Working the Richards-Mason Cartridge-Conversion Revolver

At the end of the Civil War, the famous American gunmaking firm of Colt Firearms found itself with thousands of unsold percussion revolvers that were left over from the conflict. At this point in time, those revolvers were rapidly becoming obsolete because of the advent of metallic cartridges, so Colt was actively searching for ways to make those otherwise perfectly functional firearms more saleable. One solution was to find methods of converting them to accept and fire the new metallic cartridges.

The Cimarron is chambered in .44 Colt caliber (the modern version that uses .430-inch bullets) but it accepts and shoots .44 S&W Russian as well. Author photos. other company (Smith & Wesson) already held the rights to the Rollin White patent that covered the most sensible method of loading a metallic cartridge into a revolver.

This, of course, was the idea of loading a rimmed cartridge into a cylinder from the rear by virtue of cylinder chambers that were bored clear through from the rear to the front, instead of being closed at the rear for the percussion system. The hitch for Colt, and for most other revolver makers, was that an- Smith & Wesson had been manufacturing high-quality, metallic-cartridge rimfire revolvers under this license since 1857.

The patent’s legal protection was not due to expire until 1869, and that really put the brakes on for anyone except S&W who wanted to convert percussion revolvers in the conventional sense. One method used by Colt in order to get around this patent was to apply an invention by Alexander Thuer. This was a conversion for percussion Colts that enabled them to fire a very unusual, tapered metallic cartridge that was loaded from the cylinder front.

As you might imagine, Thuer’s system wasn’t the greatest idea to come along. In away, it was a little like reaching all the way under your shoe and then back up the other side of your leg to scratch your knee. On the other hand, thus converted, the Thuer system did enable Colt to alter and sell about 5,000 of these obsolete revolvers, which they otherwise might not have been able to sell so easily.

By 1871, after S&W’s patent protection expired, Charles Richards, a Colt employee, patented a far more effective method of converting Colt percussion models to load and fire

The ring is held on by the base pin or arbor, which is screwed solidly into the frame. metallic cartridges. Richards’ cartridge conversions to the .44-caliber Model 1860 Army were breech loading, chambering a rimmed, centerfire .44caliber cartridge called the .44 Colt. This was done by having the rear end of the cylinder machined away which opened the rear of the chambers.

Richards added a loading gate to the revolver that mounted in a conversion ring attached to the revolver frame, but only after the frame had some heavy machine work performed on it. Also on the conversion ring were a fixed rear sight and a very modern, spring-loaded firing pin. An important part of these Richards conversions was the barrel-mounted ejector-rod assembly. It fitted up into the recess where the percussion rammer once operated, and fastened into the barrel by the old rammer screw.

A further step forward in metalliccartridge conversions for Colt came with the so called "Richards-Mason." The R-M was a combination of the earlier efforts of Charles Richards and patented concepts from the brilliant firearms inventor, William Mason. Mason, in 1872, contributed a simpler and neater ejector assembly that was less expensive than the Richards to manufacture and to fit to existing percussion barrels. The R-M also did away with the floating firing pin in favor of a fixed, hammer-mounted pin.

In addition, the Richards-Mason The gate spring also acts as a detent or latch for the gate. conversion retained the rear sight on the hammer nose, just like earlier capand-ball models, a further economic move for Colt. Colt applied the Richards-Mason conversion to all sizes of their percussion revolvers, although the most commonly encountered today are the 1860 Army conversions.

The new Richards-Mason conversion revolvers produced in Italy by the Uberti Company for Cimarron Firearms are very faithful copies of the original Colt revolvers. Because of their classic lines and their historical importance, conversion revolvers are becoming increasingly popular in cowboy-action circles. The gun shown here is an 1860 Army Model Richards-Mason conversion. It’s cham-

bered in .44 Colt caliber with a 5-1/2-inch barrel in blue and color-case-hardened finish. Interestingly, this revolver will also chamber and fire .44 S&W Russian ammo. Takedown Instructions These instructions will work with both original Colt Richards-Mason revolvers and the modern Uberti-made replicas that are based on the traditional Colt design. The instructions, however, will use Uberti’s parts nomenclature. As always, be certain this weapon is unloaded and pointed in a safe direction.

Check to make absolutely sure this weapon is unloaded by opening the gate (#142), and pulling the hammer (#2) slowly to the rear until you hear one audible click. This will place the hammer in the half-cock or loading position and the cylinder (#5) should now spin freely in a clockwise direction. Keep your fingers away from the trigger during this entire operation.

Slowly rotate the cylinder two full revolutions by hand, all the while examining the chambers through the opening presented by the opened gate at the rear of the frame (#1) to make absolutely certain that the cylinder chambers have no cartridges in them. What should you do if the cylinder has cartridges in it? Proceed by pointing and holding the muzzle in a safe direction as above.

Leave the hammer exactly where it is’at the half-cock or loading position and with the gate Cimarron Firearms Richards-Mason Revolver (Specifications subject to change without notice) 1 Frame 2 Hammer Assembly 3 Barrel 4 Wedge 5 Cylinder 7 Hand 8 Backstrap 10 Trigger, Charcoal Blue 11 Grip 12 Bolt 15 Sight Octagon Barrel 18 Hand Spring still opened.

Using your left hand to hold the revolver securely by its grip and still keeping your fingers away from the trigger, tilt the revolver so that the muzzle is facing away from you and upwards in a safe direction. Next, use your right hand to rotate the cylinder slowly, one chamber at a time. You should pause at each click and allow each successive cartridge to fallout of its chamber and onto the workbench.

If a cartridge will not fall out by its own weight, you should manually operate the ejector by pushing the ejector rod head (Uberti calls this the ejector rod nut, part #164), 19 Trigger Bolt Spring 20 Main Spring 21 Base Pin 23 Barrel Pin 25 Roller 26 Triggerguard 30 Hammer Pin 31 Front Triggerguard Screw 32 Backstrap & Triggerguard Screw 33 Wedge Screw 35 Trigger Bolt Spring Screw 36 Main Spring Screw 37 Hammer Screw 38 Trigger Screw 40 Bolt Screw 91 Hammer Safety Bar 98 Firing Pin 135 Ejector Spring 136 Gate Spring 142 Gate 143 Ejector Rod Tube 144 Ejector Rod Tube Screw 145 Gate Catch Screw 147 Hammer Safety Spring 149 Safety Pin 152 Hammer Safety Stop Screw 164 Ejector Nut Assembly 492 Breech Ring 455 Connect Screw which is located under the front of the barrel, to the rear with your right hand.

The ejector rod will force that cartridge out of the chamber. When you’re absolutely sure that there are no more cartridges left in the cylinder chambers, you can proceed with the disassembly. Barrel and Cylinder Removal. The hammer should still be resting in the loading or half-cocked position, and the gate should still be open for this operation. Unscrew and remove the ejector-rod tube screw (#144) from the left side of the barrel (#3). This is

will come out with it. Once the hammer assembly is out, the hand assembly can be removed from the hammer by simply lifting it up out of its socket hole on the left side of the hammer. Further disassembly of the hammer is not recommended. Peripheral Disassembly. The ejector tube can be disassembled like this: Push the ejector-rod nut (head) rearward to expose more of the ejector rod, grasp the rod with padded pliers, and unscrew the rod. When the rod is free of the nut, pull it out through the rear of the tube.

Compress the ejector spring (#135) with the tip of a small screwdriver, and lift out the ejectorrod nut through the front of the slot in the ejector rod tube. The ejector spring is now removed by pulling it out the front of the ejector-rod tube. The gate cannot be removed unless the breech ring and base pin are removed, and this step is not recommended; if you decide it’s necessary to remove the breech ring and/or the base pin, the revolver should be returned to the importer.

Finally, the gate spring can be removed by unscrewing and removing the gate-catch screw (#145). Of course, to reassemble the revolver, you will simply reverse the order of the instructions above. I