roundball-Glad you dropped the conversion idea. A Colt hammer double in good shape is not some sort of throwaway project gun.
Yes, I actually didn't realize what I had or its condition.
And don't forget to check the chamber length. It is almost certainly shorter than 2 3/4" and just because the gun can be closed on modern 2 3/4" shells that doesn't mean they are appropriate.
Yes, I thought of that after I posted...with the crimp closed on a 2&3/4" shell, that would not automatically mean there's still room in the chamber for the crimp to open. However, I specifically checked for a chamber step and there is none...just a continuous taper into the bore. But, for safety sake I figured its conceivable there could be a remote chance that the crimp might open into the beginning of the taper causing a pressure situation.
So what I did then was take a once fired Win AA hull, ensure the crimp was flared fully open and straight, packed the hull tight full of shot all the way to the top, and put tape across the open end...which by the way, also meant that excess tape came down all around the circumference of the hull's dimensions, making the end even a little larger in diameter.
But the fully extended and taped shell still slid right in and out of both bores normally, action still closed and opened normally, extractors lifted the shells out normally, etc. So it appears a 2&3/4" shell should be fine, but opinions to the contrary are welcome.
