The Navy has arrived................

[BobWright]

...................the Cimarron Navy, that is. The pawn shop called me this morning telling me my Cimarron Open Top Navy had arrived. This a .38 Colt/Special I've waited on for so long. Picked it up in less than ten minutes!

It's a beauty! Fit and finish are excellent, trigger is smooth with maybe 2 1/2 pound let off, crisp break. Functions smoothly, can find no fault with the gun:



The gun is a trifle heavy for such a petite revolver, this due to the rather heavy lug under the barrel required by the frame build-up. A little muzzle heavy, which is just fine with me, having always preferred weight out toward the muzzle.

There is a hammer block safety built into the hammer. This is activated by a screw set in the hammer, and a small combination tool/screwdriver is furnished with the gun. The screw is visible on the hammer in thish photo:



Won't have a range session until Saturday. I've got some pipsqueak loads already for it, which is what I bought this revolver for.

Bob Wright

 

[Bullseye]

Really nice revolver. I've been yearning for an open top.

 

[Jimster]

Beautiful! I've always wanted a cartridge conversion.

 

[200Apples]

.
What an outstanding! plinker, Bob.

Looking forward to a photo of one of your targets!

 

[Armored farmer]

Nice

 

[bannockburn]

Great looking little Open Top! I like it!

 

[AZAndy]

That's really nice. I'm not sure I understand about the screw in the hammer-- is the idea that you extend the screw, and it prevents the hammer from falling by hitting the frame?

 

[Blacksmoke]

Sweet!

Enjoy it.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Nice addition Bob.

 

[BobWright]

That's really nice. I'm not sure I understand about the screw in the hammer-- is the idea that you extend the screw, and it prevents the hammer from falling by hitting the frame?

No. Turning the screw activates a bar set in the face of the hammer. When the bar is extended, it bears against the frame preventing the hammer going fully forward. It may be spring loaded, I'm not sure and haven't used the safety feature yet, nor do I intend to.

Bob Wright

 

[midland man]

No. Turning the screw activates a bar set in the face of the hammer. When the bar is extended, it bears against the frame preventing the hammer going fully forward. It may be spring loaded, I'm not sure and haven't used the safety feature yet, nor do I intend to.

Bob Wright

I wonder if they make this in 45 colt??

 

[Fiv3r]

I've never had a Colt repo, but I have always wanted one. I dabble in Holy Black, but honestly, a conversion like this would make more sense than trying to get my 1858s all the way out to the public range and cart along the BP supplies.

That is one gorgeous little shooter you've got there for sure.

 

[chicharrones]

That is one sweet lookin' revolver.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

That is a nice looking revolver!

I have to pick up a 5.5 SAA in 357 then one of those open tops in 38...

 

[AZAndy]

No. Turning the screw activates a bar set in the face of the hammer. When the bar is extended, it bears against the frame preventing the hammer going fully forward. It may be spring loaded, I'm not sure and haven't used the safety feature yet, nor do I intend to.

Bob Wright

Oh, I get it. Interesting, and thanks for the explanation.

 

[Barry the Bear]

I've always wanted one of these, bu I really want to see if they can make in. 357 mag.

 

[BobWright]

I've always wanted one of these, bu I really want to see if they can make in. 357 mag.

I don't think you want an Open Top in .357 Magnum!

I wonder if they make this in 45 colt??

Yes. And .44 Special, and .44 Colt/Russian.

http://www.cimarron-firearms.com/products/revolvers/open-top-revolvers/1872-open-top-navy.html

Bob Wright

 

[midland man]

perfect 45 colt is the best!

 

[BobWright]

When I first considered buying this revolver, I thought it was not historically accurate, that all the Open Tops were .44 Colt/Henry rimfires. But in Charles Suydam's U.S. Cartridges and Their Handguns there is a photo captioned: "Colt Model 1872 Navy Open Top, No. 13573, calibre .38 Colt Navy."

And Cimarron's gun is a dead ringer for the Colt.

Bob Wright

 

[CraigC]

You mean #13,752 on page 159? That one is actually a cartridge conversion of the small frame 1862 Pocket Navy. Even though Colt built them off of brand new, unused percussion frames, they're still considered a "cartridge conversion" because they utilized the Richards-Mason patent conversion parts. Including the conversion ring, Mason's improved ejector and the new S-lug barrel. The S-lug barrel actually originated on the Open Top cartridge model.

All the 1871-1872 Open Top models were .44 rimfire. This model, like yours above, was actually built on a new, dedicated cartridge frame. There is no conversion ring.

 

[BobWright]

You mean #13,752 on page 159? That one is actually a cartridge conversion of the small frame 1862 Pocket Navy. Even though Colt built them off of brand new, unused percussion frames, they're still considered a "cartridge conversion" because they utilized the Richards-Mason patent conversion parts. Including the conversion ring, Mason's improved ejector and the new S-lug barrel. The S-lug barrel actually originated on the Open Top cartridge model.

All the 1871-1872 Open Top models were .44 rimfire. This model, like yours above, was actually built on a new, dedicated cartridge frame. There is no conversion ring.

Well, Old Hoss, you've got me puzzled. You say the frame is the 1849 Pocket Model frame? Supposedly Cimarron/Uberti guns are dimensioned from a period Colt, and the frame of my gun is larger than the Pocket Navy frame. The grip on my gun is near the 1851 Navy grip size. And I fail to see how a gun that was never a cap-and-ball gun can be a "conversion."



At this point, I don't know what I've got. But I'm going to shoot it tomorrow!

Bob Wright

P.S. And yeah, I was off a digit on the S/N.

 

[Bullseye]

At this point, I don't know what I've got. But I'm going to shoot it tomorrow!

Have fun and be safe. Please tell us how it went.

 

[CraigC]

Well, Old Hoss, you've got me puzzled. You say the frame is the 1849 Pocket Model frame? Supposedly Cimarron/Uberti guns are dimensioned from a period Colt, and the frame of my gun is larger than the Pocket Navy frame. The grip on my gun is near the 1851 Navy grip size. And I fail to see how a gun that was never a cap-and-ball gun can be a "conversion."



At this point, I don't know what I've got. But I'm going to shoot it tomorrow!

Bob Wright

P.S. And yeah, I was off a digit on the S/N.

Your gun is a large frame "1871-1872 Open Top" cartridge model. A replica of Colt's first dedicated cartridge revolver. You can look at the frame and see that it's unitized and has no conversion ring. The originals were .44 rimfire only, while the replicas are made in .38Spl, .44Colt, .44Spl and .45Colt. The earlier guns had the Navy grip, like yours. The later guns had the Army grip, like my engraved .44.

The one in the book is a Richards-Mason conversion of an 1862 Colt Pocket Navy. Their wording is a little incomplete and misleading. The rebated cylinder is a dead giveaway. The only .36's with a rebated cylinder were the pocket models, the 1862 Pocket Police and Pocket Navy models. The proportions are also an indicator but that's a little more subtle. The guns are still considered "cartridge conversions" because they were originally built as percussion guns, even though they were never completed as such. They used up a bunch of unfinished 1849 Pocket frames, which were originally straight .31's, but built into rebated .38's.

 

[BobWright]

Aha! And Oho! So back to my original statement ".......not historically correct."

And, from today' outing:




Some work remains.

Bob Wright

 

[BobWright]

The guns are still considered "cartridge conversions" because they were originally built as percussion guns, even though they were never completed as such. They used up a bunch of unfinished 1849 Pocket frames, which were originally straight .31's, but built into rebated .38's.

Craig,

You confuse me even further. The frame appears it was never a cap-and-ball frame, but was a cartridge frame from the git-go. The 1862 Pocket Navy was the .31 cal. 1849 Pocket Model with the rebated cylinder to handle .36 balls. Now, change barrel assemblies and the gun becomes the 1862 Police Model. So how do the frames of these guns get to be 1872 Open Top revolvers in .38 Navy?

If I am correct in my understanding, the 1872 Open Top .44s were never cap-and-ball guns, hence is not a "conversion." Now, it seems the .38 caliber gun in question was never a cap-and-ball gun, so why is it a "conversion?" Hate to seem dense, but .............


Bob Wright