I was wondering Why?

[Ace Lungger]

As I read, it seems to me, that there are a lot of pards out there, that desire the Conversion open tops over the 72's that are metalic ready. is it the looks? Is it the way they shoot, is it they way that handle, ect.
  I will admit that the conversion that I have seen (only on the net, never in person) look cool! And I suppose they do give off alure that you are a old cowboy boy that has updated from cap and ball!
Sidewinder has got me lined out on what I am going to buy, because of what i want in a open top! There is just no way I could afford those conversion guns. I still hopeing to find a used pair of navy 72's with the 4 3/4 barrel. We got a lot of gun shows coming up within a 200 miles or so, but if you figure if you have to go to many of those I would think that you would be better off just going a head and buying new! I know I will never come accross another buy like I did on my pair of Hombries (sorry about he spelling) man those are sweet shooting guns, i just wished i could do something with that matte black finish to make them look better! Without talking the finish all off and having them plated!Since these guns show no where a tall, I wonder what they would look like nickle plated over that ruff surface? Give me your thoughts Pards!
Thanks for your time!
I hope every shot you shoot hits the bullseye!
Ace
P.S. You all have a nice weekend, if the old weather man isn't lying to me, I am going out shooting Sunday!!

[Long Johns Wolf]

What a pleasant topic Ace Lungger.
I guess it is the "maturing" or "brings back memories" effect. I started shooting Uberti 1860 Armies with the holy black some 30 years ago, advanced to military type auto pistols for the next 20 years, and approached cowboy guns in general but Colt-type pistols in particular from the mid 1990s. Since about 5 years I am back full circle to the graceful lines of the good old Army 1860 Model but in the .44 Colt cartridge (con-) versions from Uberti (and from Centaure as Richards conversion soon I hope).
I just like the balance of these full size pistols, the Army grips feel good in my hands, better than the 7,5" barrel SAA-type pistols.
My 5 € cents.
Long Johns Wolf

[Charlie Bowdre]

Ace , This is in reply to part of your question . As to why I choose 51 Navy RM;' Conversions.
The easy answer would be to say cause I liked the look of them . They are not the only pistol I shoot , but , they are my go to's.

without trying to complicate the issue or sound like a dork I guess for me it was that they were the example of who I am and who I wanted to be seen as in CAS.

I like em , they balance like a glass of fine Single Malt Scotch , they are not flashy or showy but they get er done.

I'm too old to go soldiering any more , too stiff in the joints to ride point and too dam fat to wrestle drunks. The Conversions are exactly as you say a good choice for an old guy who has moved up from C&B but is saving the money he has left for the diggers and not new SAA's!

I look at the SAA's and new rigs with some envy , they are a beautiful piece and the ones on the market today are truly examples of fine workmanship.

To me it all boils down to who you are and who you wish ya were . If you have a picture of that in mind ...and sometimes it is not kind who we think we are , then I like to roll all those pieces up into my profile .

Buy what you want to realistically fit your purpose  and you will not go wrong.

hell , I don't know what I'm saying , I'm going plowing snow .

Take care

Dutchie.

[Major 2]

There is a lot of truth in what both Wolf and Dutchie wrote...

I bought my first 1860 in 1974 ... and upped the count with a new Colt 2nd Gen. ( that gun is now a a conversion )
bought an original that was issued to the 5th Iowa Cavalry... and another 2nd Gen. so it was natural for me to go with conversions.

Own a 2nd Gen 51 but for me it's the 60 Army grip and silhouette....the feel and balance is perfect for me.

I have 2 Type I's and one day I'll get a Type II and a long cylinder, and I think one day I'll make a Strodenmire pocket 60 Army conversion.

I resemble this remark 

"I'm too old to go soldiering any more , too stiff in the joints to ride point and too dam fat to wrestle drunks"

[Ace Lungger]

Pards,
i thank you for your replies! They make since to me! i was hopeing to get a more detailed answers.  And maybe I will. I am just getting into this, have wanted to for about 2 years now! I have been shooting for many years, not Cowboy.,I am 52 years old, with a blown out low back. But some way I am going to do this. I have been reloading allmost as long as I have been shooting. I have all the gear to start shooting when the weather gets warmer. But I was surfing, that is what I do everyday when it is cold! And on Gun Broker, i saw a 1872 Taylor open Top in 38 special with 4 3/4 barrels, that is a cal. I don't have in Cowboy, and I just fell in love with the looks odf that gun!! Did some research, and found out that the open tops, are about the best for point and shoot guns!!
First time I have told this to anyone, my handle comes from the movie Tomstone, with Kurt Russell, Val Kelmer, Sam Elliot and so on. i realy liked the way Val Kelmer played Doc Holiday, and I am a fan of Doc Holiday, you would think from where I live that I would of been more of a Wyatt Erp fan because the little town 6 miles south of me claims , he was the town Sherriff for a while!
Back to Doc, I got the first part of my handle from him playing cards "ACES", and the second part, was that Ringo kept calling Doc, Lungger, and that is how the story goes.
After I started useing that handle, i got to wondering if peopele would think I was bragging on my shooting! And let me tell you, Ace has nothing to do, with the way I shoot.
I sure hope some more Pards jump in here and ad to the orginal topic and i am sorry about jumping the tracks!
May all your shots hit the Bullseye
Ace

[Long Johns Wolf]

Ace I don't want to steal your thread...but I just like Dutie's line "I'm too old to go soldiering any more, too still in the joints to ride point and too damn fat to wrestle drunks".
Where is it from? I am probably an ignorant but like to use it on the Belgian Colt/Centaure website and wish to give proper references.
Long Johns Wolf

[Charlie Bowdre]

Long John . It's my own , use it if ya please , if ya want add Dutchie to the end , if ya don't ...use it anyway.
Ace
Sorry I guess I did screw up your questions . I'm afraid I'll have to leave the more specific answers to those who can help ya. Anything else I can do ...I'm yours.

"I'm too old to go soldiering any more , too stiff in the joints to ride point and too dam fat to wrestle drunks"

Dutchie.

[Ace Lungger]

Hey Pards,
Thats Okay with me, the more people post to this question I am bound to get the answer I am looking for! The wife ask me, how many ##### guns do you need, and I ask ask her, How many pair of shoes can you where! Problem with those shoes, once you pay for them, they are only worth 50 cents at a garage sale.

    I just wished i lived close to someone, so I can shoot one for my self, before I buy them. Allways has been my big promblem, when I want something, I want it NOW!!
I hope everyone that wants to, gets out and shoots this weekend if they can!
Hope every shot hits the Bullseye
Ace

[Ransom Gaer]

For me if I get an open top other than percussion it would be one of the conversions as opposed to the 1872.  Normally at the matches I shoot i use 1860 Armies and not conversions.  The character I have created is from 1863 so a standard 1860 Army is an obvious choice for someone who wants to be historically accurate.  If I were to get something other than percussion revolvers my inclanation is for something that is immediate post war.  I can still wear bits of my Confederate uniforms and all of my current cowboy guns are basically from the war years or reconstruction.  For me the character I created for CAS dictates what I get in the way of guns.

Ransom Gaer

[Fox Creek Kid]

Let me play Sigmund Freud here.    Personally, I think a lot of shooters, myself included, like conversions & Open Tops because they represent what we are: a foot in the past & a foot in the present. They are the link between primitive percussion arms & modern metallic cartridge arms. Plus, they are just downright snazzier with more panache than say a plain run of the mill SAA. Therapy over. 

[Major 2]

I wonder what Sigmund Freud would say... 

I shoot Henry's and a Muley SXS with my Type I's ( and 1860's) .. fixated on an era just a few years after the late unpleasantness.
In my mind, it made perfect sense having reenacted mounded cavalry for 30 years. 

[Johnny McCrae]

Lots of excellent replies to this subject.  I just love the looks of my RM Conversions.

My wife has also asked me "How many guns do you need?"  I always tell her that the proper amount of gun's or Harley's in a collection is "Just one more" 

[Coffinmaker]

Ace,

I don't know if there is a detailed answer that makes any "technical" sense.  I've been playing this game for a long time and I have and still have lots of Cowboy guns.  Except Rugers.  I can't shoot Rugers worth spit and even as a firearms instructor, I can't actually tell you why not.  I've had about 5 sets of Rugers and finally gave up on 'em.
I think it is more of a personal thing as expressed by Fox Creek.  The Open Top and the Conversions are just plain cool.  For those of us that shoot one handed (Gunfighter) the Open Top and the Conversions just plain FEEL better in the hand and and seem to "point" naturally.  The Open Top itself is also very versatile because you can shoot several calibers on one frame.  I also prefer the fit and feel of the "Army" grip frame in my hand and ALL my Open Top guns and Conversions (even the Navys) have the Army grip frame.
So, basically it comes town to perception and feel.  If it feels good ......... DO IT!!

Coffinmaker 

[Flint]

For match shooting, I think the '72, is a bit simpler than the conversions, (less parts) but that isn't critical, as they are all very well made.

The only opentop conversions I own are Kirst and R&D's I converted myself from 51/61 Uberti Navies.  They shoot fine with hollowbase bullets, but are higher maintenance revolvers than the factory made units.  Kirst and R&D cylinders are solid as a roick, but the Italian 51 is softer metal.  The R-M conversions and 72 Opentop are made from much better steel than the cap and ball guns.

They point so well you hardly need sights, and the balance and feel are much better than the Peacemaker.

[Charlie Bowdre]

FCK ,,Whe Ah , you scared me there for a bit ..knowing old Freud and his perchance to link just about everything to a repressed sexual connection ..I was a bit nervous.

Dutchie

[Long Johns Wolf]

Thank you, Dutchie. Visit www.1960NMA.org in a couple of weeks and see your line properly quoted.
Long Johns Wolf

[Charlie Bowdre]

Hay Long Johns

Sound neat , family left the old country in1752 now here I am coming back...Famous ..... er sort off.

Take care

Dutchie

[litl rooster]

  I shoot mine cause I am too lazy to load cap and ball guns

[rifle]

I have conversion open top Colts because I shot percussions for years and just naturally progressed to the new fangled cartridge guns like an Hombre would have back in the day. The ease of maintainance of the conversions compared to percussion is one reason to update to cartridge. Conversions don't have six nipples and six nipple threaded holes in the cylinder to clean everytime the gun is fired. The ease and swiftness of loading a conversion compared to percussion is another reason to update from percussion to cartridge.  The looks of a conversion is another reason besides the fact that the looks show ingenuity of mechanics that is a work of art. Anywhoooo....after shooting percussions for so long and then being able to update to the "improved cartridge conversion" gun for the same reasons, probably, that an Hombre back in the day would have updated is my reason for shooting converted to cartridge cap&ballers. The converted cap&ballers are just a good improvement over the percussion guns.
I would have to admit that I have also updated from the converted percussions to the 1872 Open Top model. It makes more sense to shoot the 1872 Open Top because of the improvements over the converted percussions. The Open Top has more threads for the arbor to screw into in the frame of the gun. The conversions having some thread milled away in the conversion process. The frame of the Open Top 1872 is more substancial at the point the locator pins are fitted to their holes also. The sight at the rear of the Open Top 1872 is placed where it stays where it is put also. The rear sight of a conversion can shift since it is on the hammer that can ove some in it's recess in the frame. The point where the hole in the frame for the firing pin is more solid on the 1872 then the converted percussion also. Naturally the recoil shield of the 1872's frame is more substancial. Anywhooo.....the 1872 Model was an improvement over the converted percussion revolvers so......I had to update as any Hombre with the money would have done back in the day. One difference in my gun collection compared to someone back in the day is the fact that I have way too many of them to carry on horse back like an Hombre back in the day would have done. I guess that means you can never have enough Colts. Any self respecting person placed here in the wrong century has to have at least one of every model Colt that was attainable back in the day.

[Long Johns Wolf]

Second that, Rifle!
Long Johns Wolf