Kirst Konverter .22 conversion cylinder in a Pietta 1851 

this was a great show and tell! My first ever gun purchased was a Brass framed 51’ Colt Navy with a 4.8 inch barrel made by Pietta. Starting out my shooting hobby with black powder Colt reproductions was one of my better decisions Ive made when starting out in a new hobby. It gave me a great appreciation for what guns are and how far they have come. Seeing how some of these early revolvers operate and learning the history behind them gave me the kind of perception I think all beginner shooters should cultivate when starting out. Something else I believe I may be somewhat unique in, regarding black powder hobby is from a survivalist point of view. I can make my own ammo, powder, and primer ignition source. In an apocalyptic scenario; soon enough; ammo will be scarce and eventually such a rarity an individual man trying to keep his family and himself safe from danger and fed will not be able to rely on modern weapons unless hand loading was your thing prior, but even then, its not as simple as being self reliant and self sufficient than you would be entrusting your livelihood on the good old tried and true muzzle loading black powder guns. These fine weapons give me a sense of safety far past simple shootouts with potential post apocalyptic bandit theives.. They can and will supply meat from a hunt day after day if you take the hobby seriously and learned all you can, while you can. Something this fun that can hold such a serious and important role in a man’s arsenal to protect those who rely on him is a blessing I will never take for granted. I love and respect these old guns. God Bless and stay safe 👍🏻

I was very interested in this and almost bought one. The only downside is the price. Thank you for posting this it's incredibly helpful 👍

Thanks for sharing this video! Since it's a two hour roundtrip to the closest range that allows BP shooting and I am a member of my local indoor range, I had decided to buy a Kirst 22 conversion cylinder for my Uberti 1851 Navy Colt knowing that the cylinder might need some sanding to properly fit. The sanding, if needed, was no big deal but the need to cut a loading port for the 22 cartridges was another matter so I was pleasantly surprised that 22 short cartridges could be loaded through the original cap access for the Pietta 1851 shown in the video. After checking with Mr. Walt Kirst of Kirst Konverter to make sure that I was installing his cylinder correctly, I was able to attach the cylinder to my 1851 Navy without any sanding or other adjustments. It couldn't have been simpler. I'm sure that if I had a problem, Mr. Kirst would have helped me through. He is a class act, returning my call the next day and being very patient with my questions. I took my revolver with the Kirst cylinder to my indoor range today. Before I could even load it, a Range Safety Officer, rushes over and asks me if I have a cap and ball handgun. I say that it is but today I'm shooting 22 shorts with a conversion cylinder. So his alarm changes to interest and I and my converted Navy become the center of attention. Fortunately the revolver handled flawlessly. There was virtually no recoil, the action was smooth, and the trigger pull was light and crisp. Also my accuracy was comparable to what I achieve when shooting my Ruger Mark IV 22lr Target Pistol.

I really like this conversion cylinder kit. Thank you for sharing.

I was just about to sell my brass frame 1851 44 to my friend (and then do the full conversion on a steel frame) and now, I feel no longer the need to do that. Krist is doing something different with rimfire compared to their other converters, and I like it

I definitely like this idea, I have a .22 rifle and I bought .44 1851 navy revolver from pietta. I however found that it was impossible to find caps for my revolver. I am definitely concerning this route and I can still put my regular blackpowder cylinder back on my revolver if I do find caps. I can also save money on ammo by buying only .22. Thanks for this video I appreciate the quality review.

The company anticipates you to cut a loading grove in the frame for 22lr. But I guess 22 short is a good save for not having/wanting to do that step. Just like when sighting my 1851 in. I made the sighting groove on the hammer wider with a triangle file. And you can use it to get closer to point of aim to a limited result. Not something a lot of people would do themselves but if your into black powder your kinda your own gunsmith to a point on them to keep them affordable.

I picked one of these kits up a few months ago. I appreciate 03:32 going over the loading procedure. *Thanks!*

The barrel is too short, too inaccurate, and too expensive. But thank you for showing us this video. It is always good to see how new ideas work, or not work. I bought a Ruger Bearcat 50+ years ago because it reminded me of a Colt .31 percussion revolver. I have not taken it to the range for decades. This video has prompted me to take it out of moth balls and shoot it at the range when the weather permits, along with my High Standard semi-auto pistol which is a tack driver.

If they weren't so expensive I'd probably buy one in a heartbeat.

This is awesome. I don’t need another .22 but if I was looking for one I think this is the route I would take. I would have to cut the frame to accept Long Rifle though.

I am not surprised at the accuracy. Shooting a 22 down a 44 barrel.

That looks like fun I agree with trying the 7 1/2" barrel The longer sight radius might improve accuracy and repositioned front sight might better center the groups.🤞 Thanks for sharing Doris J

Cheap clean shooting in class my dude💯✨✨✨✨✨✨

I ended up buying one for the same exact gun. I've noticed you actually can safely load 6 rounds by having the loading port at 12oclock and resting the hammer on it.

Long range it's hard to get good groups but still fun to shoot! 😚👌

Not a bad little pea shooter plinker especially with the shorts. Probably with the shorts it’s about 40 or 50 foot pounds of energy you’re getting at the muzzle which is similar to what a baby colt 1849 .31 caliber revolver is putting out with a 50 grain round ball and a 15 grain load of 3f black powder but this method is much cleaner and without cap jams and cap swallowing

Thank you for posting this conversion cylinder. Enjoyed your style of review. Where were you able to purchase it from?

Great video, i got one for a 1860 snub nose

If I wanted a .22 rimfire revolver, I would buy a Heritage Arms Rough Rider. I do not see any reason to convert a black powder revolver to .22! The Heritage Rough Rider is much less than the conversion kit!

Thanks bud

Was it hard to get the cylinder in? Did you have to do any additional fitting or filing on the cylinder or gun? Or did it just drop in? Very interested in this. I’ve got some of these revolvers and been looking for something a bit more quiet to shoot. If it’s not too much work to get in the cylinder this would be awesome

I don't know if you are a wonderful shooter but, if you want to test the accuracy of this conversion you should shoot from sandbags, not with a bare one hand. I missed some view of the function of the conversion. How to install for example... But, good video anyway. At least we now know that this conversion exists.

Gor the price of the converter you van just buy a used .22 revolver. I question what using this longer term will fo to the barrel. The converter barrel is not full length so youll get a muzzle blast (small one from .22) ring in your barrel. Will this, over time, cause an area of wear in my barrel? I know it would take a lot of use but right now caps are a pain to find so.........

Lighter bullets tend to impact low on a target. Even 44 magnum 180s impact lower than 240s.

Thanks for the video. Does anyone else make these conversion cylinder kits for 1851 brass frames?

I have the 1851 yank snub nose case hardened all black, the avenging angel, but where did you find it in brass frame?? Can you please send me link to store or tell me where to look for brass frame of the 1851 yank snub cant find it anywhere

Will you update on the accuracy using the 7"barrel?

Interesting gadget ! I wonder if the conversion barrel is spinning as the bullet passes through it? It seems to me ,that if the barrel is not secured, the the torque of the bullet engaging the rifling will cause the barrel to spin , hence no spin on the bullet.

I made that same gun.

Rotating the barrel insert might move groups to the center depending on the insert.

Thank you for showing this, it's pretty neat. Has anevery told you that you look like Dwight Schrute from the Office?

If you're loading your brass frame 44 with 45LC and 30 grains of BP and a round ball what can really happen? It's the same load the original shot.

Curious if this can be modified to use 22wmr in place of .22lr so it would be more than just a plinker if need be ?

Will it fit 22 nailgun cartediges? Theyre cheaprr and i get 2000-2400fps with a 40grain 22 slug as the projectile so its like 22magnum more than 22lr and for alot cheaper

If you would of left the long barrel on it would hit alot closer

Line that barrel and make it a 5.7 or 22wmr

Is it possible to add double action

I have a 1851 navy colt made in the 80,s will the kit work on one that old.

where did you get the short barrel?

Can use 22magnum rounds out this conversion cylinder?

.22 is more of a "fun" sub caliber

It's really hard to justify a conversion that costs more than 3x what a new Heritage will run you, and they come with an ejector rod.

That shit is Kirst

Do they make that in 22 magnum

It would be nice if you leave a price

Where do you buy this at and how much

Run subsonic ammo.

77th comment

very nice

Needs to be 22 mag