1860 Army Full Fluted Mystery Solved!

[drobs]

Up till now, I thought the full fluted cylinder on 1860 looked strange. That looks really good.

[StrawHat]

Nice looking 1860. I have quite a few Uberti’s and more than a few were imported by Replica Arms in Marietta Ohio.

I am keenly interested if you have noticed any dimensional difference between the old and the new revolvers?

Kevin

[ShotgunDave]

Thanks Fellas.

Strawhat, I can tell you right off, the barrel on the newer gun is longer. It's not much, 1/8" is all. But it's longer. I'll take a closer look tomorrow. Anything specific you're wondering about?

[StrawHat]

Yes, since Uberti chose to beef up the frame on the conversions (rather than tell the weenies to suck it up and load the 44 Colt), I wondered if the enlarged frame was carried into the percussion revolvers that used the same frame?

Barrel length varied on originals also.

Thanks for looking.

Kevin

[ShotgunDave]

Kevin,

I can tell you that when I swapped the grip frames out, there was a small amount of fitting required. Nothing major, just had to fiddle with it a little. I attributed it to the 30 year difference between the two guns. But I have since traded the regular cylinder gun away. So I can't make any measurements now. But I would say, the frames are the same on the two guns.

[StrawHat]

Thanks Dave.

Kevin

[LonesomePigeon]

Straw Hat, I have old Gregorelli & Uberti and new 2015 Uberti 1851 Navy's. The frame is clearly smaller on the old GU's. I think the cylinders might still be interchangeable and maybe he barrels. I will check later and report back. I was told by a guy that runs a local gun shop specializing in antiques that all Uberti's have smaller frames than the originals. I don't think he is familiar with the newer Uberti's though.

[Hawg]

I was told by a guy that runs a local gun shop specializing in antiques that all Uberti's have smaller frames than the originals. I don't think he is familiar with the newer Uberti's though.

 Back in the early 70's DGW advertised some guns as 7/8ths scale but I don't know who made them. Maybe that's what he's thinking of. I do know some of the manufacturers made guns the same size as originals but to my knowledge Uberti's have always been slightly bigger and Pietta's even bigger. Pietta used to make grips smaller and slimmer that were closer to original. I don't know when they started making the obese things they call grips now.

[sourdough]

Pietta used to make grips smaller and slimmer that were closer to original. I don't know when they started making the obese things they call grips now.

Those "obese" things on a Pietta 1851 Navy (2015 [CN] or newer) are not a good fit to the hand. Hawg, you used to down the Pietta 1851 "tail" profile because you felt they were not "correct". They do fit the hand better than the newer ones. They were slimmer at the wrist but not smaller, per se. We have been here before, sir.

Jim

[Captainkirk]

Pietta used to make grips smaller and slimmer that were closer to original. I don't know when they started making the obese things they call grips now.

Those "obese" things on a Pietta 1851 Navy (2015 [CN] or newer) are not a good fit to the hand. Hawg, you used to down the Pietta 1851 "tail" profile because you felt they were not "correct". They do fit the hand better than the newer ones. They were slimmer at the wrist but not smaller, per se. We have been here before, sir.

Jim

I'll be honest here...I hate the way the Pietta 'bell-bottom' grips looks, but truth be told...they feel really good and solid in the hand.

[sourdough]

FRANKENGUN!

I acquired this ASM 1860 Army [BC] 1993 pistol from mike116 a couple of months ago in trade for some non-gun items. I think the trade went well as both of us are satisfied with the deal.



Then I saw Shotgun Dave's Uberti 1860 Army full-fluted and had to have a similar gun. It took a while to get cylinder measurements from other kind souls of new(er) Pietta and Uberti round cylinders, as well as using my measurements of the round ASM cylinder I have, but it was well worth the wait.

After much deliberation I ordered an Uberti 1860 Army full-fluted cylinder from VTI for (gasp!) $118 shipped. Received it yesterday and after very many preliminary measurements, installed it on the pistol. It fits very well in all areas, and all measured dimensions are very close to the original cylinder. I still have not miked the chamber size with either cylinder.

I am pleased!



Comments appreciated!

Regards,

Jim

[ShotgunDave]

We've been talking behind the scenes, so you already know my opinion. But I'll put it out there for everyone to see, I love the way your Frankengun project turned out!

The fluted cylinder adds to the "swoopyness" of the already swoopy 1860 Army. They look like they're going fast just sitting on the bench.

Nice work Jim.

[LonesomePigeon]

That looks great Jim. By the way, I just remembered that Colt Signature Series put out an 1860 Army that came with two cylinders, one engraved and one fluted. They come up on Gunbroker once in a while.

[ShotgunDave]

Jim, this gun and how it came to be really deserves it's own thread. Not that I'm in any way offended by it being on this thread. I just think that everything you did to make this happen needs to be seen by as many folks as possible.

[G Dog]

This is a vid by Duelist 54 on the (Ben) McCulloch or Texas full-flute Colts.  Apparently, on the originals, the fluting diminished the overall strength of the cylinders.  McCulloch was an interesting guy.  He knew Davy Crocket.  Killed at Pea Ridge  (Elkhorn Tavern), Arkansas.