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This is just such a weapon, originally made during the Civil War, and then converted to take metallic cartridges. At some point it was also fully nickel plated, most likely during the conversion, though we have no way to be sure. 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 still shows the original 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 using a "kit" introduced by Remington in 1868. This 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 the rimfire 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 Rimfire. Early conversions replaced just the cylinder, which was fitted with a removable back plate, however this later 1868 pattern conversion was more thorough.

The right side frame was dovetailed, and then had an ejector assembly installed, making it look very much like an early single action cartridge revolver. The "ramming" portion of the loading rammer was also removed, as it no longer served any function. The bore may have also been slightly bored out and rifling recut.

The modifications to this revolver however did not stop there, as it is now clearly in a centerfire configuration, with a firing pin added to the hammer. The portion of the breech face around the firing pin was filled in with brass, and a new hole added for he firing pin, a further modification that we really have not seen before. The grip frame also had a piece of zinc screwed to the bottom, to allow the use of larger walnut grip scales, which are quite substantial. Whoever did these modifications certainly knew exactly what they wanted.

Our example is in very good condition and still has lots of its original Nickel plating, showing a lovely worn patina of age. The cylinder shows some oxidation and wear, but no major flaking or pitting. Some parts have the numeral 193 as an assembly number, including the grip frame and under the barrel. It looks like these were stamped over the original assembly numbers. This leads us to believe relatively strongly that this revolver was sent back to Remington itself for the rimfire conversion, which also explains the high quality of the Nickel plating. The serial number 2043 is marked on the grip frame under the grips, in typical Remington fashion.

The action functions well, with nice indexing, crisp mechanics and a good cylinder lockup. We cycled it and did not notice any overshooting or timing error. The bore is in excellent condition, and does not look to have been shot much at all since conversion. The ejector level functions well, and stows under the loading rammer when not in use to prevent it from getting in the way of the cylinder rotation.

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

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: 1864 - converted circa 1868, and altered later
Caliber: .38 centerfire - unknown cartridge
Ammunition Type: Rimfire 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.