Shorten a Cap-and-Ball Gun For Bigger Profits

We may have chosen to work in the firearms trade because we love firearms, hunting, target shooting, and the great folks in the shooting-sports fraternity, but we’re all in business for the same reason’t o make money’and profit is what keeps the doors open. As you know, the profit margin on anew gun is abysmally small, and nobody stays in business long if all they sell are new guns.

Gunsmithing can be a huge profit center for a gun shop, so any time we can get a customer to spend his money on gunsmithing service rather than anew gun purchase we’re likely to put significantly more money in the bank. For example, the next time a customer comes in admiring the new 5-1/ 2-inch-barreled Remington 58 in the display case and complains about the retail price, take the opportunity to ask if he already owns the 8-inchbarreled version.

If he does, see if he would be interested in having it converted to the 5-1/2-inch version for about half the price of anew gun. Chances are, you’ll see a sparkle in his eye, which means you’re already halfway to a sale. What’s your profit on anew gun? Fifteen percent, maybe? Less? That means on a $400 sale you make about $60. If you can get your customer to convert his old gun’where there are no parts to buy and your cost is just labor’your gross can go up to about $200.

Of course, if there is anything wrong with his old cap-and-ball revolver that needs to be fixed, your profit could be that much higher. Maybe you can even talk him into buying a cartridge conversion with the money he’s saved. And if you’re really lucky, he might have two guns to convert. The process of shortening the barrel is roughly the same for the Remington 58, the Colt 1851 Navy, or the 1860 Army. The Colt clones are actually easier to shorten than the Remington clones, so let’s tackle the Remington.

When the customer brings the gun in, you’ll want to look it over carefully and explain what options

he has and give him a price. Check, for instance, to see if the gun out of time. Are the nipples battered and in need of replacement? Would the customer like to add custom grips, a dovetailed front sight, or a cartridge conversion? All of these provide much more profit than selling anew gun, and all are easy to do. That’s just what happened with one of my customers recently. Once the job is sold and you’re ready to proceed with the shortening, the first step is to be sure the gun is unloaded.

I am always surprised at how many loaded muzzleloaders I see. Next, disassemble the gun down to its component parts. Complete disassembly is not mandatory, but you’ll be clamping the gun in a padded vise and making chips, so at least a partial disassembly is recommended. With the Colt, you can simply remove the barrel assembly from the frame; but with the Remington, the barrel and frame are worked on together. First, remove the loading-lever assembly and set it aside. You’ll work on that later.

Next measure the barrel from the breech end to the length you want, mark it, and cut it to length. You can now square and crown the end of the shortened barrel. Heat the cut-off section of the barrel and remove the Complete refinishing will mean extra profit on this job. front sight and the loading-lever latch for reuse. These are now reinstalled at the muzzle end of the shortened barrel using measurements taken from the original.

Personally, I like to add a dovetail front sight to the gun, but that should be an option you give to the customer. When I have one available I also prefer to install a Colt loading-lever latch on the Remington, because it is also dovetailed rather than drilled and soldered on. For the sake of safety, care must be taken when drilling not to exceed half the thickness of the barrel. The hardest part of the project is possibly the shortening of the loading lever.

Because I just don’t trust myself to measure it correctly, I like to reinstall it in the frame and swing it up under the latch and mark where it has to be cut. You can remove the latch pin, the loading-lever latch, and the latch spring before or after cutting, but I do it before when I have more steel to hold on to. Notice that the loading lever has a hole down the front of it to retain these parts and a slot to allow them to move.

Measure the depth and size of the hole, set up the shortened loading lever in your drill press, being sure it is square, and drill the new hole. If you have a mill, cutting the slot is easy, but don’t despair if you don’t. The slot can be easily cut by hand using the side of a file. This is again cut to the same width and depth as the cut-off piece.

Now drill the hole for the crosspin, install the spring and loading-lever latch, and the job is done except for refinishing the end of the barrel and loading-lever latch.

AMGFW09A AG DBI Spread Ad (Revised ad coming directly from Belvoir)

AMGFW09A AG DBI Spread Ad (Revised ad coming directly from Belvoir)