Nascent technology is fascinating, and today’s reproductions make the study and shooting of 19th-century arms affordable. Cimarron’s reproduction of the Remington 1858 Navy Conversion in .38 Spl. by Uberti closely replicates the clean, lovely lines of the original without the ammunition headache of the old .38 Colt’s heeled or hollow base bullet made necessary because of the larger percussion bore size. Externally, the Uberti craftsmen did their jobs well, keeping its lines crisp with expert polishing. The proofmarks and caliber marking have to be on the outside for export/importation, but Cimarron insists they be kept to the legal minimum. Other markings, such as the catalog number and a few others are discreetly placed under the grips. It’s a welcome touch.
Remington pistols point naturally and, in .38 Spl., the trigger guard doesn’t smack the middle finger’s knuckle like the 1858 Army .44. The one fly in the ointment is the manual of arms is tedious. Loading is straightforward, but the Remington takes more movements than a Colt conversion to unload. After firing, half-cock the hammer and open the loading gate. Lowering the percussion loading lever frees the ejector rod head locked by a slot in the lever to be rotated 180 degrees.
Closing the loading lever keeps its still intact percussion-era plunger—of no use whatsoever—from trapping the cylinder as it’s rotated. With the revolver tilted up, punch out the spent shells. The ejector rod has no return spring and must be manually retracted. Fully withdrawn, the head of the rod is captured by a small spring on the ejector rod housing so it doesn’t fall back in and foul the cylinder as it is rotated. After unloading, the lever is lowered again, the rod head rotated 180 degrees over and trapped when the lever is closed.
The metallic-cartridge era in handguns flourished soon after the Civil War when Remington converted more than 4,500 percussion 1858 Army models (bottom) to five-shot .46 RF under license from Smith & Wesson. Both the Colt 1860 Army (top, represented by a Cimarron .44 Spl.) and Remington 1858 Navy (middle, represented by the Cimarron in .38 Spl.) were built as new cartridge arms originally in .44 Colt and .38 Colt in the early 1870s. Both utilized leftover parts from the percussion era and were far less expensive than newly made cartridge arms. Note the “thin plate conversion” (bottom), a custom nickel-plated Pietta 1858 in .44 Spl. built by the author.
The Navy cylinder has recessed chambers, an unusual feature in those days, likely to help contain copper-cased ammunition more prone to bursting than brass-cased centerfire ammo. Today, it means we have to take more care today to ensure the hammer is lowered over an empty chamber. Because you can’t see the rims, you’ll need to count the rounds ensuring the hammer is lowered over the empty one. Be careful! The hammer has a clever safety, but it needs a screwdriver (provided) to engage and disengage. The action on this one works smoothy with a delightful trigger breaking at a crisp 2 lbs.
Fieldstripping is sort of easy. Half-cock the hammer, lower the loading lever and withdraw the cylinder pin. It is captured and won’t come out, but the plunger on the lever always tries to foul the cylinder and can’t be closed with the cylinder pin withdrawn. Open the loading gate and roll the cylinder out to the right.
Pre-fire cleaning showed the barrel very smooth internally, and the first group with a handload was 2½" at 25 yards. However, it shot a full 5½" low, easily corrected using math: Sight radius in inches times distance to move the group in inches divided by distance to the target in inches: 8.5 x 5.5 ÷ 900 = 0.05 (25 yards = 900 inches). Move the front sight in the opposite direction you want the group to move. In this case, a little file work was all that was needed to raise the point of impact.
Note the breech ring is held by one screw. Note also the subtle safety on the hammer. Use the provided screwdriver to rotate a lever in the center of the hammer out to block it from contacting the firing pin in the breech ring, but best practice is still to load five and lower the hammer onto an empty chamber. Load one, skip a chamber and load four more. The empty chamber should come under the hammer when fully cocked and lowered. The chambers are recessed per the originals, so take care to ensure the hammer is lowered on the empty chamber.
Pictured are the best groups shot. While best accuracy was in the sub-2" range, average accuracy of several groups was 2½" or 3". Recoil was always pleasant, and Buffalo Arms’ .38 Colt blackpowder load with 150-grain hollow-base bullet genuinely fun and accurate, although accuracy went to blazes if the barrel wasn’t religiously wiped every five shots. Meant for smokeless powder loads, these revolvers have tighter tolerances and blackpowder loads require not only the bore but also the face of the cylinder wiped to keep it running smoothly. I use Birchwood Casey No. 77 Muzzle Magic at the range.
The solid-frame 1858 Remington Army and Navy revolvers were among the sturdiest and handsomest of Civil War revolvers and easily (if clumsily) transitioned to the cartridge era. The conversion ring containing the firing pin and loading gate looks like it belongs there rather than an addition. The ejector mechanism is more fragile than Colt’s. It resides close to the barrel and is less prone to snagging upon holstering, but is exposed and could be disabled by a hard knock. Nonetheless, the Remington Navy retained its handsome looks after conversion unlike the equally elegant Colt 1851 and 1860 conversion revolvers that look like a classical building with architectural features replaced by external air conditioning ducts.
The Cimarron Navy’s front sight is tightly set into a dovetail and nicely trimmed to match the octagonal barrel. It offers a limited amount of windage, which is welcome to the usual fixed sights on period revolvers. Slim Jim holster by Old West Reproductions.
Cimarron also offers this revolver chambered in .45 Colt, so this reproduction is a little larger and heavier than the original Navy. Remington never made conversions in .45 Colt since the 1875 Remington was already on the drawing board. In 1867, Remington did develop a conversion process for the 1858 Army after licensing the S&W bored-through cylinder patent and converted roughly 4,500 1858 .44 Army revolvers to a five-shot .46 Short Rimfire cartridge.
Called “Thin Plate Conversions,” these Army pistols came in three models, in rimfire or centerfire. None had loading gates, although the later two models had ejector mechanisms. With the Army conversions under their belt, in 1873, Remington designed the more elegant conversion of the percussion Navy Model chambered for .38 rimfire or centerfire featuring a breech plate housing the firing pin and loading gate. Remington’s investment paid off when, two years later, the U.S. Navy returned about 1,000 .36-cal. percussion revolvers for conversion to .38 Colt.
The post-Civil War era saw the end of the cap-and-ball revolver, although they would be found in the belts of many long after, since surplus percussion pistols were very inexpensive. Cartridge conversions were less expensive than new cartridge revolvers, but especially until ammunition supply became more widespread. I’ll bet many felt it was better to put their money on a quality rifle rather than a handgun. In 1875, the base price of a .44-40 1873 Winchester rifle was $40 and an 1873 Colt or 1875 Remington revolver $18. The Navy Remington was only $12, and .38 ammunition was substantially cheaper, too.
A nice touch on Cimarron firearms is having much of the modern "graffiti" (proofs, catalog numbers etc.) placed under the stock panels. Some have to be external due to export/import regulations, such as the cylinder’s proof.
Caliber choice would be of less concern for a secondary arm until a revolver in Winchester’s .44-40 became available in the late 1870s. The only rifle/handguns sharing a caliber were the 1866 Winchester and Colt 1872 or S&W No. 3 in .44 Henry Rimfire, but those combos never proved popular in America. The .38 Colt closely replicated the well-regarded Civil War load for the .36-cal. percussion revolvers. A good reason to entertain a .38 was that it was obviously not a .44. Accidentally stuffing a .45 Colt into a .44-40 rifle was a difficult jam to clear, especially in the middle of a fight!
The post-Civil War era was a turbulent time in America, and firearm needs between big game and market hunters, meat hunters, lawmen, ranchers, sod-busters and town folks in the settled East and Wild West were locally specific. While I don’t shoot Cowboy Action anymore, I still enjoy thinking and dreaming about how I’d tackle given scenarios in certain time periods. The middle-late 1870s are an interesting period when rifles and handguns weren’t matched, and the Remington Navy plausibly fills one budget-oriented choice for a Western traveler.
This very nice 1⅞" 25-yard group was made with Buffalo Arms .38 Long Colt topped with a 150-grain Hollow Base lead flatnose bullet over blackpowder equally suitable for use in original .38 Colts having the larger percussion era bore. Unless the bore was wiped every five shots, accuracy went to blazes. Note the pasters. The 2nd group nearly climbed off the point of aim at the base of the target enough to spoil the first group. That group scattered into the 7" range and required the bore be carefully cleaned. The subsequent group was back in the 2" range, but not as good as the first!
Cimarron Firearms Remington 1858 Navy Conversion Specifications
Action Type: single-action, centerfire revolver
Chambering .38 Spl./.38 Long Colt
Barrel: 7.375"
Sights: Fixed “pinched” blade front, notch in frame rear
Trigger: 2-lb. pull
Cylinder Capacity: six-round
Overall Length: 13.125"
Height: 5.125"
Width: 1.655"
Weight: 49.1 ozs.
MSRP: $684
