Original Item: Only One Available. The first Cartridge Single Action Colts and Remington revolvers came out in 1873 and 1875. Prior to that there were many different "cartridge systems" utilized by many different makers. However Civil War percussion Revolvers were everywhere on the market and Gunsmiths converted many of these Civil War Revolvers to the new Breech loading systems, many using factory supplied parts. Most of these early conversions were to rimfire, which required less modification.

This is just such a weapon, originally made during the Civil War, and then converted to take metallic cartridges. In sound solid condition these conversions tend to be rather rare as the window of demand was very limited and by 1873 and 1875 the new "Cowboy" guns were on open sale. The truth is many Desperadoes and law abiding citizens embarked ion there trek to the West Coast carrying a converted revolver like this.

The Remington Percussion revolvers were often called the Model 1858 due to the patent dates, but production of this revision started in 1863, and the "New Model Navy" is the correct designation from Remington. The top of the octagonal barrel shows a lot of wear, and there are only a few remnants of the original patent markings.

The revolver is now in .38 caliber, having started life as a .36 Caliber PERCUSSION "muzzle loading" Weapon. It was then converted to a "Breech Loader", which looks to have been converted at the Remington factory itself. The company began these conversions in 1868, and also began producing "kits" that were sold to gunsmiths so they could to there own conversions. The U.S. Navy returned many of their percussion revolvers to Remington for these conversions, and they required conversion to .38 Centerfire, for use with .38 "Long" Colt cartridges, and we believe that is the type of conversion we have here. This was also called a "Type III" conversion, and many revolvers were produced this way from the factory, however the serial number on this example is too low for that.

The overall conversion to centerfire involved machining off the "recoil shield" behind the cylinder, and then adding a new breech face with a loading gate. The cylinder was then altered or replaced so that it would work with cartridges. Comparisons with original cylinders indicate that this is almost certainly a replaced cylinder. Remington had licensed the White patent for a bored through cylinder for these conversions, and they were all 6 shot and chambered for .38. Early conversions replaced just the cylinder, which was fitted with a removable back plate for rimfire cartridges, however this later Type III pattern conversion was more thorough and non-reversible.

The right side frame was dovetailed, and then originally had an ejector assembly installed, which would be held in the forward position by an inlet on the loading rammer, which no longer served any purpose. This made these conversions look very much like an early single action cartridge revolver, however this example has lost the ejector, though the dovetail remains. The original bore did not require any alteration to take the new chambering.

Our example is in very good condition and has a lovely patina from years of service. It shows an overall gray peppered finish, with a few small areas of past pitting. The revolver is marked with serial number 27834 on the underside of the barrel and on the left side of the grip frame under the grips. Next to both of these is also number 323, which is most likely from the conversion. The grips are original to the era and each is marked on the inside with hand written ink:

JAN 1870 John Wain made these grips. 

The action functions almost flawlessly, with accurate indexing, crisp mechanics and a good cylinder lockup. We cycled it and did not notice any overshooting or timing error, a real rarity for a revolver of this age. The bore is in good condition, with a mostly bright finish and clear lands and grooves. We do not know if this is from being restored at the factory, or whether it just never really saw any actual firing. The loading gate is still present and fully functional.

This very interesting converted revolver will make a fine addition to any U.S. Military or "Old West" collection. Ready to research and display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: 1864 - converted circa 1870
Caliber: .38 centerfire - most likely .38 "Long" Colt
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 7 1/2 inches
Overall Length: 13 1/2 inches
Action: Single
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver

History of Remington New Model Navy Revolver:

Remington, like Colt, was in business of arms making long prior to the Civil War. They had been producing handguns since 1857 when they introduced the Remington Beals Pocket Revolver. With the outbreak of the Civil War all of the company's energy became devoted to the military production of longarms and hand guns. The martial hand guns produced during the Civil War period included the Remington-Beals Army and Navy Model revolvers, the Remington Models 1861 Army and Navy Revolvers, (a.k.a. as the "Old Model Army" and "Old Model Navy") and the Remington New Model 1863 Army and Navy revolvers.

The Navy Revolvers switched to the "New Model" around serial number 23,000, and were produced long after the Civil War, probably until around 1880. Records of shipments to the Bureau of Ordnance (Navy) stop in December of 1865 at serial number 33,600, so generally revolvers under serial number 27,000 are considered to be Civil War production.