Kudos to Howell Old West Conversions

[lagerratrobe]

I recently purchased a conversion cylinder from Howell Old West Conversions and have been very impressed with the quality of the cylinder and the company's service. I ordered it on a Thursday and had it in my hand the following Monday. The cylinder is for my 2016 Pietta 1858 and it is a true "drop in" part. The machining is of high quality and everything works exactly as described on their Web page.

I have fired around 70 rounds through it now and am very satisfied with its performance. I am firing 200 grain Oregon Trail RNFP laser cast bullets with light Trail Boss loads and am very happy with the results.

While the cylinder is a bit pricey at $240, it has easily doubled my enjoyment of my 1858. I can now stop in at the range on my way to work and not worry about leaving the gun dirty all day.

 

[Crawdad1]

I agree. With the conversion cylinders I use my revolver almost the whole year. All summer, from June until October, I use loose powder and ball loads for target practice, shooting beer cans and ground hog hunting. In October I slip in the conversion cylinder and start practicing for deer season. This is my 1860 repro with the conversion cylinder in it.

 

[PapaG]

I agree. Bought one for my ROA which had been languishing in the vault for too many years. It is now in regular "range" rotation.

 

[Armored farmer]

You guys may convince me to get one yet.

 

[Dog Soldier]

Kieth, These are quality conversions. I have one each a Blue and a SS. Just remember to stay with low pressure loads. The back plates can not handle high set back stress.

 

[Armored farmer]

Kieth, These are quality conversions. I have one each a Blue and a SS. Just remember to stay with low pressure loads. The back plates can not handle high set back stress.

Thanks, my friend.
I have been doing some investigation of my own:



From my friend's collection.

 

[Crawdad1]

During the year I hardly ever put this revolver down. After cleaning it I put the conversion cylinder in loaded with four 250 grain Long Colts and it goes on my night stand for home defense duty. I don't think I ever owned a firearm that I've used more.

 

[bannockburn]

kbbailey

Been thinking the exact same thing for my Pietta Remington Model 1858.

PS: Your friend has an awesome collection too!

 

[lagerratrobe]

One additional thing I'll mention regarding the 5-shot 1858 cylinder I bought. The safety mechanism are actual bolt notches in between the chambers. This means you can let the hammer down in "safe" position with the cylinder positively locked. I like this feature, as well as the additional cylinder "meat" between chambers.

As well as these are made, I wish the company would consider making 5 shot cylinders for other SA revolvers too.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Heard nothing but charms from HOWC. Great convos.

 

[Dog Soldier]

My little family of Ruger Old Army Revolvers grew by one today. I just added number #11 . They are becoming more difficult to find. I prefer the .45 Schofield cartridge in the conversion set.

 

[lagerratrobe]

I've considered trimming some LC cases down to Schofield length and trying them out. Figure it might be a way to get additional life from the brass after it's been reloaded. Plus, I'm intrigued by the Schofield. Should work well in the 1858.

 

[Crawdad1]

I tried the bigger grained 45 Long Colts and even though my revolver can digest them it prefers the 45 Schofield. Especially these.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/4...-schofield-230-grain-lead-flat-nose-box-of-50

 

[lagerratrobe]

Nice, those are cheaper than the last box of 45 Colt I bought. LOL

 

[Crawdad1]

I know what you mean some of the prices of these cartridges. While I have my loose powder and ball load down I'm still experimenting with my conversion cylinder to see if I can find a 45 Schofields load or a 45 Long Colt load that will shoot more accurately at 25 yards than the 230 grain load above.

Lagerratrobe, what black powder or substitute are you going to use for reloading?

 

[lagerratrobe]

I know what you mean some of the prices of these cartridges. While I have my loose powder and ball load down I'm still experimenting with my conversion cylinder to see if I can find a 45 Schofields load or a 45 Long Colt load that will shoot more accurately at 25 yards than the 230 grain load above.

Lagerratrobe, what black powder or substitute are you going to use for reloading?

I tried 37 grains Pyrodex P under a 200 grain RNFP cast bullet and hated it. Wayyy too hot for my taste. But that's how much I needed with that bullet to get light compression with a powder wad. I shot 40 rounds of that (in 2 sessions) and went out to buy a jar of Trail Boss the next day. With a Schofield case it should be possible to drop the powder charge considerably. I would probably try RS or 2FG powder too.

I think Driftwood had some posts in the past about Schofield loads he likes.

 

[Gordon]

I am waiting for Midway to have 1849 Uberti .32 S&W units back in stock for my OLD Uberti Wells Fargo. I love that little gun , but I do not like to load cap and ball for it very much. I will pair it with my little Stevens Favorite .32S&W conversion.

 

[Dog Soldier]

I know what you mean some of the prices of these cartridges. While I have my loose powder and ball load down I'm still experimenting with my conversion cylinder to see if I can find a 45 Schofields load or a 45 Long Colt load that will shoot more accurately at 25 yards than the 230 grain load above.

Lagerratrobe, what black powder or substitute are you going to use for reloading?

Crawdad, I am using 5744 in the .45 Schofield. and a 200 grs, H&G BHN #7 cast SPG lube sized to .454.

 

[Crawdad1]

Crawdad, I am using 5744 in the .45 Schofield. and a 200 grs, H&G BHN #7 cast SPG lube sized to .454.

Dog Soldier, What kind of accuracy are you getting from those loads?

 

[Dog Soldier]

Crawdad, I must be honest on that. We have "Jug" shoots about every morning in the summer. We place plastic jugs at 75 yards. The first shooter to knock his jugs down wins.
The .45 Schofield does well in these races. That is not a true test of accuracy. But that is my only barometer.

 

[Crawdad1]

Excellent Dog Soldier!!!!
I cannot get that kind of accuracy from my repro using cartridges. The loose powder and ball load I use I can consistently hit a gallon sized plastic water jug between 30 and 40 paces. I reckon that to get that type of accuracy from a cartridge I would have to reload and start experimenting using a wider selection of bullet weights.

All in all though, reloading is just another shooting activity that these cartridge conversions provide.

 

[Dog Soldier]

I have a number of open top Perc revolvers. But my favorite is the ROA. I shoot LEE cast bullets in the Perc cylinder as well. I use the T-7 under a 255 grs RNFP. This is an accurate and powerful load. I can not get good "JUG" accuracy with round balls at 75 yards.
The .45 Schofield is very near the .45 AR . The Schofield is a better case for my reloaded .45 rounds.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

I've considered trimming some LC cases down to Schofield length and trying them out. Figure it might be a way to get additional life from the brass after it's been reloaded. Plus, I'm intrigued by the Schofield. Should work well in the 1858.

Howdy

If you trim down 45 Colt brass to 45 Schofield length you will find that because the inside of the cases taper slightly the brass will be slightly thicker at the case mouth than it was at 45 Colt length. This may or may not be a problem when you go to crimp the case. I have always bought 45 Schofield brass from Starline. I use a fair amount of it, so I don't have a problem buying the minimum amount of 500 cases. Starline already has this stuff boxed up, so you can only buy it in boxes of 500 or 1000. However you can buy smaller amounts from MIdway. It looks like they are having a sale right now, 100 pieces for $22.49, 500 pieces for $99.99. Be aware that 45 Schofield brass has a wider rim than 45 Colt. The Sammi specs are .512 for 45 Colt, .520 for 45 Schofield. I just grabbed a handful of Starline Schofield brass and they seem to be running around .519-.520. This may or may not be a concern with certain revolvers. When I bought my R&D cylinder I had to have the counterbores for the rims opened up slightly to accommodate the larger Schofield rims. Later versions seem to have been opened up for Schofield rims. I cannot speak for other brands. I can say that my Colts and colt replicas have no problem chambering the larger rims, but one Vaquero needed a little bit of file work to accept the larger Schofield rims.

If I was going to be experimenting with 45 Schofield, I would buy 100 pieces from Midway for that price.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/941136799/starline-reloading-brass-45-s-and-w-schofield

I think Driftwood had some posts in the past about Schofield loads he likes.

My load for 45 Schofield is 1.9CC of FFg under the Big Lube J/P 45 200 bullet. This bullet was designed specifically for shooting in my old EuroArms Remmie with its R&D conversion cylinder. That bullet has recently been redesigned to not be quite so stubby, and it now weighs 210 grains.

http://www.biglube.com/BulletMolds.aspx?ItemID=71852f19-e55b-4d6f-aadc-4f3b186e6e27

Because of he shape of the Remington grip I find it is more comfortable to shoot 45 Schofields out of it than full house Black Powder 45 Colt loads. I say 1.9CC because that is the size Lee dipper I used to develop this load. My usual choice of powder is Schuetzen FFg. Because different brands of Black Powder have different densities, the actual weight will vary by brand. My reloading notebook says that 1.9CC of Schuetzen is about 28.4 grains. The bottom line is, put in enough powder so that when the bullet compresses it, the powder will be compressed between 1/16" and 1/8". That's all there is to it. As far as accuracy is concerned, I don't worry too much about that. Minute of water jug is good enough for me.