Cap&ball Conversions

I've been looking at the Cimmaron site and studied the options on SA revolvers and was wondering what the advantages and disadvantages were of one style of conversion over the other. Anybody out there have any experience of shooting one over the other? Which one is the best? Which caliber offered would be the best authentic round?
Thanks,
Don

 

[Voyageur]

I've been looking at the Cimmaron site and studied the options on SA revolvers and was wondering what the advantages and disadvantages were of one style of conversion over the other. Anybody out there have any experience of shooting one over the other? Which one is the best? Which caliber offered would be the best authentic round?
Thanks, Don

I do have one of the '51 .38 conversions and it's OK. I'm not really in love with the .38 Special but what with the cylinder/locking bolt situation on these revolvers I'd rather not use the larger diameter case.

If I am recalling right from some of those Gunfighter books, the Navy was preferred over the Army with the conversions. "Guns of the Gunfighters" or some such title with accompanying old dageurotypes. A little jaunt to Barnes & Noble might clear the matter up for you. There's a pretty good book out on conversions and I've got it around here somewhere. It lists all the various conversion that were viable. My little .38 Special '51 works pretty good but I did have to modify the factory spring... it was too weak.

 

[Legionair]

Check out Kirst cartridge converters....

A similar conversion to what was done originally (new cut down cylinder and breech ring).

Not cheap, but you can swap back and forth between
cartridge and CnB.

Legion

 

[CoyoteJoe]

The Cimmaron revolvers are not real authentic in that the 1860's are built on a larger frame than the original cap&ball Colts. That is why they are able to chamber them in .45 caliber, larger cylinder diameter. That does spoil the slim grace of the 1860 but makes a much safer and more practical gun for actual use. I had one of the 1860 Richards/Mason conversions and an 1872 open top, both in .44 Colt, which was an original caliber. Both were good shooters with black powder or mild smokeless loads.
One advantage in the Cimmaron guns is that the bore diameter matches the bullet diameter, which is not the case with original Colts nor some modern made conversions which require hollow based bullets to fill the oversize bores.
I like the Cimmaron conversions but can't escape the fact that the Ruger Vaquero is a far far better gun for less money. :haha: