Colt richards conversion

This revolver has the standard Richards modifications which include the barrel shortened to 7 7/8-inches with flat crowned muzzle, ejector housing added to the right side of the barrel lug and loading lever slot and secured with a screw from left side of the lug, cross-hatched ejector rod head, modified cylinder with six stops, Richards conversion ring with integral rear sight, modified hammer and loading gate with internal spring. During the American Civil War, Colt began offering the after-market Richards-Mason Conversion Kit for the 1860 Army, which allowed the pistol to fire the recently-invented metallic cartridge. Beginning in 1865, the conversion kit was applied to guns on the assembly line, resulting in the Colt Open-Top revolver.