Welcome to at present’s Photo of the Day! With the Rollin White patent expiring in 1869, Colt wanted a stopgap cartridge revolver till their new Peacemaker design was prepared. The answer was a sequence of conversions of their in style cap-and-ball revolvers just like the 1860 Military to fireplace trendy metallic cartridges. The Richards Conversion, carried out from 1873-1878, was Colt’s main interim cartridge conversion. It added a breechplate with a firing pin and a barrel-mounted rear sight to current 1860 Military .44 caliber revolvers. The loading lever was changed by an ejector rod. Round 9,000 Richards Conversions have been made on 1860 Military revolvers, plus some on the 1851/1861 Navy fashions in .38 rimfire. Although quickly eclipsed by the Peacemaker, the Richards allowed Colt to quickly area cartridge revolvers utilizing current stock in the course of the early 1870s transition interval between percussion and self-contained ammunition. Its easy however trendy conversion stays an fascinating chapter in Colt’s growth of cartridge revolvers.
“Roughly 9,000 “conversions” have been manufactured c. 1871-1878 utilizing the Richards system, patented July twenty fifth, 1871. A small fraction of those Richards revolvers, roughly 1,200, have been delivered to the U.S. Ordnance Division, and most have been issued to cavalry items on the frontier, most notably the well-known tenth Cavalry Regiment (Buffalo Troopers), and practically all noticed exhausting use. Surviving examples of U.S. Richard’s conversion Mannequin 1860 Military revolvers are hardly ever seen at present and inevitably present heavy service put on. This instance began life as an 1863 manufacturing Colt 1860 Military percussion revolver that was subsequently transformed, with “U.S.” marked on the left of the barrel and a boxed script “OWA” (Orville W. Ainsworth) inspection cartouche stamped on the left of the grip. Designed by Charles Brinckerhoff Richards (1835-1919), one of many co-designers of the well-known Colt Single Motion Military. Richards revolvers have been an vital stepping stone to the Single Motion Military and infrequently noticed intense use on the western frontier. They function a breech plate with an integral notch rear sight and a floating firing pin as an alternative of utilizing a hammer mounted firing pin. “
Lot 228: U.S. Contract Colt 1860 Military Richards Conversion Revolver. (n.d.). Rock Island Public sale Firm. {photograph}. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/element/4090/228/us-contract-colt-1860-army-richards-conversion-revolver.
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