Conversion Cylinders

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

Question to the fire :

Is one system better than the other and why ?

 

If you have used eather system PLEASE comment on Durabality , function , ease of fitting to frame .

 

Thank You

Chickasaw Bill

[Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329]

I've owned probably 15 R & D cylinders over the years.

Always dropped right in.

Always worked very well.

Didn't seem to change the action of the gun.

Currently have 3 ROA, 1 1848 Colt pocket, 2 1858 Remmie, & 1 Colt 1860

 

I've owned a Kirst

Dropped right in.

Didn't like the way it made the action feel on my 1860, so I sold it & got an R&D

 

That's been my experience.

Kirst has it's followers too.

 

--Dawg

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Howdy

 

Asking for opinions on which one is between, R&D and Kirst, is probably like asking about Fords and Chevies. Everybody has their own druthers for their own reasons.

 

I will tell you that when the time came for me to buy a conversion cylinder for my old EuroArms Remmie, I went the R&D route. The reason was simple. At the time, Kirst was only making a cylinder for 45 Colt that was a five shot, R&D was six shot. To me, that was the no brainer part. The reason R&D was able to fit six chambers in the cylinder is because the chambers are angled out about 1/2 of one degree. This allows the rims to clear each other. Otherwise in a cylinder the size of a 1858 Remmie, the rims would interfere woth each other. That's why Kirst only used five chambers at the time, they bored the chambers straight. No, before you ask, the 1/2 degree of angle does not affect anything. My Remmies with their R&D cylinders are the most accurate 45 pistols I have. Not an issue with a Ruger I believe, I believe the Ruger cylinder is large enough that six chambers can be bored straight with no rim overlap.

 

Not to much later I came across a used Stainless Remmie that came with a blued conversion cylinder. The price was right, so I grabbed it.

 

I will also tell you that since my old EuroArms Remmie was an unusual brand, I sent it to Taylors to have a cylinder custom fit to it. Very likely a standard R&D cylinder would not have dropped in without any modification. In the instructions that came along with my R&D cylinders, it was made plain that sometimes a little material has to be removed from the frame window at the front bottom corner to clear the cylinder. Not often, but every once in a while. It is a tall order manufacturing a cylinder that drops right into any gun without needing custom fitting. Most regular cylinders get fitted to their frame at the factory.

 

My only experience with conversion cylinders is on Remmies. The 1858 design is perfect for a conversion cylinder. It is quick and easy to pop the cylinder completely out of the gun for reloading. There is no provision for a loading gate with the R&D design in the 1858 anyway. Open top Colts are a different story. If you don't cut some sort of loading trough in the frame, you have to drive the wedge out and remove the barrel for every reload. Yes, there are more moving parts on the R&D cylinder, each chamber has its own separate firing pin. Don't dry fire the gun empty, you will jam the pins forward and shoving them back will involve much gnashing of teeth. Just don't dry fire the gun empty. Use snap caps if you must dry fire.

[Nichols Creek, SASS #77627]

Used them both, and both are great for our game. I go with Kirst now for a number of reasons, the biggest is the folks that produce them are now only 40 minutes from my house. Great bunch of folks (all three of them) and great service. Just remember though, the way we use our guns, the firing pins will mushroom out after a while. I have found that the pins in the R&D are easier to replace. I also like the Kirst because there is only on firing pin to deal with.

[Smithy]

I've had two; R&D's both of them for Ruger Old Armies and both were a few thousandths too long to fit in the cylinder frame. But rather than machine the gun as the instructions indicate, I turned the breech end of the firing pin plate of the cylinder (there is some extra meat in this area). After a few thousandths of removal the cylinders fit like a champ and worked terrific. I swapped out the pins for hardened steel pins so no worries in that department. Smithy.

[Guest Cactus Cris SASS#2790]

Smithy- where did u get the hardened pins for the R&D's I have 5 sets for 58's, 60's & Old Armies- will need to replace them some day. Thx's