Cartridge Conversion Cylinders

[Dieselman]

Does anyone here have any experience with the cartridge conversion cylinders that are made for cap and ball revolvers? I have a Pietta 1858 Remington revolver clone that may be a candidate for such device. I don't have any experience with the conversion and surprisingy haven't seen much about them on the internet.

[Bill in Oregon]

I always thought they were kinda fiddly and expensive, but that 58 belly gun you have there would make an interesting experiment.

[Mark in MO]

I have messed with a Howell conversion cylinder for a Ruger Old Army a bit. It was fun and worked as advertised, but unsure how truly “useful” it is. While a sample size of only one, this one wasn’t finicky. The entire load/unload process probably took about as long using it as loading the original black powder cylinder.

[Griff]

Many, many SASS shooters use conversion cylinders in their pistols. While I don't personally feel the attraction, I certainly understand it. Are you looking at the "drop-in" type or the type that physically alters the gun into cartridge only form? If the former, you may want to go over to CAS-City, and look for the STORM (Shooters of The Open-top and Richard-Masons) forum. Lots of posts regarding various arms and conversion cylinders.

[Dieselman]

This 58 was a gift from me to my father over 30 years ago. Back when you could order them from Bass Pro or Cabelas for about $100. My father shot pyrodex in it and didnt clean it well. After he passed on about 10 years ago, I acquired it back. The end of the barrel looked like a rusty sewer pipe. I ended up hacking off the barrel, soldering on a front sight and recontouring the grip. Problem is, it is a real pain to load without the ram rod. I figure a cartridge conversion might make it enjoyable to shoot

[2ndovc]

I have one from Taylors & Co. for my Old Army and love it!
Mine is in .45 acp and an absolute blast to shoot! To be honest, I haven't even fired it with BP.

jb

[Ray]

That is good work on that grip-frame !

I load cylinders off the gun with presses like this.....

https://www.oldsouthfirearms.com/revolv ... stand.aspx

Though that example is not very sturdy.

This one is a bit sturdier and is multi-caliber.....

https://rmcoxyoke.com/product/rmc-revol ... ing-stand/

This one loads all six (or 5) at once.....

https://rmcoxyoke.com/product/quick-6-r ... ing-stand/

I also load without a press with a non-marring hammer or mallet....

"thwack !" 5 or six times around then gentle tap, tap, taps with a muzzleloader short starter as a punch to fully seat. A piece of leather under the cylinder ratchets protects there

[Dieselman]

I have one from Taylors & Co. for my Old Army and love it!
Mine is in .45 acp and an absolute blast to shoot! To be honest, I haven't even fired it with BP.

jb

So what 45acp loads to you shoot through this? FMJ?

[Dieselman]

Many, many SASS shooters use conversion cylinders in their pistols. While I don't personally feel the attraction, I certainly understand it. Are you looking at the "drop-in" type or the type that physically alters the gun into cartridge only form? If the former, you may want to go over to CAS-City, and look for the STORM (Shooters of The Open-top and Richard-Masons) forum. Lots of posts regarding various arms and conversion cylinders.

Thanks, I will check it out

[Ysabel Kid]

I have a bunch of them, mostly Howell, but also a couple of the Kirst Konverters where I had the revolver's recoil shield channeled for loading the cartridges. Most of the Kirst ones are two piece where the rear piece has one firing pin, a loading gate, and it sits in place while the cylinder (only) rotates. They are more expensive, but a bit safer. The Howell conversion cylinders are also two-piece affairs, with a cylinder as well as a rear ring. Unlike the Kirst though, the rear ring has five or six firing pins (depending on the number of chambers in the cylinder), and it rotates with the cylinder.

For the Remington 1858 clones, given how easy it is to remove the cylinder arbor, removing, reloading, and re-inserting the cylinder, works really well with the Howell, which is cheaper than the Kirst, with no alteration of the base gun. Colt's are a more arduous affair, having to pull the wedge, lever off the barrel, then work the cylinder. I think they lend themselves more to a full conversion with the Kirst, though that is north of $500 between the Kirst Konverter and the gunsmithing. I do have Howell conversion cylinders for my Colt clones too though.

To me, sometimes it is just easier to get a little trigger time with cap & ball revolvers using cartridges. Neither conversion cylinder precludes the use of the original percussion cylinder. I like the flexibility.

[Ray]

In the process of searching for information on very short-barreled percussion revolvers in general and 1858s in particular I found these.....

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1SZFoi0GrIQ

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz4uIVUv8cs

https://m.youtube.com/@johnzx6r/videos

The first link ought to be with a Howell six-shot .45 colt cylinder. The second with .45 acp. The last link is that y.t. channel's videos.

It is interesting (and perplexing) that when you browse for conversion cylinders they are offered in both 5 and 6 shot options. Perhaps some here can comment on how the 5 shots function in 6 shot revolvers.

https://howellarms.com/product/pietta-s ... -cylinder/

https://howellarms.com/product/pietta-s ... -cylinder/

[Dieselman]

In the process of searching for information on very short-barreled percussion revolvers in general and 1858s in particular I found these.....

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1SZFoi0GrIQ

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz4uIVUv8cs

https://m.youtube.com/@johnzx6r/videos

The first link ought to be with a Howell six-shot .45 colt cylinder. The second with .45 acp. The last link is that y.t. channel's videos.

It is interesting (and perplexing) that when you browse for conversion cylinders they are offered in both 5 and 6 shot options. Perhaps some here can comment on how the 5 shots function in 6 shot revolvers.

https://howellarms.com/product/pietta-s ... -cylinder/

https://howellarms.com/product/pietta-s ... -cylinder/

Great videos! Thanks Ray

[765x53]

I 've considered they might be fun to play with, but then I remind myself that for an extra $100 I could have complete SAA clone.