uberti 1860 police conversion cyl?

[damoc]

ive got a pair of 1860 police and was just wondering if anyone knew of a conversion cyl for them? or even if its possible with common cartridges
i checked my reloading manual and there does not seem to be anything
in the .375 bullet diameter.

38 colt new police and 38 special both have bullet diameter of .357

were cartridge conversions done on these back in the day and if so was it
like the .44 conversions IE using rimfire cartridges which are no longer available.

 

[Old Fuff]

The original conversions used cartridges that were loaded with "heeled bullets" so the front was the same diameter as the case. A .38 Long Colt/.38 Special case diameter is .379 so at this point a light bulb should go on.

Shooting regular .38 Special bullets (.358) with a hollow base will help some, or you can buy a mold and cast heeled bullets and handload, but to get better-then-just-acceptable accuracy usually requires having the barrel lined to .358 groove diameter.

This is one reason I'm not a big fan of today's drop-in cylinder conversions.

Those revolvers that are sold as converted models have the correct size barrels, but they can't be backward converted unless you change the barrel as well as the cylinder.

 

[damoc]

Thanks Old Fluff

 

[CraigC]

If you're talking about the small frame .36cal 1862 Police, then no, there are no conversion cylinders available at present.

In general, if you want to use a conversion cylinder with a .375" bore, you need to use heeled bullets. Or have the bore relined.

 

[damoc]

yes they are the small frame

i was asking as a curiosity but Old Fluff and yourself have pretty much
confirmed and convinced me its not worth the bother.