special cases, duplicating the look and feel of 44 Henry Flat.  Include with that, Either an 1860 Richards/Mason Conversion, also in .45 and shoot Same same Cowboy 45 special cases in the pistol as well.  Could also substitute the 1871/72 Open Top.

Next up would be an 1866 Winchester Replicant in 44 Special.  Source a special Carrier Block from The Smith Shop for short cartridges and shoot 44 Russian cartridges.  Then go with a .44 Special/Russian Schofield and shoot same same cartridges.  Also might source an 18971/72 Open Top in .44

Then we get into real cartridge conversions but that is a whole nother thread.

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Coffinmaker:

 :) Forgot  ;)

Why on earth would you think the Colt SAA obsolete??  Robust, reliable, accurate!!  The double action guns of the day were notoriously fragile and prone to breakage.  Of course breaking at the worst possible moment (Remember Murphy).

The only guns in general availability that made the SAA obsolete were Mauser Broomhandle, the Luger and of course, the Colt 1911.  More so the 1911.

Dave T:
DITTO to what Coffinmaker just said.

The Colt SAA didn't become so prolific and popular because it was obsolete. It was the most advanced version of the single action revolvers introduced by Colt with the Walker back in the late 1840s. People who had grown up or spend their adult lives shooting and handling '51 Navy Colts or '60 Army Colts were easily converted to the SAA when they became common enough and individuals could afford them.

Modern shooters are enthralled with the idea of fast reloads. Most folks who packed a hand gun in the 1870s, '80s, '90s, and into the 20th Century weren't worried about prolonged firefights with drug traffic teams, outlaw bikers, or the walking dead. Their gunfights were over in a few rounds and if that were unlikely they carried another revolver. Merwin & Hulberts, like S&W break tops unload quickly but the M&H is just as slow to load as the SAA. Try it some time as I did.

My $.02 worth,
Dave

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