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S&W Hand Ejectors: 1896 to 1961 All 5-Screw & Vintage 4-Screw SWING-OUT Cylinder REVOLVERS, and the 35 Autos and 32 Autos


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Old 02-18-2015, 09:51 PM
rgm36 rgm36 is offline
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Default Model of 1950 Military in .44 Mag.

OK guys. My last post was inquiring about a strange .44 mag cylinder that we discovered was a model 28 cylinder bored to
.44 Mag.

I must tell you that I can't pass up any .44 Mag I see. It's my favorite caliber. Why have anything less?

My motto; Too much is never enough!

Hmm. What can I do with this "pencil holder" as many have called it.

Well with a little imagination I found it fits perfectly into my Model of 1950 .44 Military
With the barrel already a .44 and the gun in satin finish as is the bored 28 cylinder - it is a perfect fit and match.
Now its a Model of 1950 Military in .44 Mag!
Anybody else have one of these in .44 Mag?

Obviously my obsession with Smith & Wessons has gotten the best of me - is there help out there for people like me?

P.S. Just to make sure I can hold on to it - I added a set of cokes. WAY COOL!
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Old 02-18-2015, 09:54 PM
05CarbonDRZ 05CarbonDRZ is offline
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Ouch! A 4" Pre 21 converted to .44 Magnum.A 4" Pre 21 is a rare Bird.
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Old 02-18-2015, 11:22 PM
Muley Gil Muley Gil is offline
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Don't think I would fire that combo with .44 Magnum ammo. That Model of 1950 frame is not heat treated the same as a factory .44 Magnum would be.

I asked Roy Jinks if a Texas Wagon Train M544 in .44-40, built in 1986, could be safely fitted with a .44 Magnum cylinder. He stated the heat treating was not the same for the M29s and the M544s and he advised against the conversion.

Please don't overstress or blow up that pre M21!!!
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Old 02-19-2015, 04:41 AM
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Yes, I'll help you.

Nothing wrong with you, that's not wrong with a lot of the rest of us. Just trying to wring every last drop of enjoyment out of the S&W revolver 'sickness'.

I would not shoot 44 Mag in that frame for all the reasons already given. You're not likely to blow it up, but the damage is cumulative; stressed and stretched frame.

IMO the ideal candidate for that cylinder is a Model 28 frame for the heat treating and finish match. But you'd have to find a 44 Spl tapered, pre 1955 satin blue finish barrel, or a 44 Mag barrel re-finished in satin blue and length of your choice, and have it all put together properly.

It would be a unique custom gun and a safe shooter. But sometimes it's more fun thinking about the possibilities, and then how much more realistically do you want to spend just to use the cylinder?
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Old 02-19-2015, 07:33 AM
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Default 1950 military in .44 Mag.

Well, I had my fun "making believe".

I swapped the cylinders in it just to see if it would fit and turn - it does-perfectly.
But I would have never fired it because the gun is too rare and valuable to jeopardize.
I do know now what my next project will be.
I know they reproduced the 21 and will look for one of those because I want a "fixed sight" .44 mag and now I know how to do it.

Don't worry guys - that pre-21 is back in the safe in its original configuration sleeping comfortably next to its brother - a pre-24
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Old 02-19-2015, 07:57 AM
Muley Gil Muley Gil is offline
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Originally Posted by rgm36 View Post
Well, I had my fun "making believe".

I swapped the cylinders in it just to see if it would fit and turn - it does-perfectly.
But I would have never fired it because the gun is too rare and valuable to jeopardize.
I do know now what my next project will be.
I know they reproduced the 21 and will look for one of those because I want a "fixed sight" .44 mag and now I know how to do it.

Don't worry guys - that pre-21 is back in the safe in its original configuration sleeping comfortably next to its brother - a pre-24
The new M21-4s use a longer cylinder and I doubt they have the same heat treating as a .44 Magnum.
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Old 02-19-2015, 08:47 AM
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...IMO the ideal candidate for that cylinder is a Model 28 frame for the heat treating and finish match. But you'd have to find a 44 Spl tapered, pre 1955 satin blue finish barrel, or a 44 Mag barrel re-finished in satin blue and length of your choice, and have it all put together properly...
Or merely take the barrel from the M28 and have it bored and rifled for the 43 caliber bore. I used a M28-2 to make a 45 ACP revolver by fitting a 25-2 cylinder and getting the barrel cut and rifled for the .452 bore. It works well and is a lot lighter!

Kevin
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Old 02-19-2015, 08:52 AM
Muley Gil Muley Gil is offline
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Or merely take the barrel from the M28 and have it bored and rifled for the 43 caliber bore. I used a M28-2 to make a 45 ACP revolver by fitting a 25-2 cylinder and getting the barrel cut and rifled for the .452 bore. It works well and is a lot lighter!

Kevin
The OP wants a fixed sight pencil barreled .44 Maggie.
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Old 02-19-2015, 11:16 AM
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Hi
Yes a 58 frame and a 21 barrel.
And you got it safe to shoot.
Jim
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Old 02-19-2015, 12:17 PM
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Just a lit'l side note....

You really want to be darn sure that cylinder is truly chambered for the .44 Remington Magnum Cartridge.

Some of those old .44 S&W Special reamers cut a pretty deep chamber.

My ol 27-2 re-chambered to 44 Special will except a heavy roll crimped 44 mag cartridge....
But, there is NOT enough clearance between the full chamber diameter to the taper beginning of the throat to allow the roll crimp to open up fully.

If fired it may cause a pressure curve greater than the cartridge case head,
bolt notch cuts and or maybe the cylinder wall(s) can stand....

I've re-chambered a slue of 27 & 28 cylinders and I'm very cautious
as to chamber length....Just cause a loaded 44 mag case fits in the chamber does not mean it will safely fire in it.

Just saying....Be Careful There.

Su Amigo,
Dave
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Old 02-19-2015, 01:08 PM
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Hi:
In the 1970-1980 era may Model 28s were redone to .44 magnumand .45acp by added the barrel and cylinder for the desired calibers.
Unfortunately the second owner of a converted Model 28 sent his back to the factory for some work, and the factory discovered what was taking plae outside the factory and stopped selling just the barrels and cylinders.
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Old 02-19-2015, 01:11 PM
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**** had you done that conversion with your pre-model 21----
I WOULD HAVE CALLED YOUR MOTHER IMMEDIATELY !!
Jimmy (the tattle tail)
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Old 02-19-2015, 01:13 PM
05CarbonDRZ 05CarbonDRZ is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keith44spl View Post
Just a lit'l side note....

You really want to be darn sure that cylinder is truly chambered for the .44 Remington Magnum Cartridge.

Some of those old .44 S&W Special reamers cut a pretty deep chamber.

My ol 27-2 re-chambered to 44 Special will except a heavy roll crimped 44 mag cartridge....
But, there is NOT enough clearance between the full chamber diameter to the taper beginning of the throat to allow the roll crimp to open up fully.

If fired it may cause a pressure curve greater than the cartridge case head,
bolt notch cuts and or maybe the cylinder wall(s) can stand....

I've re-chambered a slue of 27 & 28 cylinders and I'm very cautious
as to chamber length....Just cause a loaded 44 mag case fits in the chamber does not mean it will safely fire in it.

Just saying....Be Careful There.

Su Amigo,
Dave
This Man speaks the truth.I have a custom .44spl that he made and it will outshoot any of my Factory .44spl's.All the Cylinder Throats are uniform making for a consistent grouping.
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Old 02-19-2015, 09:01 PM
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You still might be able to get a new 'Model 21 Classic' barrel from S&W. I doubt that there's many used barrels floating around.
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Old 02-20-2015, 02:26 AM
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I have seen a few old 44s converted and the forcing cone seems to be the first weak point, it tends to flare out from the magnum pressure. Starts spitting badly. Had the same problem in the early seventies with Super Vel 38s in M&Ps.
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Old 02-20-2015, 07:35 AM
Muley Gil Muley Gil is offline
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I have seen a few old 44s converted and the forcing cone seems to be the first weak point, it tends to flare out from the magnum pressure. Starts spitting badly. Had the same problem in the early seventies with Super Vel 38s in M&Ps.
That happened to my dad's C series M&P-on the 13th round fired BTW!
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Old 02-20-2015, 05:59 PM
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I've pop'd the caps on thousands of 44 mag cartridges back in the last century.
Won a state revolver championship er two and a lit'l dough with revolvers in IHMSA matches in the early 80s.

Have turned out a few purty good custom revolvers over the years.

As I don't now need the loads that would knock over a hard set steel
ram at two hundred meters...I shoot the all time great 44 Special.

This one went off a ways up north of here...


I carry these two purty often....Sometime at the same time




44 Magnum built on a modern N frame....44 Spl barrel with a 11 degree forcing cone for to prevent that cracking....
I carried this one to the wilds of Alaska with me way back when.


I know these are all adj. sighted revolvers, I have also built several fix sighted revolvers as well and one or two half adjustable ones....
But, the point I trying to make here is....I know with the 44 spl I can load those ol Keith loads over a dollup of 2400 and have all the hot-rodding fun I can stand.

Oh, I got a new model 21 barrel and a nice 44 mag cylinder, if you find yourself a good ol 58 to build on.


.
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