Lucky L Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Greetings.... I'm wanting to buy two 1872's Open Top Army 45LC. The problem I'm running into is that as far I have have seen and checked on(Cimarron...Taylors...Uberti), the 1872 Open Top Army only comes in a 7.5" barrel, and I want a 5.5" barrel. Seems the only 5.5" barrel are on the 1872 Open Top Navy! So, my question for anyone that would know, is it possible to either take a 1872 Open Top Navy and swap out the grips for the 1872 Army grips? Or to take the 1872 Open Top Army and swap out the barrel with the shorter 5.5" barrel from the Navy? I have spoke with Cimarron, Taylor and even a "local" gunsmith that does a lot of cowboy action work, no one could or would come right out and tell me one way or the other if either options would work? Surely I can not be the only person that likes the larger Army grip, but does not want the bigger 7.5" barrel!! Thanks for any input! Lucky L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickel City Dude Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 If you are not dead set on 1872's. Uberti make a 1873 SAA called there Gunfighter model with the larger army grips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Sin Nombre Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 I don’t know about swapping out the grips, but the barrels can definitely be swapped out. I have both 5.5” and 7.5” barrels for mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky L Posted October 4, 2018 Author Share Posted October 4, 2018 4 minutes ago, Redwood Kid said: I don’t know about swapping out the grips, but the barrels can definitely be swapped out. I have both 5.5” and 7.5” barrels for mine. So do you have the 1872 Open Top Army? and bought the 5.5" barrels that go with the Navy? Are they Uberti? I looked into the the barrel aspect, buying two extra barrels, but they are about $140-160 range each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Yeah, it is unfortunate that the Army grips are only available on the 7.5" OT's. Yes, Army and Navy gripframes will swap easily. That can get a little expensive unless you sell what you don't use or find someone who wants Navy grips and swap them. You also might consider the 1860 Richards-Mason or Type 2 Richards, as both of those have Army grips and come in 5.5" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky L Posted October 4, 2018 Author Share Posted October 4, 2018 11 minutes ago, Nickel City Dude said: If you are not dead set on 1872's. Uberti make a 1873 SAA called there Gunfighter model with the larger army grips. My main match guns are '73 short stroked smokewagons, which I shoot two handed. I'm looking at the Open tops because I like the looks of them and wanting the larger caliber to shoot different categories...and to shoot one handed, feels better with the army grips! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky L Posted October 4, 2018 Author Share Posted October 4, 2018 5 minutes ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said: Yeah, it is unfortunate that the Army grips are only available on the 7.5" OT's. Yes, Army and Navy gripframes will swap easily. That can get a little expensive unless you sell what you don't use or find someone who wants Navy grips and swap them. You also might consider the 1860 Richards-Mason or Type 2 Richards, as both of those have Army grips and come in 5.5" Thanks for info! Ya...been pricing out buying the 5.5" barrels for the Army or buying the Army grips for the Navy! by the time you buy all the components for the new Army grips, it seems to come out almost even!! I have even looked at just buying the Army and having the barrels cut down to the size!...So do you feel that If I was to buy the 1872 Open Top Navy and then buy the grips for the 1872 Open Top Army, they should/will mount on the frame without any issues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goody, SASS #26190 Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Cut them down and replace front site with shotgun bead or simple post like on 51 Navy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Sin Nombre Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 26 minutes ago, Lucky L said: So do you have the 1872 Open Top Army? and bought the 5.5" barrels that go with the Navy? Are they Uberti? I looked into the the barrel aspect, buying two extra barrels, but they are about $140-160 range each. I have the navy but the barrels are identical for both versions. I think it’s the smarter way to go, as grip frames can be a little trickier to swap. You’re talking lining up 5 screws as opposed to sliding the barrel over the arbor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Sin Nombre Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky L Posted October 4, 2018 Author Share Posted October 4, 2018 20 minutes ago, Redwood Kid said: Thanks for the help!! Appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 1 hour ago, Lucky L said: ...So do you feel that If I was to buy the 1872 Open Top Navy and then buy the grips for the 1872 Open Top Army, they should/will mount on the frame without any issues? Yes, they will bolt up perfectly. But if you buy separate spare parts for grip frame and grip, the grip will probably not fit great (the edges will stick out past the grip frame here and there) and will need fitting. Doing that goes through the poly finish, which is fine if you want to refinish the grip anyway (recommended by many). But if you buy a grip and gripframe set, it should already be fitted. Or if you can find an Army grip owner (Uberti only) that wants Navy, and that's fairly common as well, then swap and those grips will also already be fitted to the gripframe. But they will bolt onto the frame just fine. Buying the 7.5" Army and cutting the barrels down is really the least expensive way, I'd think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamond Curly SASS#57086 Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 I have swapped my Navy Grips for Army grips on most of my open tops with no problem at all. Just find someone who prefers The Navy grips and swap frame and grips and both of you have what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafe Conager SASS #56958 Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 I've done it both ways, the open tops I bought had navy grips I bought army frames and grips then sold the navy set up on the wire, they also had a different barrel lengths so I purchased a 5 1/2" to match easy to swap both parts out. Sold all spare parts on the wire didn't break even but paid for some of the parts. Rafe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Red Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Have set of 72' OT 5.5" barrels in 44 Special...Army grips...can also shoot 44 Russian and 44 Colt.... Regards Texas Red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Crimes Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 What about the Uberti 1860 Army Conversion? 1860 Army Conversion Revolver 341364 Army .45 Colt 5.5″ Case-Hardened Frame, Steel B/S and T/G $559 More Additional Specifications Overall Length: 11″ Finish: Blue Barrel: Round Cylinder: 6-shot, engraved Number of Grooves: 6 Twist: 1:16, RH Weight: 2.6 lbs. Grip: 1-pc walnut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Lucky L, Uberti standardized some years ago. You have the option of buying or ordering Grip Sets from VTI Gun Parts. Won't be cheap. You also have the option of buying or ordering the barrel length you want. Won't be cheap either. The barrels will require some fitting, unless you have already corrected the Barrel to Arbor fit from the Arbor end. Swapping out the Grip Sets may not result in a "perfect" fit. There may be a tiny amour of overlap of the grip/trigger Gard parts with the frame. You may also have some Barrel to Cylinder gap work to do as well as the Head Space and End Shake. The answers to your questions are yes. However it may require some amount of fitting by someone who understands the Open Top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Sin Nombre Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Check out this pair. Just what you want I believe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Drifter Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 not 45 colt but a nice pair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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