1860 Colt Richards Conversion

Highlander999 · December 28, 2005, 08:42:50 AM

Good Morning:

I have an ASM Richards Conversion, that I made the mistake of getting in .38. I'd really like one in .44 Colt etc. Is anyone still making a Richards? Or is the only thing out there the Richards Mason that Cimarron is selling? Didn't Cimarron at one time make a Richards Conversion?

Thanks,

Steve

Pappy Hayes · December 28, 2005, 08:48:40 AM

At one time Cimarron did sell a Richard's Conversion. It was actually made by ASM. I owned one that I had purchased from Traditional effects. But these ASMs were a hit or miss of getting a good quality one. My was one of the last ones imported and it had problems. I ended up trading it back to them for an 71 Open Top. I too, am still looking for a good Richard's Conversion. Keep watchin R&D as they are working on a cylinder kit for a Richard's Conversion.

Rapid Lee · January 17, 2006, 09:38:53 PM

I have also had the hankerin' for a Richards conversion and sprung for one of the earlier Cimarron imported ASM Richards Conversions recently. It is s/n 506 and I'm hoping that being one of the early ones it might lack the problems of the later ones. It's chambered for 44 Colt; I think I've read elsewhere that some folks are shooting 44 Russian in these? I tried to chamber 44 Russian in the cylinder which do clear the cylinder ratchet but some of the rims interfere with each other. I don't think it would take much to get them all to go. The finish and fit on the ASM Richards is not anywhere near the quality of the Uberti R-M's, but the price was a heck of lot less than what it would take to get an 1860 converted! I wish that Cimarron could get Uberti to make the 1860 Richards conversion for them; the Richards Mason and Open Tops they sell are very well made replicas!

Rapid

Pappy Hayes · January 18, 2006, 09:07:26 AM

Nice looking gun Rapid. Hope it lacks the problems I had with mine. I wish I could have kept mine and had a gunsmith work on it and maybe get the kinks worked out. If someone was to start making them again I will jump at buying another one. I like my Open Top and RM Conversion, but the Richard's just have a look to them that can't be beat.

Pappy Hayes · January 18, 2006, 11:04:30 AM

Seth, I have seen some pictures of the Frontier conversions, but can't remember did these have the rebated cylinder? Do you have pictures?

Pappy Hayes · January 18, 2006, 11:55:53 AM

Thanks Seth, I will look for the pictures.

Rapid Lee · January 18, 2006, 12:41:20 PM

Hey Seth,

Me too

!

Thanks...Rapid

Highlander999 · March 10, 2006, 08:45:09 AM

Good Morning Seth:

Would you send me a few photos too? I might like a shot at one or both? I have an ASM in .38, but that just isnt' right. I need a .44. I have a Cimarron R-M Conversion in .44 and a Cimarron Open Top in .44.

I put some "fake" Ivory grips on my ASM Richards, and aged them. It looks somewhat like CABLE's gun in LAST STAND AT SABER RIVER.... sans the engraving, and actually it doesn't look much like it at all..

Let me know what you are wanting for it/them.

Thanks,

Steve

Bonnie_blue1861 · October 02, 2012, 07:19:50 PM

Quote from: Rapid Lee on January 17, 2006, 09:38:53 PM
I have also had the hankerin' for a Richards conversion and sprung for one of the earlier Cimarron imported ASM Richards Conversions recently. It is s/n 506 and I'm hoping that being one of the early ones it might lack the problems of the later ones. It's chambered for 44 Colt; I think I've read elsewhere that some folks are shooting 44 Russian in these? I tried to chamber 44 Russian in the cylinder which do clear the cylinder ratchet but some of the rims interfere with each other. I don't think it would take much to get them all to go. The finish and fit on the ASM Richards is not anywhere near the quality of the Uberti R-M's, but the price was a heck of lot less than what it would take to get an 1860 converted! I wish that Cimarron could get Uberti to make the 1860 Richards conversion for them; the Richards Mason and Open Tops they sell are very well made replicas!

Rapid

Just bringing this old thread back to life after 6 years.

It seems next to impossible to find one of these type I conversions on the used gun market. I found one this past summer for sale on GBroker. Unfortunately the seller was one of those types that never acknowledges your messages or answers anything you ask about.

I passed on gun as I always do, if a seller's "too busy" to reply back...Always makes me think they are hiding issues or something when you ask them how the timing is and don't hear back .

But anyway...I sure would like to find one with the rear site mounted in this position. I don't even mind .38 so much, because I could then shoot it for much less than a 45LC.

I'm thinking about settling for a Cimarron 1860 transition but am still trying to hold out for a Type I style conversion "replica".

Raven · October 02, 2012, 08:19:26 PM

If your really serious.......I'm working on a batch right now!
If the donor gun was here next week it will be done around Christmas. Otherwise the wait will be at least 2 years!
I will take on one or two more in this batch and thats it.
A $500 deposit and the gun....in the shop by the end of next week gets you in the batch.

Raven

P.S. NO Pietta's or ASM's.........Only Uberties or Colt's

Bonnie_blue1861 · October 03, 2012, 11:12:30 PM

Thanks for the offer to get in on your transition build but I'll have to pass.

I still need to first acquire a donor BP Uberti, if I was going to have a type I transition "built from scratch".

I wish I could afford to go that route, but because of finances... I'm leaning toward finding a used ASM, that was already manufactured as a cartridge gun from the get go.

I realize the ASM's type 1 clone quality won't compare to that of a custom build... but I can't afford a custom build.

Slowhand Bob · October 04, 2012, 07:49:48 AM

Though it would be less attractive to me than a 'build' gun, I am amazed thet Uberti has so obviously gone out of their way to stay away from the the one that started it all. Could they fear that the ASM rap might leak over to one that they make? I have been told that it was more imagined than real BUT the early Uberti RM Army conversions seemed very large and cumbersome in the hand when compared to a Uberti 1860 Army cap and ball model. We know they were supposedly beefed up to handle a larger six round cylinder using smokeless and to me they lost much in the translation, and even then they were not the Richards type. The ASM Navy models that I handled really felt as good as it gets in the hand but very often had the rear sights ground almost completely away, which made for a very ugly fix.

Graveyard Jack · October 04, 2012, 11:17:18 AM

Man, that's awfully, awfully tempting!!!

1860 · October 08, 2012, 10:39:49 AM

Wow, this is an old thread....What is wrong with 38, I know they handle differently than the 44s due ti barrel weight but it costs alot less too make BP 38 rounds, cheaper brass, bullets, and less powder, plus they recoil less allowing faster accurate shooting...

I have a couple of the ASM Richards in the 3000 s/n range, bought one 1860 new and the other right off this board maybe 10 years ago, both in 38. The one I bought new functioned very good but needed work to shoot POA, firing pin too sharp and also to handle BP rounds. The used one was worked on by a kitchen table gunsmith and it took a bunch of work to get it right, Uberti parts can be made too work in the action but you are on your own for the larger parts. They never shoot BP good the way they came but I added a collar to the front of the cylinders like you see on the Cimaron open tops and each of mine will shoot 50+ rounds of BP with no loss of acccuracy and the cylinder turns freely.

They are my Go-to guns, the 72 opentop is a close second, the RMs just don't do it for me.

rbertalotto · October 08, 2012, 11:53:25 AM

I just bought one on Saturday (not an 1860 though) for $400.

Love it!....But I gotta change those ugly grips...........

Bonnie_blue1861 · October 08, 2012, 04:19:03 PM

Quote from: 1860 on October 08, 2012, 10:39:49 AM
Wow, this is an old thread....What is wrong with 38, I know they handle differently than the 44s due ti barrel weight but it costs alot less too make BP 38 rounds, cheaper brass, bullets, and less powder, plus they recoil less allowing faster accurate shooting...

I have a couple of the ASM Richards in the 3000 s/n range, bought one 1860 new and the other right off this board maybe 10 years ago, both in 38. The one I bought new functioned very good but needed work to shoot POA, firing pin too sharp and also to handle BP rounds. The used one was worked on by a kitchen table gunsmith and it took a bunch of work to get it right, Uberti parts can be made too work in the action but you are on your own for the larger parts. They never shoot BP good the way they came but I added a collar to the front of the cylinders like you see on the Cimaron open tops and each of mine will shoot 50+ rounds of BP with no loss of acccuracy and the cylinder turns freely.

They are my Go-to guns, the 72 opentop is a close second, the RMs just don't do it for me.

Yea...it's an old thread but I figured this was a good one to bump back up from 2006, to create a good discussion. You bring up some good points about .38's. I havent bought anything in .36BP or .38 yet but maybe I need to consider this. I have no hangups about .38's...just haven't owned any replica guns in the caliber.
I guess I had my mind set on the .44 is bigger and therefore must be better, way of thinking.

Regarding the RM, do you not really like the RM's for the aesthetic of the revolver or another reason? I don't have one (but leaning to picking one up) so I'm just curious to learn.

RickB · October 08, 2012, 06:40:39 PM

Here are some pictures of my ASM Navy conversion. I wish I had better pictures to really show off how beautiful this gun really is. But you'll have to be satisfied with these as they are.

It's a .38 Colt but will actually take .38 Special light loads.

I picked it up at a gun show this last March and paid $300 for it.

Bonnie_blue1861 · October 08, 2012, 08:33:23 PM

Why cant I stumble on good deals like this? Those photos look just fine to me.

Now, that is one pretty gun. I really like it paired up with those grips...I've never seen a pair featuring that design before. Your revolver has a very unique, almost upper class look to it.

swampman · October 08, 2012, 08:43:36 PM

Quote from: Bonnie_blue1861 on October 08, 2012, 08:33:23 PM
Why cant I stumble on good deals like this? Those photos look just fine to me.

Now, that is one pretty gun. I really like it paired up with those grips...I've never seen a pair featuring that design before. Your revolver has a very unique, almost upper class look to it.

I had the '51 Navy version listed in the classifieds for over a month. I sent pics to quite a few of ya'll. It was an early gun. 3-digit ser#. Action was smooth and tight. Finally sold it locally last week.

RickB · October 08, 2012, 09:57:34 PM

The grips were what caught my attention when I first came across it at the show. I actually passed on this gun the first time I saw it. A couple of months passed until the next gun show and I went to see if it would be available. It was already sold and gone. Funny thing happened though. I was standing at a table looking over some guns and a young guy comes up to the guy running the table wanting to sell two guns. One was the very gun I had come to the show hoping to buy. He said I could have it for $300. I bought it immediately. He wanted less for it than the original cost of $375. I knew I had better buy it and not let it slip through my fingers again.