A. Uberti 1860 Richards Army Conversion
- Category
- Revolver
- Barrel
- 140 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.18 kg
- Introduced
- Not recorded
About
What it is, and why it matters
The A. Uberti 1860 Richards Army Conversion is a single-action revolver chambered in .45 Colt, a faithful Italian-made reproduction of the historic Colt Model 1860 Army cartridge conversion. The original Richards system, patented in 1871 by Charles Brinckerhoff Richards, transformed the percussion 1860 Army into a metallic-cartridge arm by reaming the cylinder chambers, fitting a breech conversion ring with an integral firing pin, and adding a loading gate and spring-loaded ejector rod. Uberti's modern rendition preserves the open-top frame, sweeping plow-handle grip, and 5.5-inch round barrel of the period piece while chambering the potent .45 Colt cartridge. The revolver operates on the classic single-action lockwork, requiring the shooter to manually cock the hammer before each shot, which indexes the six-round cylinder. A color case-hardened frame, blued barrel and cylinder, and a one-piece walnut grip give the gun its authentic 19th-century character, making it a favorite among cowboy action shooters, collectors, and living-history enthusiasts who want the look and feel of the frontier era in a reliable modern-production firearm.
The Richards conversion was one of the first practical ways to bring Colt's cap-and-ball warhorses into the cartridge age after Smith & Wesson's Rollin White patent monopoly lapsed. Designed by Charles B. Richards, a co-designer of the later Single Action Army, the system let the U.S. Army modernize thousands of existing 1860 Army revolvers rather than buy new guns; many armed frontier cavalry, including troopers of the 10th Cavalry Regiment. Uberti's faithful reproduction keeps that transitional era alive for cowboy action shooters and collectors.
Reproduction of the Colt 1860 Army Richards cartridge conversion; original conversions (c. 1871-1878) were chambered in .44 Colt, while the Uberti reproduction is offered in .45 Colt. A short-barreled 3.5-inch 'Avenging Angel' variant is also produced.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- A. Uberti
- Category
- Revolver
- Country
- Italy
- Status
- In production
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 140 mm
- Overall length
- 279 mm
- Height
- 140 mm
- Width
- 40 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.18 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Revolving
- Firing mechanism
- Single action
- Trigger
- Single action
- Trigger pull
- 18.0 N
- Capacity
- 6
- Magazine
- Rotary
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Case hardened steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Walnut
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 265 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 569 J
- Effective range
- 45 m
- Maximum range
- 100 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Cartridge conversion
Loading gate
Ejector rod
Fixed sights
Case hardened frame
One piece walnut grip
Exposed hammer
Open top frame
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 75 .45 Colt revolvers | 1.18 kg | 1.07 kg | Heavier than about 80% |
| Overall lengthAmong 75 .45 Colt revolvers | 279 mm | 267 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 75 .45 Colt revolvers | 140 mm | 127 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 75 .45 Colt revolvers | 6 | 6 | Holds more rounds than about 60% |
Answers
Questions about the A. Uberti 1860 Richards Army Conversion
How much does the A. Uberti 1860 Richards Army Conversion weigh?
The A. Uberti 1860 Richards Army Conversion weighs 1.18 kg (2.60 lb) empty.
What caliber is the A. Uberti 1860 Richards Army Conversion?
The A. Uberti 1860 Richards Army Conversion is chambered in .45 Colt.
How many rounds does the A. Uberti 1860 Richards Army Conversion hold?
The A. Uberti 1860 Richards Army Conversion holds 6 rounds, fed from a rotary magazine.
How long is the A. Uberti 1860 Richards Army Conversion?
The A. Uberti 1860 Richards Army Conversion is 279 mm (10.98 in) long overall, with a 140 mm (5.51 in) barrel.
Who makes the A. Uberti 1860 Richards Army Conversion?
The A. Uberti 1860 Richards Army Conversion is made by A. Uberti (Italy). It was designed by Charles Brinckerhoff Richards.
How does the A. Uberti 1860 Richards Army Conversion operate?
The A. Uberti 1860 Richards Army Conversion uses a revolving action, and its firing mechanism is single action.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
Provenance
Confidence in this record
75%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/uberti-1860-richards-army-conversion' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "uberti-1860-richards-army-conversion", "name": "A. Uberti 1860 Richards Army Conversion", "manufacturer": { "id": "uberti", "name": "A. Uberti", "countryCode": "IT", "foundedYear": 1959, "website": "https://www.uberti-usa.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": "Italian maker of reproduction historical firearms, founded 1959. Manufactured in Gardone Val Trompia, Italy. Owned by Beretta Holding since 2000.", "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:48", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:48", "version": "febb6d9d105b602772dc6525221c8f71eb87fba0a4044a2c475c8a7c9b8b2213" }, "category": { "id": "revolver", "name": "Revolver", "description": "Handguns with a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers" }, "country_of_origin": "IT", "year_introduced": null, "barrel_length_mm": 140, "weight_empty_g": 1179, "action_type": "revolving"}