I've only come across a handful of 38/44's at my local gun shows. Invariably I've found that someone has reamed the cylinders to accept the .357 magnum. My question: what impact does this have on the value of the gun? The last one I found like this was in decent shape overall and priced at $800. Not knowing what this alteration had done to the value I passed. Also with this gun I noticed that it had a wide target trigger. Could this have been original or likely another alteration? The serial number puts this HD around 1956-1957 manufacture. Thanks in advance.

Keith

My opinion is that any modification cuts deeply into the collector appeal of any model and therefore drops its value, often significantly. An untouched Pre-23 in prime condition may be a $1750-2000 gun, and perhaps up to $2500 with box, docs and tools. But if it has been reamed to take .357, it is now in the class of the much more commonly found Pre-27s and Pre-28s, but is probably less valuable than either because it now has a barrel that is rollmarked for the wrong cartridge. I'd think the one you describe would have to be evaluated as a shooter and would not draw my attention if priced much above $450-500. Others might go closer to the asking price of $800 because they regard it as mostly a Pre-23, and therefore a cheap one.

The target trigger sound like an option. My Pre-23 from 1955 has a narrow trigger.

ADDENDUM: Just ignore this whole answer. For some reason I though we were talking about the Outdoorsman, which has adjustable sighs. The Heavy Duty is a fixed sight gun with prices that can be high, but nowhere near as elevated as I mentioned.

I would still maintain that a HD cut for .357 would be less valuable to a collector than an unmodified original, but it might still be in demand as a high-grade shooter for someone who wanted .357 power in a fixed sight revolver. Which is kind of in line with what others said below.

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David Wilson

Hurts collector value like any modification from original would do. If you want a collector piece for display only then you probably want to avoid any modified guns.

On a gun for actually shooting it means little or nothing.

I would think a Heavy Duty (Pre-20) might fetch a fair bit less than a Outdoorsman (Pre-23) regardless of other factors. I think a target trigger more likely on an Outdoorsman than a Heavy Duty(?)
All 38/44s have hit the "desirable" category which often renders reasonable pricing null and void.

I wish S&W would release a new 20-4 HD in .357 mag. for those of us that are more shooters than collectors (in light of the fact .38 & .357 is so much cheaper to shoot than .44 Sp. & .45 ACP). I sent them an email request a couple years ago and they weren't interested.

As Saxon Pig pointed out it all depends on what you want the gun for and how you define "decent condition" ! I bought this "transitional" Outdoorsman several years ago for a VERY reasonable price. It was reamed to .357Magnum and has a cut barrel. Collector value ZERO ! Fun shooting and "coolness" factor = priceless !

Jerry

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.38/44 Outdoorsman Accumulator

Love the 38/44 Heavy Duty. Here is mine. It's pre-war. Made in 1937. 5" barrel. The grips weren't correct, but that's okay. Possibly re-blued, but it's in great shape and shoots like a champ.

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I type. Therefore I am.

Here's mine. I gave a friend of mine and fellow gun nut $800 for it. Orig finish' all numbers match and not reamed. My lgs has one that he is wanting $699 for, reamed, wrong grips, replacement hammer and trigger and I'm pretty sure has a reblue to its credit. Haven't considered trying to dicker with the price because I just don't want it.
Larry

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Although I was looking for a rough one to turn into a .44, I found this 1955 version with the wrong grips... I guess I'll just have to keep it as it is.

The "ultra" rare BCPP guns 38/44's that were the last of the pre war N frames. Check them when found. There was a shop just over the border that specialized in reaming them. I had two that had been reamed in my collection.

Funny thing was both guys never loaded them with 357 Magnums on or off duty. They were just told it was cool at the time LOL

Bill(AsphenHill) and I both learned early in our 38/44 collecting to check them to see if they had been reamed.

For a shooter who cares as long as done proper and the price is right.

My Austin PD 38/44 (not reamed) only gets wadcutters through it at beer cans. They are fun guns.

A deceased friend worked many years at the Rock Island Arsenal as a pistolsmith. As part of his job, he was sent to the Smith & Wesson plant several times for training. On one such trip, he took along his personally owned .38-44 Heavy Duty for some reason or another. While walking through one area of the plant, one of the factory pistolsmiths noticed the revolver and asked to examine it. As part of his exam, he consulted a set of reference materials. The pistolsmith asked my late friend if he'd like his revolver reamed to .357 Magnum. My friend thought a moment and then accepted the offer. At the end of his training, my friend received his rechambered revolver and returned to his home and to his job at the Rock Island Arsenal. I don't know whether the revolver was a pre-war Heavy Duty or a post-war Heavy Duty or a Model 20. My point is that some of the rechambered revolvers have been modified at the factory by factory personnel, not by an unauthorized person. I do not know whether Smith & Wesson personnel recorded this particular revolver's rechambering. Has anyone gotten a letter from Mr. Jinks that notes a factory rechambering job on a particular Heavy Duty or Model 20?

Well, to put this in perspective, if the local gunsmith reamed the chambers to .357 Mag, it drops the value significantly, but let Bowen convert it to .44 Spl or .45 Colt and we pay $1500 plus cost of gun to do it. Both are different from the original but at a reduce cost. On the plus side, the HD or Outdoorsman can still shoot .38 Spl too. Recently, at the last Tulsa Gun show, one of our members had a 4" Blue Transition, all matching at about 98%. The only draw back was the dreaded ream job. Alas, this pristine gun went for $750 which was way below what these guns are bringing in that condition. And to answer the question, no, Roy has never stated in any of my letters if the gun had been rechambered at the factory. For one, that would be on the repair order and two, the factory would probably not have done the work. My mentor, BruceHMX and I discussed this along with many other things HD and never let it bother us. And for everyone's info, I do own several that have been reamed and I don't lay awake at night worrying about them!

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38-44heavyduty.com

Ok here is a question I would have, IF you have a 38/44 reamed to 357 Mag, is it safe to shoot 357 Mags in it on a regular basis???

I'm not going to answer that except to tell you to have your gunsmith provide the answer. There is a lot of steel around each chamber and many did it and I've never heard of one blowing up because of it.

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38-44heavyduty.com

I bought a post-war OD from a Forum member several years ago and a couple of years later discovered it had been modified to accept .357s. Now I know to check. I know I can never sell it for top dollar but sure have enjoyed shooting it - although I've never put magnums through it.

Jerry