1861 conversion

[Pappy Hayes]

I purchased an uberti 1861 Navy Colt to do a Kirst conversion. But I am scared to cut the loading port. Do to the cost having someone build me one,thinking about just buying Uberti 1860 Army Type II in 38 Colt. Then buy a Navy grip and have the barrel shortened to 7 1/2. Opinions?

[Abilene]

Well, you know my opinion because that's what I did.    Except that I got the 5 1/2" barrel so no cutting.  If it was me, I'd live with the barrel as-is.  Anyway, you would have to cut 3/4" to clear the front sight.

Now, my 7 1/2" Uberti Kirst-Strite '61 is a great gun, but I bought it already converted as thus far I too have not gotten up the courage to dremel out a loading port on anything.  I have a pair of stainless Pietta Remingtons that I may or may not try.  Or I may pay somebody else to do it.  Life is too short to quibble about a few dollars. 

[Coffinmaker]

Without a Mill and a Ball cutter, Dremeling the loading channel can be a real challenge.  The screaming Dremel will try and "jump" the work area (and oft does) and scar somewhere you don't want it to scar the surface.  It is also not a fun job and with all the ground steel particles in the air, goggles are a must as is hearing protection.

I consider cutting a barrel from 8 inches back to 7 1/2 to be somewhat "silly". From 2 feet you can't really tell the difference between 8 and 7 1/2.  And as Abilene has mentioned, you can't just cut back a half inch.  Going for absolute authenticity can and will get really expensive.  If one just absolutely has to have "something" I can understand, but must be understood, it ain't gonna be cheap.  I personally built quite a few conversions and frankly, the cost of available parts and labor always exceeded the original cost of the donor by a good deal.