A friend of mine has offered this revolver to me for a modest price. It is a five screw N frame in 44 Special. Bubba has cut the original barrel to about three inches and attached a front sight. It has fixed sights. My friend says it shoots to point of aim. The serial number is S 148460.

Any information and comments are welcome. I am thinking of purchasing it and trying to find a four or six inch barrel.

Attached Images

	S & W N Frame 1.jpg (61.0 KB, 377 views)
	S & W N Frame 2.jpg (65.5 KB, 320 views)
	S & W N Frame 3.jpg (50.8 KB, 282 views)
	S & W N Frame 4.jpg (56.0 KB, 403 views)

Model of 1950 .44 Military from about 1955.

Too bad about the barrel, but if the price is right, why not? If it shoots well, I'd just keep it as is. It could run a bit of money to make it right.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

That's truly sad; there were only about 1200 of those made if memory serves correctly. Really, really hard to find gun these days in original condition. I have S142674, a 4 inch shipped in 1955 to the John Jovino gun shop in NYC. Unfortunately it was shipped in blue and is now nickel.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

If the price was right, it would be mine and I would shoot the heck out of it.

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

The asking price is $300 with a four inch 44 magnum barrel thrown in to boot.

As chop jobs go, I have seen worse. Did they also use that revolver as a hammer?

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Only a cold warrior

At that price, just grab it! You can decide what to do with it after you shoot it.

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Mike H

If it's not already in your possession it should be. Changing the bbl is not a difficult process and you can do it with a bit of coaching. Grab it and laugh all the way home but don't smile in front of your friend.

That is certainly a good deal. But keep in mind that the .44 Magnum barrel will look odd on that frame. The 1950 Military Model came with a tapered barrel. The Magnum barrel will be of the straight side variety and will not properly mate to the frame. It will work, but it won't look right where it joins with the forward frame bridge.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

My initial look at the extra barrel is the forcing cone on the 44 mag barrel is much shorter than the one on the 44 Special barrel, so I don't think it will work. I am planning on shooting as it is and moving forward very slowly. If nothing else I will have a fun new toy.

$300 for the gun is a steal. A replacement barrel is out there somewhere should you decide to restore it; based on the location of the rollmarks it probably had a 5 or 6.5" originally.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I wouldn’t have left without it!

This Forum has many devotees of the 44 Special, and rightly so. You're very fortunate to have found that Model 1950 at such an affordable price. Congratulations to you!

There are many references online for reloading 44 special, if that is currently one of your hobbies, or if that may be something you've always wanted to do! Here is a rather comprehensive article for your consideration.
http://www.goodrichfamilyassoc.org/4...%20Special.pdf

At that price- sell it to me for $500 if you find you don't like it.

It is in the gun safe downstairs. I will test fire it tomorrow at the range.

Very nice and quite rare! Although it's been "bubba'd", it should be a fine shooter. $300 is a steal, and although the 4" .44 Magnum bbl. won't fit your revolver, there's probably a Forum member out there that's looking for one and will pay a fair price for it. Enjoy!

Please let us know how it shoots.

First 25 rounds at five yards at a two inch orange dot. The low ones were all double action, the other 19 were single action. I will work on my marksmanship!

Attached Images

First Shots S & W 44.jpg (34.1 KB, 69 views)

looks like a keeper! Nothing wrong with your marksmanship assuming that target was shot off-hand I'd leave it alone and learn to love what it is.

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

It is pointless to try and "restore" it with a replacement barrel (if you can find one) because any new barrel will not have the matching serial number. What you have there is a great shooter at a great price and in a configuration that lots of people would love to have.

Not to quibble, but if I had a 1966 Shelby Cobra that bubba had blown up the engine, should I just park it, or should I explore maybe replacing the engine, with the understanding it is no longer original?

I am trying to make the best of the condition I inherited. If at some point the existing barrel proves to be unusable I will seek other options, understanding it is no longer an original revolver.

I’m new to this forum, but would greatly appreciate any help identifying this revolver that belonged to my grandfather. It’s been in this vintage case for more than 40 years and hasn’t been shot in this time frame. The serial number is: k-156xx

I’d appreciate any help with the year and production.

Thanks, Ddub

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	5D3E0B45-5CFA-4719-8D31-69AA46EA795A.jpeg (16.2 KB, 43 views)
	4EFEF62B-0E0C-4A1E-A19C-1E7A9BF69DD0.jpeg (17.3 KB, 70 views)

Welcome to the Forum.

It was probably shipped in 1946 or '47. Others will be along soon with more and better info.

You should always start a new thread rather than tagging on to one that has been started, considering your K-22 has nothing to do with the original firearm in the first post.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I got some more information on my revolver yesterday. The seller (my friend) worked at the Whittington Center several summers with the youth program. Someone donated several guns to the Whittington Center. They promptly offered most of them for sale to their volunteers. My friend purchased the revolver and then wondered why he bought the gun, and so he offered it to me. I will continue to shoot it as much as I can afford ammo for. I am shooting my reloads with 200 gr RNFP bullets for now. The photo is of my 25 round group at five yards today. My 200 grain bullets are hitting about two inches low; I was aiming for the top of the two inch dot. Sorry for my 70+ year old eyes. I will try heavier bullets to see if the impact point rises.

Attached Images

44 Special Two.jpg (32.8 KB, 32 views)

Another barrel option... get a M27/M28 barrel (they will be tapered barrels to match the frame profile) and have it re-bored and remarked as a .44 Special. This is what was done in the 60's when .44 Spl. conversions were popular.

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Interesting thought! I have a six inch Model 28 barrel.

Who is recommended for the reboring?

Following just for this information.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

Nope, that will not work well. The M27/28 barrels have a rib on the top that will not match up with the round contour of the OP's fixed-sight frame. Here are a couple of pics of a Model 28.





And here's the OP's frame:


I've seen a few ribbed barrels screwed into a non-ribbed frame and it looks ugly as hell. As before, I recommend keeping it and enjoying it for what it is. If it were mine, I at most might get a gunsmith to scrub off the "ITH & WESSON" on the left side and reblue it. Otherwise, sell it and use the funds to buy what you really want.

Attached Images

	M28-44-002.jpg (83.4 KB, 124 views)
	M28-44-006.jpg (85.8 KB, 125 views)

That thing looks cool. I'd not touch a thing, just leave it as is. First, you probably couldn't find another 44 to replace it and Second, Try to find a gunsmith who could do the same work today. I'd love to see you shoot it again after adding 20 yds more. It would probably surprise you. 5 yds tell you nothing other than it goes bang.



I've never even seen a 4 or 5 screw 44 sp S&W for sale or at a gun show and I've been doing this stuff for 50+ years.

The man to ask:

BARREL RE-BORING
Alan Siegrist
8752 Turtle Road
Whittemore, Michigan 48770
989-873-3929

FYI, the last barrel that I sent to him for reboring was in October 2019 and I got it back in February 2020. So don't be in any big hurry.