.44 Colt Kirst Konverter?

Leftford Ed · June 08, 2009, 09:35:25 AM

Wasn't the Kirst Konverter offered in a six shot version in .44 Colt some years ago?
I'd like to convert my Pietta "1858" to .44 Colt - shooting hollow based lead in the original barrel for now, eventually having the barrel relined to .429.
I had wanted to do this with my first Pietta that I bought about ten years ago. The quality just didn't justify the expense on that gun. The cylinder cutout in the frame looked like it was done with a hacksaw, and the cylinder bolt was a tad wider than the notches in the cylinder.
I recently picked up two Piettas when Cabela's had their sale on them. I returned one (reminiscent of my first Pietta), and kept the other. The overall quality of the gun I ended up keeping is excellent. Timing is dead on, fit & finish are wonderful, and the factory grips refinished nicely & fit well to the frame.
I've polished & fire blued the screws (beautiful!), polished the trigger guard, and am currently finishing a set of book matched cocobolo grips ($4 "scraps" from my local Rockler woodworking store). The grain in the cocobolo is straight, giving the grips sort of a laminated look to them. I might head back to Rockler to find some offcuts that have more figure to them.
Got a little off topic, but the bottom line is that I'm looking for a 6 round Kirst Konverter in .44 Colt with a loading gate.
May have to go straight to the source for an answer... hell, he's only 15 minutes down the road from me!

Hoof Hearted · June 08, 2009, 11:29:37 PM

Short answer:

Yep!

Walt has them in stock........

Leftford Ed · June 11, 2009, 09:01:15 AM

Thanks Hoof - I sent a note to the folks at River Junction Trade. Looks like I'll be doing the deal through them.

Leftford Ed · June 15, 2009, 05:41:13 PM

Looks like I'll be getting a .44 Colt cyilnder by the end of this week.
Will probably put in an order for some hollow base forty-fours from Ten-X ammo... unless someone has better experience elswhere.

Hoof Hearted · June 16, 2009, 09:02:56 PM

The heel base ammo tends to be more...........consistant IMHO.
If you are interested in reloading PM me and I'll help you get started.

HH

Matt Bastardson · July 02, 2009, 12:38:19 PM

I thought that Kirst (for big bore revolvers) had switched to actual 5-shot 'safety' cylinders with the '6th' chamber being a dummy for resting the hammer on?

Did he switch back to actual 6 chamber cylinders?

Hoof Hearted · July 02, 2009, 10:47:42 PM

Quote from: jc on July 02, 2009, 12:38:19 PM
I thought that Kirst (for big bore revolvers) had switched to actual 5-shot 'safety' cylinders with the '6th' chamber being a dummy for resting the hammer on?

Did he switch back to actual 6 chamber cylinders?

The 44 Colt version is 6 shot. The 45 Colt version is 5 shot. There were also some 45 ACP 6 shots made. Six 45 Colt rims do not fit safely in the OD of the Kirst design.

HH

Matt Bastardson · July 03, 2009, 12:42:51 AM

Quote from: Hoof Hearted on July 02, 2009, 10:47:42 PM
The 44 Colt version is 6 shot. The 45 Colt version is 5 shot. There were also some 45 ACP 6 shots made. Six 45 Colt rims do not fit safely in the OD of the Kirst design.

HH

I see. I've got several of the 6-shot .45 ACP Kirst cylinders, and let me tell you the thinness of the cylinder walls is something that I wonder about from time to time

I wasn't aware that they were available in .44 Colt too.