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Questions about 1872 OPEN TOP


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I've got a 1872 Open Top, 44 Colt. Sight is on the hammer, and it has the ring behind the cylinder with a loading gate. Says Cimmaron on the barrel.  Serial is XO4439 and cat 12596. I assume it is Uberti but not stamped anywhere.  It is Army grip and I'd like to change to Navy grip.  Is it a Uberti? Is the grip different than a Pietta?  Anybody have a Navy grip they want to trade or sell?

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No Horse.  Yes.  You have a Uberti.  Yes.  The grip is different from a Pietta.  The Pietta does not interchange.  A Uberti Navy grip will mount right up.

 

Sorry, I don't have a grip to sell or trade.

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RM Conversion

Uberti 1851 Navy Conversion .38 Special Revolver, 4.75" Barrel ...

 

Notice the extra ring that holds the loading gate and no sight on the barrel

 

 

71/72 open tops

 

1872 OPEN TOP LATE MODEL | Uberti Replicas | Top quality firearms ...

 

Notice the 71/72 has a sight on the barrel.

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16 hours ago, No Horse Hair, SASS #77464 said:

I always get be-fuddled when I deal with these models. The sight is on the hammer and there is the ring with the loading gate behind the cylinder. 

The reason I asked about the difference isn’t to show you up or try to display how much I know. That would be an embarrassing proposition. I mentioned the difference because the 71/72 open tops can easily switch between army and navy grips (as long as its uberti and not pietta). They are pretty versatile guns. To the best of my knowledge, one cannot put a navy grip on an RM in 44/45 calibers and one cannot put an army grip on a 38 caliber gun. They are made of entirely different frame sizes. I have heard folks say it can be done, but I have yet to be proven wrong in this point. And trust me, I really want to be proven wrong because an RM is one of the coolest looking  guns but I can’t stand Army grips. 

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Based on the OP description, the gun could be either an 1860 Richards-Mason or an 1860 Type II conversion.  Either way, the grip frames on Ubertis are entirely interchangeable.  Army to Navy, Navy to Army, no problem.  Opentops/Conversions/Percussion.  .38 vs. 44/45?  No problem.  They match up (except for the smaller Lightning/P-Jr frames).  I swapped the Army gripframe from my Type II to Crow Choker for his Navy gripframe from an Opentop.  

 

One small caveat.  I once tried to put the brass Navy grip frame from a conversion onto an older Thunderer (Model P).  The screws aligned, but the trigger slot wasn't long enough for the Thunderer trigger and would have had to be opened towards the rear.

 

No Horse Hair, if you can find them you can buy a new gripframe with grip already fitted.  Pretty pricey.  You can buy the individual parts, but they will not be fitted.  Your best bet is to find someone with a Navy grip who wants Army.  There's plenty of folks out there like that.  You might want to put a Want To Trade ad in the classifieds.  Good luck.

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1873 was about the middle of the Victorian Era.  I doubt there were very many open tops then.  But I'm sure what ones there were would have been extremely popular.  

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It appears I have the Richard Mason conversion by Uberti.  I have found a Navy grip and will soon be installing it. I sometimes shoot 1860's  (Navy gripped) and love the way they handle- and I notice the women casting admiring glances my way when so armed!  I shot this RM with the Army grip but it is big and slick and I just like the Navy grip with my pinkie curled under the bottom.  I'll get the Navy grip installed and maybe cut it down to about a 5" barrel. put a big ol' ivory bead sight on front and get down to business!  Do these models do ok w/ 44 Russian full of black?

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2 hours ago, No Horse Hair, SASS #77464 said:

It appears I have the Richard Mason conversion by Uberti.  I have found a Navy grip and will soon be installing it. I sometimes shoot 1860's  (Navy gripped) and love the way they handle- and I notice the women casting admiring glances my way when so armed!  I shot this RM with the Army grip but it is big and slick and I just like the Navy grip with my pinkie curled under the bottom.  I'll get the Navy grip installed and maybe cut it down to about a 5" barrel. put a big ol' ivory bead sight on front and get down to business!  Do these models do ok w/ 44 Russian full of black?

Abilene says they’ll fit so I’m curiously watching this thread. The 71/72 open tops were originally made as all new guns. The other conversions were just that, conversions. Those that shot 38 were made on 51 frames and those that shot 44 were made on army frames. Uberti kept all the original specs as far as I know. You certainly can’t order them in the reverse grip setups. I do hope it fits though. Might be investing in some new guns then. 
 

As for your final question, I shoot my favorite open top in 44 with Russian and black powder all the time. It’s a lot of fun and very accurate 

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Howdy El Hombre.  The '51 and '60 frame are actually the same size, except the '60 is cut for the rebated cylinder. 

 

The two Type II's below (one .44 and one .38) both came with Army grips (as all 1860 conversions do), but have Navies now which I prefer.   One of those (with the Tru-Ivory) came from one of my engraved '51 R-M's, which are currently sporting Thunderer grips (Thunderer-Mason Conversions :) )  Swapping grip styles around is fun, and convenient since they all fit.  I think Prairie Dawg has done a lot of grip swapping as well.

44%20Rich-6.jpg

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12 hours ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

Howdy El Hombre.  The '51 and '60 frame are actually the same size, except the '60 is cut for the rebated cylinder. 

 

The two Type II's below (one .44 and one .38) both came with Army grips (as all 1860 conversions do), but have Navies now which I prefer.   One of those (with the Tru-Ivory) came from one of my engraved '51 R-M's, which are currently sporting Thunderer grips (Thunderer-Mason Conversions :) )  Swapping grip styles around is fun, and convenient since they all fit.  I think Prairie Dawg has done a lot of grip swapping as well.

44%20Rich-6.jpg

This post makes me very happy, and a bit concerned for my budget since I’ll be looking to acquire one shortly. 

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PLUS ONE too ABILENE!!!!

 

I'll be helpful too El Hombre.  Colt and Uberti and Pietta ALL build their "Carry" size Open Top guns on the basic 1851 Frame.  The only difference, as mentioned my Abilene being the rebated Water Table on the 1860 to allow the stepped cylinder for the 44.  1851, 1861, and 1860 are all built on the same base frame.  Same same for Pietta.  the only difficulty is Pietta Grip parts don't match up with Uberti Grip parts.  There is also a difference from the Percussion type guns to the Cartridge Guns.

 

Surprisingly, the Uberti 1851 barrel assembly will mount right up to an original 1851 Colt.  I personally prefer the 1860 grip style and have switched all my Main Match guns to the larger grip.  Except for my Pietta Capt. Schaeffer guns.  Mix and match can be lots of FUN!!

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