RARE HWS:

Colt M1860 Army Cartridge Conversion Model

with Real Wood Grips

This is a superb replica of the Colt M1860 Army Cartridge Conversion model revolver (heavyweight)

Made from heavyweight abs & zinc alloy parts has a metal look and cold to the touch.

Weight approx : 710g   (Loaded) : 845g

Barrel Length : 8in

Very nicely detailed with engraved cylinder,

Brass style trigger guard and front sight

No visible makers name,  only COLT

Open Barrel for venting

Strips down like the real thing !

Rare Cartridge Conversion model.  No longer produced....Be quick !!

UK Customers:  This is VCRA Exempt.

In new condition / unfired. 

Was Released in very limited numbers and now no longer available.  .Be quick to avoid missing out!

Includes original box/instructions, Six HWS 44 CF reusable cartridges. Cartridges take 1x7mm PFC cap / not included.

We ship internationally.  Any questions please let us know:  sales@mg-props.co.uk

PFC Primer caps:    £9.50 per box  (1 box = 100 PFC caps)  These are needed to make the bang and smoke!

Brief info on the COLT M1860.

Colt Model 1860 Army Revolver Cartridge Conversion Model

The Model 1860 Army was the major sidearm in use by U.S. troops during the Civil War with over 127,000 Colt revolvers acquired by the Union government during the conflict.

It was used as a side arm by cavalry, infantry, artillery troops, and naval forces.

The years immediately following the American Civil War presented an interesting dilemma for the Colt Patent Firearms Co. Its reliable percussion revolvers had been the most popular military sidearms during the conflict. Colt produced around 380,000 cap-and-ball revolvers during the war years.

The introduction of metallic-cartridge revolvers by Colt and others was slowed by the fact that Smith & Wesson owned the Rollin White patent on a cylinder bored through end-to-end, which was a basic feature of most effective cartridge revolvers. Accordingly, S&W had more or less of a monopoly on the cartridge-revolver field through the 1850s and 1860s. When the patent expired, the field was open for Colt and others to enter the cartridge-revolver market.

Colt had the tooling in place for production of its percussion revolvers, along with a stock of unused parts. There was also considerable interest in adapting percussion revolvers to fire the new metallic-cartridge ammunition. Colt developed a series of designs that could be used to convert an existing percussion gun to a cartridge revolver.

The various conversion systems used by Colt are known as the Thuer, followed by the Richards and finally the Richards-Mason. The most obvious changes involved various methods of replacing the percussion cylinder and hammer with parts designed for cartridges.

All Colt revolvers produced with these systems have come to be called “Cartridge Conversions” by collectors, although this is not entirely correct. Indeed, some existing percussion revolvers were converted to fire cartridges, but many of these guns were newly manufactured. It’s interesting to note that they were made and sold by Colt at the same time the firm was making new revolvers specifically designed for cartridges, such as the famous Single Action Army.

A number of factors combine to make the Colt “conversions” popular with collectors. They were all produced during the colorful 1870s and have a good association with the Old West, relatively few were made compared to many other models, and the variety of conversion techniques applied to a number of different models and configurations resulted in a field rich with variations to be collected and studied.

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