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1858 Remington 5.5" or 7"

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All,

Looking at purchasing a pair of 1858's in 44. I know it is a matter of opinion but I am looking for advice from the 5" or 7" version? With the 7" I know it is better for accuracy but what are your opinions on historical, holster (s) availability etc. Also looking at getting the conversion cylinders to 45 LC.

Thanks,

Steve
 
I don't know about the availability of holsters but the original Remington .44 caliber revolvers all had 8 inch long barrels.

No doubt some folks had a local gunsmith shorten the barrels a bit but they didn't come from the factory that way.
 
I've got a Pietta 5.5" and it is very accurate and shoots to point of aim at 30 yards. The holsters at Cabelas are about 25 bucks. Great gun.
 
From a strictly practical standpoint, the short barrel will be easier to pack, but the loading lever is also shorter, giving you less leverage for shearing the ball.
 
I have i of each. They both have thier pluss and minuses. The short barreled one will kick more than the longer barreled. So if you have a dainty wife who may shoot it, it may not be your choice. But it is easier and faster to pull from a holster, and to cary covered up.
 
A longer barrel will provide a slightly higher muzzle energy and muzzle velocity with the same charge.
 
I also have the conversion cylinder for the Remington. The Remingtons I have are both Uberti's.
I can feel the shock more in the shorter barreled pistol than the longer one. But remember they are only supposed to fire cowboy loads. When I do civ war reenacting and take a Remington I usually take the longer barreled pistol. The chocie is up to you. But as I have posted in a different post I have both. And I like both of them. :thumbsup:
 
IF I were shooting in SASS matches, or any other venue where I could load the cylinders off the guns, I would probably go with the 5.5" guns. I bought 1 and liked it so much I bought another, along with a pair of spare cylinders. I have one of the 8" guns, and a pair of 7 1/2" ROA's, along with a pair of Pietta 6.5" .36 Remmy's. If I intend to do a lot of loading on the gun, I take the longer barreled ones. But the 5.5's are a lot handier to carry on a tractor. On horseback or ATV, it doesn't really matter.
 
I have a pair of 1858's with the longer barrels. I just finished making some holsters for them. I found out that the longer barrels make it difficult to pull out of the holster unless I set them up for a cross-draw. If you intend to try any fast draw stuff with them you might want the shorter barrels or learn to cross-draw.

Many Klatch
 
From a historical standpoint the longer barrel is correct. As far as the crossdraw, the true cross draw holster is made to be worn slightly in front and at an angle. You can also use just a standard holster but run in around from the right side to the left side- IMHO that's the pc way. On the accuracy issue, either barrel is likely equal as far as the barrel goes, the longer barrel helps the shooter shoot better because of the longer sighting plane/radius.
 
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