First attempt at rust-bluing

[Tinker Pearce]

I decided 'Thumper' was a good choice for my first attempt at rust blueing. I couldn't get the frame to take quite the same color as the barrel and cylinder, but overall I am pleased with the result.

[riflee]

That looks like it worked out alright. Probably durable. What rust blue did you use? I've used Belgian Blue from Brownells with good results on an very old Dragoon I rebuilt. It was junk but now it's sorta like a master piece to me. Curly maple grips and all.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    One problem I had with Belgian Blue was that it made some Uberti barrels a dark plum color. Nice but not matching the other parts. Difference in the steel I guess. Maybe that is why your frame is a different shade.                                                                                                                                                                                             The plumb color I got on some barrels was like an old antique. Good for making it look old but nice shape.                                                                                                                                                                                               Mind if I ask what cartridges those are in the picture?

[Tinker Pearce]

That looks like it worked out alright. Probably durable. What rust blue did you use? I've used Belgian Blue from Brownells with good results on an very old Dragoon I rebuilt. It was junk but now it's sorta like a master piece to me. Curly maple grips and all.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    One problem I had with Belgian Blue was that it made some Uberti barrels a dark plum color. Nice but not matching the other parts. Difference in the steel I guess. Maybe that is why your frame is a different shade.                                                                                                                                                                                             The plumb color I got on some barrels was like an old antique. Good for making it look old but nice shape.                                                                                                                                                                                               Mind if I ask what cartridges those are in the picture?

I used Mark Lee Express Blue #1

The cartridges are .44-55 Walker, a cartridge I devised for this gun. It's basically an elongated .44 Colt. The cases are made from cut and expanded .303 British, and hold 55gr. of black powder, thus the name. With a conservative charge of Trail Boss it sends a 200gr .451 heel-base bullet downrange at 1150-1200 fps., producing in the neighborhood of 600ft./lbs. of energy at the muzzle.

[riflee]

Did you have the barrel sleeved?  You have a love fer the 44?  That's an awesome gun you modified. You use it fer concealed carry in case you get attacked by an elephant in a parking lot somewhere? 600ft/lbs......good fer deer huntin I'd say.

[Tinker Pearce]

Did you have the barrel sleeved?  You have a love fer the 44?  That's an awesome gun you modified. You use it fer concealed carry in case you get attacked by an elephant in a parking lot somewhere? 600ft/lbs......good fer deer huntin I'd say.

It's actually like .44 Colt originally was- the bore is .451 and the bullet has a heel-base like a .22 to fit in the .44 cartridge.

LOL- not, I don't CC this thing. It just seemed to me that as big as the cylinder is, and given that the original loading was a 210gr. Picket bullet over 60gr. of black powder, that a conversion to .45 Colt was under-utilizing the gun's capability. A longer, more powerful cartridge ought to work...

Researching it I found out others had been there before me, mostly using Kirst conversion cylinders with reamed-out chambers.  I wanted to do something different, and I was already reloading .44 Colt with heel-base bullets...