I have no doubt that at some point in the 110th Congress the BATF will ask for a change in the law defining antiques to end this get-around-the-4473 loophole of an exempt gun and an exempt cylinder being shipped separately and "manufactured" into a firearm. And they'll get it.

The wording defining "antiques" was amended a while ago to re-classify guns that are "readily convertible by exchanging a barrel or bolt" from muzzle-loading to non-muzzle-loading status (e.g., the T/C Contender and the Mossberg 500). Well, in its ongoing war against all guns, all BATF needs Congress to do is to add the word "cylinder" to the current definition, and BINGO, every BP revolver which can be 'readily converted" by such an exchange automatically becomes a covered "firearm" requiring an FFL for transfer. That's what happens when you elect Democrats, but we did it to ourselves. Don't expect Bush to veto such a change, either.

But for now, you can sell the gun and the cylinder separately, ship them separately, and it's legal. That's how Midway does it, and they even, I think, have a notation in their catalog to that effect. Ditto Taylor's, who both make the cylinders and sell the guns they fit.