But fun to shoot at the range. This is a Cimarron replica of an 1858 Remington New Army percussion revolver - which has the added cool feature of having come with a drop-in conversion cylinder for firing metal cartridges (in this case, .45 Colt). It is manufactured by Italian gun manufacturer Pietta.
It also came with a .44 cal. (ball) cylinder, which is period-correct for this firearm, and sets me up nicely in case I ever decide to do some cap and ball black powder shooting.
This, incidentally, is the "Angel Eyes" edition, so-called for one of the revolvers carried by Lee Van Cleef's character in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
You have to take the cylinder out to load it, so reloading is a bit cumbersome, but I plan to buy one or more additional drop-in conversion cylinders so I can simply remove the cylinder with the expended rounds and switch in the pre-loaded extra. I had Angel Eyes out to the range late last week, and this thing functioned perfectly and is extremely accurate (the 8-inch barrel helps!) I also just discovered that you can buy conversion cylinders for replicas of the old Colt Dragoon models made by Uberti, so I might pick up one of those revolvers eventually (Love the dragoon! It's a big beast, but also, from what I hear, a relatively accurate pistol, with classic "old school" good looks).
7 comments:
That's sweet.
I didn't know you could use it for cartridges.
Now I'm going to have to get one.
I almost did it years ago, I wish I had. I had powder, lead melter and molds for bullets in my Cabela's cart but the pistol I wanted was on back-order so I didn't get it.
Now I know what I'm spending my 'stimulus' money on.
There are quite a few videos on YouTube that talk about conversion cylinders for this (and similar) revolvers. Taylor's and Company sells conversion cylinders for both Uberti and Pietta revolvers (I believe they're Howell conversion cylinders), and a company called Kurst makes another type. If you want to get fancy, you can even buy conversion cylinders with loading gates; however, I believe you typically have to do some minor frame modifications for those. And, of course, you can also buy an 1858 Remington that's already "converted", so to speak (it has a cylinder and loading gate installed and loads and unloads much like an 1875 Remington or an 1873 Colt). The gun pictured above seems to have come with a proprietary cylinder, perhaps made only for the Pietta (it is different from both the Howell and the Kurst).
I've never shot cap and ball, but may try it. Buffalo Arms has paper cartridges which I'd like to try (makes for considerably faster loading).
When you do a quick draw at the range, while wearing your cowboy boots and spurs, chaps, cowboy vest and Stetson hat, does that sight on the muzzle get caught on the holster?
Mike: I wouldn't be surprised to learn that tall front sights were the leading cause of snag-related duel failures in the Old West. I was kind of concerned when I first saw how tall that front sight was - figured it might cause me to shoot low - but the point of aim was dead on target.
Frankly, if I dressed as you imagine, I would probably be run off the range. But I would definitely need some of that stuff if I were involved in one of the cowboy action shooting associations in the U.S. That's one reason I don't do cowboy action shooting in a competition environment: too much extra gear to worry about.
That's pretty cool, Paco! IIRC, it was pretty common for people to carry spare cylinders for quick reloads, back in the cap&ball days.
You can pick up Dragoon replicas from Uberti that are made for metallic cartridges -- those are fun to shoot! The front sight on those is much lower, and less likely to snag.
(By the way. showing the difference between single and double action on revolvers is a real eye opener for new shooters; they learn very quickly what "trigger pull" really means!)
I looked into cowboy action; we have an active group in the area. It's cool, but all the gear involved is expensive and single purpose. PLUS, you need low velocity ammo for some of the shoots. So, more expenses.
Not that I would mind dressing up in a period costume; I'd pick a US Army uniform from that era.
I think I'd go for the black broadcloth coat and trousers, white shirt and string tie - sort of Earpish.
You would look at Wyatt Earp, Paco!
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