School me on Single Actions, Conversions, and Black Powder

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I was admiring the fine lines of a Colt 1860 over in the Gun Porn thread, and looked up some reproductions, which are (naturally) black powder, and then I found the 1858 Remington from Pale Rider and now I have some dumb questions.

I see that you can get cartridge conversion cylinders from various companies for everything from the Walker on, and I see that you can also get certain models that are already converted to cartridge by the manufacturer.

Can you "de-convert" one of the factory cartridge conversions if you decide you want to fire cap-and-ball, or would you need to get the black powder version and a conversion cylinder if you wanted to shoot both?

How well do the conversion cylinders work? I know you can't fire hot loads out of these guns, but are they reliable and accurate for the low-power cowboy loads, or is it one of those things where one would be better off getting two separate guns rather than trying to make one do both things?

Last, any companies that should be avoided at all costs (or sought out for quality)?

Re: School me on Single Actions, Conversions, and Black Powd

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On the Colt guns, I would either shoot them as cap & ball only or get the conversion model from the factory. I would not get the conversion cylinder because it leaves you with 2 options --- 1) drill/tap and add the loading gate to the revolver which is in no way shape or form cost effective or 2) take the wedge out every single time you shoot 5/6 shots which is not only ridiculous but the parts aren't made for that.
So I wouldn't even think about getting a cylinder. Because the colt guns get binded up with spent caps, I'd just not bother with the hassle. I'd get a cartridge model.

On the Remington, that's where it gets a little more interesting. The cylinder comes out very easy and there is no need for a gate on the cap & ball revolver (though the Uberti conversion has one). So now it's just a matter of cost and what you want to do with it more. Caps do not get jammed up in the Remington so it is enjoyable to shoot that way. You still have to clean the damn thing though.
You're going to get a lot more resale value out of the already converted gun. And you don't have to worry about potential problems with the conversion cylinder holding up --- lifetime warranties are great until the company goes under. Howell used to be R&D so hard telling how profitable it is. Mr Kirst is getting up there in age. A lot of people like the Howell because there is 6 firing pins instead of 1; that way you can keep using it if it breaks.

Regardless, I would only buy new and I would NOT buy any Italian gun sight unseen unless you had a good return policy with return shipping because you're probably going to need it. There are more bad Italian guns out there than good ones, though when you get a good one it will be fine. I would not get it from a local shop because they are going to be dicks about returning it.

If it was me, I'd either buy it in person from Cabelas or online from Taylors. Taylors looks over these guns a lot better than other companies.

Pietta vs Uberti/Cimmaron...for the colt guns it really doesn't matter. For the 1858, Uberti should have the front sight dovetailed so you can just tap it for windage. You can always have a gunsmith do the pietta if it's off, but I think it's a good selling point for the Uberti. Cabelas for the most part though only sells pietta cap and balls; again I'd rather buy in person unless going with Talyor.

And finally, I'll just throw it out there that the 73 clones from ruger and pietta are a good option too (I'd skip Uberti since the consensus is they are using old wornout machinery to make the cattlemans).

Re: School me on Single Actions, Conversions, and Black Powd

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I could go to Cabelas today, look at 10 different revolvers NIB, and there would only be 3-4 that I would buy due to various mechanical and cosmetic issues. I bet 1/2 the displays you can freely turn the cylinder all the way around with your hand because I did that last month :wtf:

A couple years ago I bought an Uberti Walker which wouldn't index properly, exchanged it for another which did the same thing. Then moved onto an 1858 which I turned down the 1st 2 at the store until settling on a target model...which I proceeded to shoot and realize there was not enough elevation on the sights to come within a foot of the target. So I returned that and settled on a regular 1858 model which I have now. My gripe about that is the grips were horribly finished and needed a lot more sanding and proper laquer. This one functions so I'm satisfied.

I bought a used pietta brass 51 that is quite old. It was 50 bucks and I got to handle it prior to buying. That was a good pickup.

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