Quote:
Originally Posted by ICEMOH1
I do not think I would attempt to change a barrel. I believe this should be done by a gunsmith. Do not get me wrong, you might be successful in getting your revolver back to 100%, however, it is a long shot in my opinion. Let the professionals do the job for you. I have a question though; how many .375 magnums rounds would it take to wear a heavy 3 inch barrel ?
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That's a question that really has no valid answer.
A S&W "J" frame revolver barrel will probably wear or crack the forcing cone a lot faster then a "K" frame barrel would.
The "K" frame barrels have a history of cracks in the forcing cone after an uncertain amount of Magnum ammo, due to the flat spot on the bottom that's necessary to allow the cylinder yoke to close. This flat weakens the forcing cone area and allows cracks to start.
Some "K" frames developed cracks fairly soon. Others have gone many thousands of rounds with no problem.
A "L" frame or especially a "N" frame S&W will shoot almost unlimited amounts of .357 Magnum ammo because of the thicker rear portion of the barrel.
The "weak link" in a revolver barrel is the forcing cone area at the rear. As long as it's intact and not cracked or heavily eroded by hot magnum loads, a revolver barrel should last just about forever.