Robin sent me some sample bullets, but they are just a tad too long to fit in the loading lever slot of my original Remington or my second generation Colt first model Dragoon. The Starr slugs weigh 236 grains and are .730 inch long. Micrometer readings reveal that they taper from .441 to .460 in the last .05 inch to the bullet base.
Black powder breech loading shooters will be interested in Brownell's complete selection of Green Mountain barrels in calibers ranging from .32 to .45. Muzzleloading shooters have a choice of drop-in .50 caliber replacement barrels for a wide range of popular production hunting muzzle loaders in either the 1 in 28 inch twist designed for conical bullets or a 1 in 70 inch twist for round ball shooting. Brownell's also offers a complete line of tang sights and stock wood for antique and reproduction black powder single shot and lever action guns.
Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS) enthusiasts will be interested in Brownell's selection of holsters and after market parts, including grips, for the popular Ruger Vaquero and Colt single Action Army revolvers, as well as imported Colt clones. Colt Single Action Army and Bisley restoration specialists will be particularly pleased with the addition of Peacemaker Specialists' historically accurate screws and parts for all three generations of Colts to the catalog. Some of these screws may also be useable on cap and ball revolvers.
One of the most interesting additions to the Brownell catalog for Civil War era shooters who also engage in CAS competition is the R&D conversion cylinder, which the late Tom Ball used to sell at the N-SSA Nationals. Chambered for the .45 Colt cartridge, these cylinders, which copy an early postwar Remington cartridge conversion, are made to fit reproduction .44 caliber Uberti, Armi San Marco and Pietta reproductions of the Remington New Model Army, as well as the reproduction Rogers and Spencer and Ruger "Old Army" revolvers.
While installation may require minor gunsmithing, two of these cylinders I am familiar with, one made for a Uberti and another for a Pietta, were drop in fits. Both guns gave excellent accuracy at ranges of 15 and 25 yards with Winchester .45 Colt "Cowboy" ammunition.
If you're going to order from Brownell's, it pays to order a lot of stuff at once. The company has just instituted a new flat rate shipping charge of $6.25 for any order shipped to anywhere in the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Brownell's catalog is $5 postpaid in the United States and available from the
company at 200 South Front Street, Montezuma, Iowa 50171. (641-623-4000
641-623-3896 (fax)
The N-SSA Fall Nationals may well be upon us by the time you read these
lines. I can almost smell the wood smoke wafting aloft into the cool night
air as I type away here on a dank and humid August day in New Jersey, the air
conditioner roaring in my ear. I'm looking forward to browsing sutler's row
for goodies, then going home to inaugurate the fall trout and bird hunting
seasons, with the muzzle loading deer season just around the corner. I hope
to have a new flintlock smoothbore gun this autumn, suitable for ball or
shot, and that should keep me occupied through Christmas, when thoughts will
again drift towards the annual renewal rites of trout season and the Spring
Nationals. Life could be a lot worse. See you in Virginia!