I have a .44 Magnum S177535 Factory letter from Mr. Jinks dates it October 13, 1957. The gun is 99% bluing is great, no scratches and the cokes are also almost 100% also. I bought the gun for $1,350 a couple months ago, no box or papers. Here is what happened. I took it out to see how it shot compared to my 29-5. I put about 30 rounds of standard factory 240 grain blazers down range and it skipped a rotation cycle. I thought being it was a new to me gun it was operator error. When I went to reload it, I noticed the cylinder release button I had to press a bit harder to open the cylinder. I thought maybe it was getting a bit dirty, looked under the extractor star and seemed clean enough, so I reloaded the cylinder and the third round it skipped a rotation cycle again. Finished the rounds and went to open the cylinder and "lockup". used a little screwdriver to release the extractor rod thinking it has unscrewed a bit but it was tight.

So I quit, put it away and took it home to give it a thorough cleaning and get it to a friend of mine (a fellow forum member here), who had been to S&W factory armorer's school and has worked on S&W revolvers for years, and is a great gunsmith. I told him was happened, he opened the cylinder and pushed up on the extractor and showed me where the extractor star bushing had moved on the shaft creating lockup. He then removed the sideplate and started snooping around as to the reason why the gun would skip a rotation. Well he pointed out that someone who didn't quite know what they were doing had been inside the gun, replaced the hand and didn't fit it to the gun and left out completely the hammer block. He did a bit of filing and tuned it to where it was cycling perfect every time. He happened to have the correct hammer block and so everything is complete inside, cleaned and lubed and ready to go.

He told me I had a couple choices, try to find a replacement extractor and he would fit it to the gun, or someone who could silver solder the extractor bushing back on the rod. He tapped the extractor star bushing back down to where it should be on the shaft, I took it to get soldered and 20 rounds later, the silver solder didn't hold. My gunsmith friend said we are going to have to find an extractor assembly for that gun or go with a new extractor where the threads are different, in that case I would need a new rod also and he could fit it to the gun.

I bought from a forum member here an extractor and went to Brownell's for an extractor rod in case I couldn't find anything from the 1957 era to keep the gun original. Well I hit a goldmine on Gunbroker, someone had for sale a Pre-29 Cylinder Assembly complete with extractor, rod, springs, and setting on a yoke & crane! The cylinder bluing was in better condition than the one I was replacing, and the turn line was almost non existant. And all for $225 complete-shipped! And best of all it was from a .44 Mag Pre-29!

When I got it delivered we installed it, the bluing was a match, the yoke and crane I didn't use as it was a bit off on the seams and there was nothing wrong with my existing yoke and crane. The teeth on the cylinder were crisp and looked new, the extractor was already fit to the cylinder. With a bit of fine tuning, and endshake and cylinder to barrel gap adjustment, it basically fell in to the gun and the timing and everything came out perfect, and it was as good as new.

So there is the background story of why I had to change the cylinder and I feel really lucky to have found an original assembly from an actual Pre-29. The only difference is the serial number was stamped on the underside of my original extractor, my original cylinder did not have the serial number, and the replacement cylinder does not have it, nor the new extractor.

I hope a few of the Pro's here read this, hopefully DOC44 and anyone else who would know. And can tell me if this has affected the collectable value of this gun and if in fact maybe increased its value. I looked for one of these for a long time and was pretty bummed when I started having all these breakdowns. I have pictures of how it looks now I could email someone and they could post them as I am not able to download them from this computer. It is 100% back to normal operation, I put 100 rounds downrange without a hiccup everything is working perfect. Endshake, timing, and cylinder gap perfect. And best of all it is one really GREAT looking gun!

Thanks to all who read this, it is a bit long but I know some of you guys like good stories with a happy ending. All replies will be appreciated, thanks for everyone's help on all the questions I have asked. This is a great forum and I have learned a lot. Thanks to you guys I found and fixed my 1957 .44 Magnum that I had been looking for for a while. I sure hope I did not knock down its value by doing this cylinder exchange.

Now all I have to do is find me an original box, tools and manual and I am good to go!

Thanks for your help!

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Craig

Very interesting story and I am glad it worked out the way it did as you now have a fully functional and safe 44 Magnum. It is certainly worth what you paid for it, and possibly more to the right person. While replaced parts like the cylinder, extractor rod and extractor will make it more difficult to sell to a collector, I am sure there are many who would be glad to own a fine shooting 44 Magnum from 1957.


Bill

It won't ever be for sale and will be my Grandson's someday. It has turned into the favorite of my collection. I kept all the parts I took off of it, so it is all there. I am really happy with it and it is a really fine shooting firearm. I have a 29-5 6" and the older 29 seems more comfortable to shoot. When I couldn't find any older model 29's here in CA close to me for sale. I went and got a new set of 29-10's, nickel & blue from the new S&W Classic line. After I got these I found the Pre-29 and the 29-5. While these are really nice new revolvers and shoot great, the older 29 are really superior! They just don't make them like that anymore. This way I guess I get the best of both worlds, new & older, and I ended up with 4 really beautiful guns. I also have a M629PC 2.6", but that is a whole different animal. When I took a picture of all 4 of the 29's I ask which 2 guns are less than 2 years old, and which gun is 19 years old (29-5) and which gun is 54 years old (Pre-29). No one unless they know S&W's and what to look for can tell the difference. That is how great the older guns look. Again thanks to your replies and hope you all have a safe Memerial Day weekend!

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Craig