Range Test: Uberti Pocket Pistol and the R&D Conversion Cylinder

[Frenchie]

Got to shoot my Uberti '49 Colt's Pocket Pistol with the R&D conversion cylinder yesterday. I have a box of .32 S&W Short that I got from Old Western Scrounger. .32 S&W cartridges are cute, they make me think of .25 ACP rounds that need to go on the Jenny Craig diet. Round nose lead, nitro powder. When I start reloading they'll get refilled with FFFg, I  think.

I fired three full loads, 18 rounds total. The first 12 rounds went toward a large piece of paper with a black X in the center, 25 yards away. Yeah, I know, got no business shooting a pocket pistol at anything 25 feet away, let alone 25 yards, but hey, it was just for function testing and fun. I knew it would most likely shoot high at that range, but had no idea how much. I kept aiming lower and lower before seeing a hole in the target sheet at round 5 - by that point I had to aim at the support leg for the target holder, about two feet below the X.

I got a total of 4 rounds to hit that big piece of paper. Where the other 8 rounds went is anyone's guess. The bullets were tumbling when they got there, too. I guess it's obvious that a copy of a black powder pistol shooting modern smokeless cartridges that didn't exist when the pistol was designed can't be expected to produce tack-driving accuracy, especially given the haplessness of the goober doing the aiming and firing.

The last 6 rounds went at the same type of target, but at 7 yards. Better this time, all 6 hit the paper and weren't tumbling. One or two of them might have made the X think someone was shooting in its general direction. As one of the other shooters said, "It's a belly gun, what can you expect?" I told him I thought it would do better if I'd brought the BP cylinder and makings for Holy Black rounds. But it was fun in any case.

Now that I've actually shot it, I really don't like the slick, hard polyurethane coating on the wood. The gun slid and slithered all over in my feeble grip. As an experiment I hit the grips with mineral oil paint thinner to see if the coating was really varnish or whatever. Well, it's polyurethane all right, 'cuz the mineral oil left it nice and clean but otherwise untouched. Guess I'll have to gently sand the plastic off and hit them with tung oil.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Hey Frenchie! 

Good on ya!  This was an interesting post.

I've successfully gotten rid of that poly coating several times.  The last time, I used an all-natural, citrus scented orange colored remover.  I had to repeat the process several times, but it worked and was easy on the hands and area.  I could have used it indoors.

The BEST stuff I've used is called "Zip Strip."  (Both products were purchased at Wally-World.)  The "ZS" was fast, efficient and you MUST be in a well ventilated area and I'd suggest (like the mfgr) that you get some rubber gloves.  It'll burn your skin and if you have any cuts on your hands ... WOW!


But it's VERY efficient.

I have done 3 or 4 things with the "ZS" and one with the Citrus stuff.  I took the poly coating off my (Uberti made) Win. '66 rifle with the "ZS."  I found some LOVELY European walnut with plenty of "figure" underneath that red stain and poly coating.  It was WELL worth all the trouble to do the job.

Recently, my good pard Jed Cooper took the same red, shiny finish off of his '66 rifle using Easy-Off oven cleaner.  He had some troubles with his, but he left the stuff on too long and ended up having to repeat the process 5 or 6 times.  (He left it on overnite BIG mistake!)  He did, however, get this technique from a good gunsmith who DIDN'T leave it on, and had never used it on Italian polyurethane.

Go with the Zip-Strip, but follow the directions EXACTLY.  It'll probably do the job with one application, a cold water rinse, then leave it to dry for a day or two.  On my '66 I simply used Boiled Linseed oil to finish and didn't need any stain.  (about 5 coats of Lin. Oil, then a coat of Tung oil.)

Have fun!

[Frenchie]

Steel Horse, the words about stripping the poly are very much appreciated! I'll stumble into the local Wally World sometime soon and look for the Zip Strip and the orange stuff. Probably go for the orange stuff, the weather's getting too cold to work outside.

[River City John]

Until the weather warms up, Frenchie, might just try hitting the grips with steel wool enough to craze the surface, then paste wax 'em. (Goddard's is one brand of furniture wax I like that comes in a tin and has a great aroma. Any paste wax will do.)
The wax should keep the grips from slipping and you'll still have the protective poly layer intact.

[Frenchie]

RCJ, interesting idea. I have some Simon's carnauba paste wax - a lot of it, in fact - and I'll give it a try on the roughed-up grips.

[Long Johns Wolf]

Frenchie, I am sorry if this is a stupid question but I am not familiar with the .32 S&W short: did you have to reline the barrel of the Uberti pistol to get reasonable accuracy with the .32 out of it?
Long Johns Wolf

[Fox Creek Kid]

The Uberti .31 cap 'n ball revolvers run as large as 0.320 or larger for groove diameter so you'd probably need a HB bullet if you're shooting 0.312 bullets. Just an FYI, Colt never made a .32 conversion as they made new barrels and cylinders for these little guns in .38 Colt and sold a bazillion of 'em in Latin America. Frenchie, cool gun.