Conversions of C&B Revolvers????

[Gomezy3k]

In another forum we started discussing guns and the majority seemed to think that as soon as the cartridge revolvers came available the old C&B was dropped and that by the 1880's (and later) there were few if any C&B revolvers around.  I need some sources that either support of refute this.

Also we discussed the conversions (why the C&B was gone supposedly) and someone stated that when Remingtons were converted they no longer could use the C&B cylinders due to a fireing pin being installed.  What sort of conversions were available and how did they work for the Remington??  And again I need sources.   I tried to find it online but only got info on modern conversions for replica guns, etc.

[Hard Mouth]

Howdy Mr. G,

I don't really understand the question(s) you're asking, so I'll just scattershot some thoughts for you. I have (that's my source) a Rogers & Spencer (not Remington, but quite similar in design) revolver that was one of 5000 built for the Union army about 1864. The war ended before they were delivered, so they went into storage. Working from memory here, about 1902 they were sold as surplus to Bannerman's for about $.25 each and were resold by them for about $1.25, I think. I often see them on the antique gun sites still in their C&B configurations, so apparently folks were buying them and using them as such into the 20th century.

Mine is a conversion. The back of the original cylinder (numbers match) was machined off, and a backplate fitted to the frame that includes the firing pin and loading gate. So, no, it could no longer be used in the C&B mode.

There is a well known book on the subject of Colt and other conversions by McDowell (I don't have it..) that, I'm sure, would give far more and better documented info. Try Amazon?

Hope this is of some help.

[Frenchie]

The modern reproduction conversions are, for the most part, done the same way they were done back then. What worked then works now. The factory conversions were mostly standardized, but there were also many conversions done by local gunsmiths that were unique in some way.

The evidence says that cap and ball revolvers and rifles didn't suddenly disappear. They worked just as well as ever, they were cheaper to feed, and they could be used in places where cartridges weren't available.

The only sources I have for these assertions are a lot of reading and talking about the Old West, common sense, and critical thinking. Radical, yes, but that's how I do it.

References:
Kull & Supica ArmsBid.com - click on Background Information near the top.

Metallic Cartridge Conversions: The History of the Guns & Modern Reproductions by Dennis Adler, Tom Selleck, and R. L. Wilson

A Study of Colt Conversions and Other Percussion Revolvers by R. Bruce McDowell - $199.95!!!

[Gomezy3k]

Thanks for the info... 

[Fox Creek Kid]

In another forum we started discussing guns and the majority seemed to think that as soon as the cartridge revolvers came available the old C&B was dropped and that by the 1880's (and later) there were few if any C&B revolvers around.  I need some sources that either support of refute this...

After the invention of the automobile did everyone simply shoot their horses?    Subtle transition in other words.

[Delmonico]

There is a picture floats around somewhere that shows to guys in the 1890's.  One has a double action swing out cylinder Colt the other one is packing an 1851 Colt Navy. 

Next time I get a chance I'll add it to my files.

[Dead I]

In the 1870's and 80's ammo was expensive and hard to find.  You find writers of the era saying over and ovcr again that ammo was "scarce".  Since the Colt Navy and Army were so popular in the 60's, they made them until 1872, I'd think they were popular since ammo was so much easier to locate.  You cast the bullets yourself and caps probably weren't hard to find. 

And all of the originals that are around today had to have been saved back in the day.  I use my Ruger cap and ball just like a modern pistol and that thing shoots hard!  So, yeah I think that cap and ball pistols were used well into the early 20th Century.  Evidence?  Well we only have the guns, don't we.

When I was a kid, back in the 50's people who shot black powder guns shot originals.  The Italians hadn't gotten into the act yet, and few gunsmiths were making them. 

[Wild Billy Potts]

My dad has a neat tintype of my GGGrandfather taken in Texas ca. late 1870s. He is wearing an 1850s style frock, a fur cap, and a leather hunting bag, his weapon of choice.... a percussion SxS shotgun. Money wasn't over abundant, and many were frugal, if they had a perfectly good C&B gun they used until they felt a positive need to upgrade, and for most there wasn't any need.