I am shopping for my first BP percussion cap revolver. I had no idea there were so many to choose from.

I will be using it as a BP and have thoughts of getting a conversion cylinder for it to shoot center fire .45 cowboy rounds.

Which model (i.e. 1847 Walker, 1858 Remington, 1851 Navy, etc) would best suit my needs for a first time revolver? Which brand? Pietta? Uberti?Percussion

The 1851 Navy, from what I can tell, has the widespread shooting history. It is .36, so not not anything convertible to 45. (Interesting that in those days, a .36 cal ball was considered good for a shoot out!) The Remington models should be stronger; the open straps are faster to drop another cylinder in. I would also be careful about setting up anything for a 45 Colt conversion cylinder; you are probably looking at 44 Cal barrels out there. Hard to say, really,.... look at the history behind each one and see what you want to represent with the piece.

I don't currently own a percussion piece; did have a Remington clone. Uberti's sell fairly well locally and I have heard no quality control issues. Now, Uberti has a forum in the Benelli website where you could see what other buyers are experiencing. There are cheaper reproductions but I have heard that you may be looking for parts annually if you shoot alot.

If you are really hot on going 45 Colt, Uberti sells the 1875 Schofield and you could feed black powder loads just peachy. Not a percussion job tho, but definitely a patent from the 1800's!