My son's .44 Remington Conversion-Finished

[Ottawa Creek Bill]

Some of you may have seen the photos of this project when I started it, Well..., between doing a couple of guns for Franch Jack and a couple of other projects (I still haven't started my new saddle yet), I finally made the cylinder for this gun, chambered it in .44 Colt, cut the cylinder stop notches and the hand rotating notches (I'm not sure what they are actulally called), timed it and put an antique blue on it. This is about as close to an original as you can get.
The cylinder is 20/1000 ths. larger in diameter then the stock Peitta cylinders, they are just too thin (paper thin) where the cylinder stops are cut to rechamber. All parts are made of 4140 steel. 
The ejector rod and the housing are dovetailed into the frame as were the originals. The close up shows the loading gate, detent, and the hand cut checkering per the originals. The ejector rod head is also checkered. I'll have this piece at the convention, plus a richards second model that I did with me if you would like to see it......The remington is one of my favorites that I have sone so far. I think my real enjoyment is not just doing the conversions, but the research and learning how they were actually done.

Bill

[US Scout]

Very nice looking Bill.

I had Bob Millington convert a Pietta for me a few years back.  Very similar except no loading gate - you don't really need one.  Its a great shooter and my favorite CAS pistol.  Hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine.

[French Jack]

Very nice, Bill.  I am sure William is all over it like a dog on a bone.

[Will Ketchum]

I sure do agree with US!  I look forward to seeing it at the convention.

Will Ketchum

[Irish Dave]

Very cool, OCB.

[Black River Smith]

Real nice Bill.

After the mishap at the Nationals I wish I had an ejector on mine.  Lose your brass key and you done for.

Black River Smith

[Ottawa Creek Bill]

RCJ,
The diameter of the Pietta cylinder was 1.595, the new one I made is 1.615.
The wall thickness when measured after chambering is: Pietta, .052/1000
The new cylinder is .086/1000.
The cylinder stops on the Pietta are .055/1000 deep.
On the new cylinder they are .033/1000 deep.
On the new cylinder that leaves a safety margin of .053/1000 between the depth of the cylinder stop and the inside wall of the cartridge chamber. Thicker then the wall of the Pietta cylinder.

RCJ,
I think you would be OK, with the 51 style of cylinder as long as it was a .36 Cal, I wouldn't do a 51 with a .44 cylinder...too risky. If the naval scene is not too heavy (deep), you could probably chuck it up in your lathe and take it off with 320 grit or finer wet sand paper, don't ever use a file on the outside of the cylinder, you'll put grooves in it you can never get out. Also if you are actually going to turn down the outside of an existing cylinder your lathe needs to be at least .0050/10,000 in tolerance
I showed the Pietta cylinder to French Jack while he was here last week, you could take a lead pencil and push it right through where the cylinder stop cutouts are, real spooky. I understand that the Uberti 58 Rem cylinders are much beefier and I may do one of those as soon as I get my first model Richards finished.

Bill

[Ornery Orr]

Very awesome Bill.

[Wymore Wrangler]

Nice work Bill

[Silver Creek Slim]

Real nice, OCB.

Slim

[Surly Bob]

Very cool OCB!
How does it shoot?

[Ornery Orr]

Very cool OCB!
How does it shoot?

Well, you start by loading cartridges in the cylinder, close the loading gate, pull the hammer all the way back, take careful aim then squeeze the trigger.  When it goes BANG! then it's time to pull the hammer back again.  Geez, ya' gotta' tell these kid's everything. 

[Ottawa Creek Bill]

Surly Bob,
We've only fired about twenty rounds through it out in the back yard, It seem to hit pretty well where you aim it. I'm shooting some .44 hollow base bullets that French Jack gave me )I'm gonna have to break down and get a Rapine mold) and they seem to expand into the original .451 bore with no problem. I'm shooting 26 grains of compressed 3F Goex (that's all I can get in the case, or I would put more in it) with a card fiber wad and SPG lube in the base of the bullet. Works good, I'm getting a nice grease ring around the muzzle of the barrel.

Double OO, .......

Bill

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Fine looking pistol, Bill !!

That William character is very lucky! 

Are you coming to the shoot this Sunday?  (William, too)  I'd like to do sort of a Before & After test (looks only) if you make it there.

[Ottawa Creek Bill]

Jeff,
We've got a mounted shoot scheduled this weekend..so probably not. What kind of before and aflter test are you talking about?

Bill

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Bill, I'm talking about a visual test.  I have my stock Pietta NMA working now and besides the obvious conversion differences, I seem to remember you saying that you were going to mill some other parts to make it more like the originals.

Have fun at the mounted shoot - I'll see you at the Convention!!

[James Hunt]

Wow!

[Ottawa Creek Bill]

US Scout,
I put the gate in it more or less because of the challenge of figuring out how it worked. I'd done a couple of Colt conversions but never a gun with the detent built into the actual loading gate, and plus, the original gun that I copied had a loading gate like the one in the picture, ...I know a lot of the orignals did not have them, but many of them did. I like the way they look on a gun, to me they look naked or incomplete without one.

Steel Horse,
I milled a lot off the thickness of the frame, the top of the grip and the underside of the frame forward of the trigger guard. I also plained down the barrel by a 1/32 nd on each flat, and gave it a taper closer to the original pistol, It's hard to see the differences with the naked eye, you need a set of calipers and micrometers. I know that is not a lot, but you won't believe the diference in the way the grip feels and the way the pistol points when you pick it up.
Ask French Jack, he's handled it since I did the conversion and the pistol used to be his.
Some people that shoot the stock italian clones are probably wondering why go to the extra effort to reduce the overall measurements in such a small amount? Well that is the way the originals were. It's just an authenticity thing to me, and I'm a stickler on those kinds of details..

Bill

[Ottawa Creek Bill]

Joss,
Are those steel?

Bill

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Thanks for the explanations, Bill.  I can't wait to handle it - if that's permitted!

Joss, very nice!