Interesting Conversion

[Fox Creek Kid]

http://milpas.cc/rifles/ZFiles/Pistols/Colt/1862%20&%20before/EXPERIMENTAL%20OR%20PROTOTYPE%20%201860%20Army/EXPERIMENTAL%20OR%20PROTOTYPE%20%201860%20Army.html

[Abilene]

Very Cool.

[Long Johns Wolf]

Thanks FCK.
The late R. Bruce McDowell describes such (early) Colt 1860 conversion as Long Cylinder Conversions, pages 402 through 414 in his book A STUDY OF COLT CONVERSIONS AND OTHER PERCUSSION REVOLVERS

[Fox Creek Kid]

The jury is still out in my mind on this one. R.L. Wilson seems to believe it's a factory prototype. B. McDowell in his conversion book says that Colt never welded.    Another thing McDowell said in his book about these "long cylinder" conversions is that they are not factory as Colt surely would have seen their superiority over Richards conversions with their rebated cylinders. I just don't know.

[Long Johns Wolf]

FCK & campfire: I feel Wilson was repeating what he and Sutherland said already earlier in 1971 if memory serves, whereas McDowell added new insight to the discussion regarding the LCCs's making/technoloy applied in 1997. The rational McDowell presented makes a lot of sense to me. Considering the number of LCC design pistols McDowell allegedly has studied I think the LCCs are more than an experiment.
I do not wish to highjack your thread but but like to add another thought regarding the "superiority" or praticability rather of the LCC design. And I am biased.
After using modern steel 1860 pattern replicas converted to shoot CF cartridges like .44 Colt of both the "long cylinder" and "rebated cylinder" design in CAS activities for a couple of years it is my considered opinion that the LCCs certainly are better withstanding the maltreatment of the sport to say the least.
Long Johns Wolf

[3Fingers_Murphy]

FCK,
You once pointed out a lot of factory conversions were not really conversions as they went out the door as a cartridge gun. Welding is different than additional machining or adding another part like an ejector. They probably had unfinshed receivers they could have modified instead of welding them up. What caliber do you think the barrel is?
Murphy

[FriscoCounty]

The jury is still out in my mind on this one. R.L. Wilson seems to believe it's a factory prototype. B. McDowell in his conversion book says that Colt never welded.    Another thing McDowell said in his book about these "long cylinder" conversions is that they are not factory as Colt surely would have seen their superiority over Richards conversions with their rebated cylinders. I just don't know.

The Richards conversion could be done using existing stock of frames and cylinders, which would have been a big advantage for Colt. 

[Coffinmaker]

If the cylinder is bored thru, the barrel is probably .451 or  .452 with the intent to chamber .44 cartridges with heal base, outside lubed bullets.
The original Colt Open Top was chambered .44 to digest .44 Henry Flat and similar Colt round who's name escapes me.
I don't know, but doubt Colt ever built an LCC conversion with the Richards ejector but an LCC conversion with the ejector would be Über KOOL even if not hysterically correct.  Specially if the barrel were cut to the ejector.  Yum.  I like strange guns with Open Tops.
And short barrels 

Coffinmaker  

Wish I could afford to have one built.  Or build one myself

[Graveyard Jack]

Very cool! Reminds me of the John Gren long cylinder conversion (on a 2nd or 3rd Colt 1860) I should've bid on a couple years ago. If I remember right, it sold for only around $800.

[Mike]

I have looked at this gun and find it hard to belive Colt would of altered an engraved gun, this gun looks as though it was an engraved 1860 before it was altered.

May be I am wrong.

I would like to have a repro of this Long cylinder gun to go with the rest of my 44 Army and Conversions.
First I need to find a donner 1860 and then some one to make the cylinder.

[sail32]

Dennis Adler in his book "Colt Single Action From Patersons to Peacemakers", mentions that 60 long cylinders are known. He says, according to McDowell there are several schools of thought on the origins of the long cylinder conversions.
Adler sums up by saying, "the prevailing theory is that the 60 known examples were built outside the Colt factory, by an individual or individuals between the late 1860s and
1873-74. Whether or not they were built in Mexico remains one of the unsolved mysteries."