Brass backstrap & triggerguard for Richards Transition

[Fox Creek Kid]

I had a Cimarron (Uberti) three screw '60 Army with brass BS & TG that I bought in '99. I have since gotten rid of it.

[Mako]

I had a Cimarron (Uberti) three screw '60 Army with brass BS & TG that I bought in '99. I have since gotten rid of it.

Bless you...

[Flint]

Mako,

Actually, I try to ignore Pietta's Colts, as most are inventions.  They sell a lot of 44 Navies, though.  I just can't abide the gripframe shape Pietta uses, and unnecessarily, as they have it right on thiern SAA.

Of my 6 Colt 1860's, 4 are Ubertis, one 2nd gen and one 3rd gen.   Two are "Civilians", both brass backstraps, one 2004 and one 2003.  I have never seen a steel strapped 3-screw.  Could be a matter of when and where they were sold.

I have 13 Navy's, 4 are '61s, one is a 1st gen (1862), refinished by someone in the past but with an Uberti cylinder and a rusted out bore (paid $200 for it).   2 are "Civiliian" with brass gripframes, both Uberti 2003.

The rest are '51s, one is a London, one a Leech & Rigdon, 3 squarebacks, one of which is a 2nd gen Colt. 

I should post photos.

Flint                   

[Mako]

Flint,
Here are two Cimarron part number CA047 "Civillian" Three Screw 1860s.  I don't remember which pair these are but I think they the older pair from 2002, I have another pair that are  2005 and a third pair that are  2007.  The last ones I bought in '09 but the dealer had them in inventory since '07.

There is enough separation in the serial numbers and the dates they came through Cimarron I am pretty sure they aren't from the same year.  I ordered the second set from Cimarron and had to wait for a shipment.  The third was located for me by cimarron looking at records and then me calling up shops.  I wanted sequential serial numbers for all three pairs, so I went to Cimarron for help.  Sometimes Buffalo arms has them in sequence.

http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt358/Mako_CAS/1860/IMG_1970b.jpg

http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt358/Mako_CAS/1860/IMG_1973b.jpg

The other four look exactly like them.  For historical accuracy, these are what every Colt's 1860 I have every seen without recoil shield cuts looked like.  As always with Colt's and it seems now Uberti there will always be exceptions.  

Earlier I showed you pictures of original Colt's pistols with recoil shield cuts and only three screws.  I like the Uberti/Cimarron CA047 models, they are clean looking without any extra cuts or unused screws.  I'll be using some of them as the base for conversions and the conversions look better without the recoil shield cuts.

Regards,
Mako

[Flint]

One thing that bugs me is that the vast majority of 1861's made by Uberti or Pietta are 4-screws, and that is the opposite of Colt's production of them, so few that they were considered "experimental" by James Serven in his book published in 1954/58. 

As you mentioned, the stock screws on the frame interfere with holding and shooting the gun.  As pretty as the 61 Navy is, it is better looking as a 3-screw, and more comfortable to hold.

From what I can glean, most of their gripframes were plated brass like the 51's.  however it is hard to research in the more recent books such as Wilson's, as they tend to picture only engraved and plated showpieces rather than the general plain production models.  Do you have the titles of more in depth books on the Colts than the Coffee Table variety?  I have a good book on the 51 Navy by Nathn L. Swayze.  The old boojk by Serven and Adler and McDowell on conversions.

Flint

[Mako]

One thing that bugs me is that the vast majority of 1861's made by Uberti or Pietta are 4-screws, and that is the opposite of Colt's production of them, so few that they were considered "experimental" by James Serven in his book published in 1954/58. 

Flint

Yep, I bought a '61  "London" (iron grips) model three screw at a gun shop on a purely emotional impulse.  It was purty...

I looked and looked for several years for a matching one, but they were all 4 screw and cut for stocks. I finally bought a "civilian" version '61 from Texas Jacks, once again an impulse buy.  I bought a steel grip on an auction on eBay years ago and it turned out it was Val Folgert or his son that was selling.  The one I got was pretty sad and I wrote the seller, that's how I found out who it was.  He replaced it.  The odd thing is that I decided I liked the brass better.  The Iron grip was pretty but the more common brass looks nice.

'61s are pretty.  If I ever get around to finishing my 130 grain bullet design I may start shooting them for a while.  I like them too, I never do impulse buys but they were priced very well and they were purty.  I see why Samuel Colt considered it the prettiest of his pistols.

~Mako