Author Topic: Why are there no conversions options in .44 Caliber?  (Read 6880 times)

Offline The Pathfinder

  • Top Active Citizen
  • *
  • Posts: 642
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 7
Re: Why are there no conversions options in .44 Caliber?
« Reply #40 on: July 25, 2020, 10:32:36 AM »
Ok, little more info on my original 12 stop Richards cylinder. The walls between the chambers are .031" at the cartridge insertion end (top) and .0465 at the bullet exit end (bottom). The wall thickness to the exterior of the cylinder is .037" at the top and .083" at the bottom. I'll try to redo all the measurements this weekend as I now have a better caliper.

And a little more to add, apparently the depth of the locking notches is around .033", leaving barely .004" of steel, 1860s era steel, to contain the cartridge case. No wonder so many of the converted cylinders are found with blown out notches. I wonder if the replacement cylinders had notches that were any shallower or if that area of the new cylinders was made thicker? Anyone got one they can measure at some point?

Offline Long Johns Wolf

  • Top Active Citizen
  • *
  • Posts: 1129
  • "Centaures will make you become addicted"
    • Belgian Colt, aka Centaure, aka Centennial Army, aka "1960 NEW MODEL ARMY"
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 44
Re: Why are there no conversions options in .44 Caliber?
« Reply #41 on: May 21, 2022, 09:22:57 AM »
Just stumbled over this old but still educational discussion.
Found these pics of an old Uberti made 1860 Army percussion revolver converted by an unknown smith into a Richards conversion.
Seemingly the original percussion cylinder was bored through to shoot (probably) .44 Colt cartridges ... which did not quite work.
The pistol was sold over at German internet auction house Egun in 2020.
Long Johns Wolf
BOSS 156, CRR 169 (Hon.), FROCS 2, Henry Board, SCORRS, STORM 229, SV Hofheim 1938, VDW, BDS, SASS

Offline Tuolumne Lawman

  • CAS-L Ghost Rider
  • Top Active Citizen
  • *
  • Posts: 2798
  • Grass Valley, CA in the Sierra Nevada Mountains
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 46
Re: Why are there no conversions options in .44 Caliber?
« Reply #42 on: May 21, 2022, 08:02:43 PM »
One could buy a .45 Colt Uberti Richards conversion (which has the corect bore for original .44 Colt heeled bullets), then fit a .44 Special cylinder that was bored to case diameter full length.  Then you could shoot heeled bullets.

You would need to shoot black powder though, unless you are fine with just getting one load from the case.  I found loading .375" heeled .38 long Colt bullets is that when you use smokeless propellants, you need to excessively crimp the heel into the case to create enough back pressure. The cases tend to tear where the petals of the crimp die join on the case mouth.  Black powder explodes, so it does not need as severe of a crimp.
TUOLUMNE LAWMAN
CO. F, 12th Illinois Cavalry  SASS # 6127 Life * Spencer Shooting Society #43 * Motherlode Shootist Society #1 * River City Regulators

Advertising

  • Guest
Re: Why are there no conversions options in .44 Caliber?
« Reply #43 on: Today at 07:45:50 AM »

Offline Long Johns Wolf

  • Top Active Citizen
  • *
  • Posts: 1129
  • "Centaures will make you become addicted"
    • Belgian Colt, aka Centaure, aka Centennial Army, aka "1960 NEW MODEL ARMY"
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 44
Re: Why are there no conversions options in .44 Caliber?
« Reply #43 on: May 22, 2022, 02:31:38 AM »
I don't know the owner of this Uberti percussion 1860 converted to R1.
Why the gunsmith who made this conversion did not make a new strengthened cylinder, i.e. increased the dia of the breech band and used proper steel is beyond me.
This pistol would never had survived the mandatory proof testing procedure.
Long Johns Wolf
BOSS 156, CRR 169 (Hon.), FROCS 2, Henry Board, SCORRS, STORM 229, SV Hofheim 1938, VDW, BDS, SASS

Offline Niederlander

  • American Plainsmen Society
  • Top Active Citizen
  • *
  • Posts: 3099
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 6
Re: Why are there no conversions options in .44 Caliber?
« Reply #44 on: May 22, 2022, 06:44:29 AM »
For what it's worth, a friend of mine had an original, that was essentially a rusty dug-up.  (He collected those.)  As I remember, most of the notches were all the way into the cylinder.  We surmised they were so thin a little bit of wear would result in a hole.  We also surmised that may have been why it had been discarded, or at least not looked for very hard when it was lost.
"There go those Nebraskans, and all hell couldn't stop them!"

 

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk

© 1995 - 2023 CAScity.com