The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Suppose you adapted a top strap to your open top BP Colts.

bighead46 · April 1, 2011, 01:35 PM

Bill Akins- already been done, and......by none other than Old Sam Colt himself. Some of the first colt firearms were actually rifles/carbines and they had top straps. The top strap was deemed "over engineering" since with the "topless" Colts you could cramp all the black powder the chamber could hold and shoot 25,000 rounds out of say a Navy 1851, and it would still work.
On the sights- you can dovetail a sight on the muzzle and square the V notch on the hammer and end up with a very good sighting system. Is is historically correct? Not sure. There were some Navies with dovetailed, blade type sights but the square notch- that's my thing- I don't know if that was ever done.

April 1, 2011, 01:35 PM	#15
bighead46 Senior Member Join Date: November 8, 2010 Posts: 140	Bill Akins- already been done, and......by none other than Old Sam Colt himself. Some of the first colt firearms were actually rifles/carbines and they had top straps. The top strap was deemed "over engineering" since with the "topless" Colts you could cramp all the black powder the chamber could hold and shoot 25,000 rounds out of say a Navy 1851, and it would still work. On the sights- you can dovetail a sight on the muzzle and square the V notch on the hammer and end up with a very good sighting system. Is is historically correct? Not sure. There were some Navies with dovetailed, blade type sights but the square notch- that's my thing- I don't know if that was ever done.