Bit on the history of conversions here
http://www.riverjunction.com/kirst/history.html
Richards and Mason were ex employees of Colt, Richards patented his conversion of them and Mason added an improvment.
I shoot and I vote
Bit on the history of conversions here
http://www.riverjunction.com/kirst/history.html
Richards and Mason were ex employees of Colt, Richards patented his conversion of them and Mason added an improvment.
Last edited by Smokeless Coal; 15-07-2009 at 01:50 PM.
“If a cricketer, for instance, suddenly decided to go into a school and batter a lot of people to death with a cricket bat, which he could do very easily, I mean, are you going to ban cricket bats?” :- Prince Philip said after Dunblane
Registered User
Interesting stuff. I'm still not convinced by the numbers stated there though. I have books by Joseph Rosa, Doc O'Meara and C. Howard Moore that all put factory cartridge conversions of Colt revolvers at around 9000 and 7000 manufactured 1872's. Or is this article refering more to converted Remingtons and my obvious bias is getting in the way?Originally Posted by Smokeless Coal
Jim, rimfire was indeed more popular during the latter stages of the 19th century, but this facilitated conversion as little had to be done to the hammer to ignite the rim primer. Converting to centerfire meant fixing a firing pin that would be durable enough.
To let you into a secret, I'm having a Cartridge Conversion replica made by a friend who is a part-time/hobbiest gunsmith. It will still be a muzzle loader as per S1, but will have an ejector rod and a loading gate as per the Richards pattern. But, is also being converted to use smokeless powder.......
This started because I found a genuine set of, in really great condition, aged ivory grips for an 1851 Navy revolver. The grips are worth twice what the gun will be!!!!!
Frock coat wearing, riverboat dwelling, southern gent
Sounds like a great project, Simon! Be sure to post pics of the finished product.
Kind of like buying a dog because you got hold of a really great dog collar!
Jim
UBC's Police Pistol Manager
"Nasty, noisy things, revolvers, Count. Better stick to air-guns." Sherlock Holmes, The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
Registered User
Once bought a suit because I found a really great tie.....Kind of like buying a dog because you got hold of a really great dog collar!
Frock coat wearing, riverboat dwelling, southern gent
Great article, Smokeless!
I knew that you were a BP pistol shooter, and a tireless gun rights campaigner, but didn't knew you were a BP scholar as well!
Jim
UBC's Police Pistol Manager
"Nasty, noisy things, revolvers, Count. Better stick to air-guns." Sherlock Holmes, The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
I shoot and I vote
Nah not really Jim, I'm a lifelong engineer and can appreciate technical and chemical ingenuity. Such as Forsyths experiments with fulminates to create the flash, through roll primers and the tipping flask to fill the flash pan. Things moved at a fast pace and just about stopped with the first cartridges. There has been refinements but little real innovation.
Some stuff just defies logic, like how the hell did they come up with the crazy idea of pin-fire. It's kinda like inventing a wheel with flats on so it dont roll away.
“If a cricketer, for instance, suddenly decided to go into a school and batter a lot of people to death with a cricket bat, which he could do very easily, I mean, are you going to ban cricket bats?” :- Prince Philip said after Dunblane
Frock coat wearing, riverboat dwelling, southern gent
Yes, it IS strange that there's been so little innovation in firearms technology since the introduction of cartridges in the 1870's and of smokeless powder in the 1880's. I suppose we could say that's a tribute to how well what we have now works.
Pinfires ARE an odd sort of contraption, aren't they? and to think they predate modern-style cartridges by decades, yet never replaced percussion. I own a little 8mm pinfire revolver: often wonder what stories it could tell.
Jim
UBC's Police Pistol Manager
"Nasty, noisy things, revolvers, Count. Better stick to air-guns." Sherlock Holmes, The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
I shoot and I vote
Over here pinfires are obsoletes and can be held off ticket as sec 7.1 but Henry Kranks sells new cases for home loading. If we have the cases loaded then the gun has to be locked away at one of the sec 7.3 ranges.
“If a cricketer, for instance, suddenly decided to go into a school and batter a lot of people to death with a cricket bat, which he could do very easily, I mean, are you going to ban cricket bats?” :- Prince Philip said after Dunblane
Registered User
S7.1 is "Heritage Pistols" as part of a collection or curio and held on ticket. Pinfires are S58, requiring no licence.
I shoot and I vote
I stand corrected.
It's late in the day and grandad just took his medication. Specially imported from a strange land to the north where the men wear skirts.
“If a cricketer, for instance, suddenly decided to go into a school and batter a lot of people to death with a cricket bat, which he could do very easily, I mean, are you going to ban cricket bats?” :- Prince Philip said after Dunblane
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