Back in the early 1970's when a M-29 .44mag was on the forever waiting list I instead modified my then new M-28 Highway Patrolman .357 by converting it to .44 special.The barrel and cylinder were sent out and part of the process was to open up the .357 barrel and install a .44 liner. I was wondering if they still offer this conversion process anywhere?? With the cost of what a 70's vintage Model 16 S&W six inch .32 long cal has gone up to would like to make my own.

I would think that reboring and cutting new rifling would be preferable to lining. But I understand that most smiths may not be able to cut rifling, but are able to bore a hole and insert an already rifled liner.

Finding someone to do that may be the tougher part of the equation. Hamilton Bowen just stopped doing that kind of work and he would have been my first recommendation. Time to exercise your Google-fu. Good luck.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

__________________
NRA Benefactor Member

I have understood that lining revolver barrels is possible, but I have never seen one. Don't know if I would trust one to stay in place unless maybe it is silver-soldered. It's more feasible to reline a semi-auto barrel.

I can't believe you all never heard of "Redman's barrel liners". This is the premiere barrel liner used by most gunsmith when the job is to reline a rifled barrel. Here is his website; [url=http://www.redmansrifling.com/liners; Any thing from revolver cylinders to 30" long black powder rifles. I have used his barrel liners several times with total satisfaction. ......

I think everyone knows very well what a barrel liner is. In fact I have two guns with lined barrels, a .22 pistol and a .32-20 rifle. The question is how well do they work in revolvers? I have never seen one with a lined barrel. No doubt it is possible to line a revolver barrel quite easily, but do they stand up?

I think if you carefully read Redman's web page you will find that relining is done with only low pressure barrels when you wish to keep the original markings. Reboring is recommended for what the OP is wishing to do. High pressure cartridges have the nasty habit of blowing high pressure gases between the liner and the barrel proper.

Nobody ever called the .44mag low pressure.

Try these guys:

+ Bowen Classic Arms + Home

As I pointed out in my post, Bowen is no longer doing any Smith & Wesson barrel work.

Michigan Scott makes a good point. When re-lining a rifle or semi-auto handgun the chamber is integral with the barrel. Re-lining a revolver, with the chambers separate from the barrel, would possibly allow high pressure gases to intrude between the liner and the original barrel.

I believe the OP wasn't talking about high pressure cartridges. The initial conversion was to .44 Spl and the one under consideration is .32 S&W long.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

__________________
NRA Benefactor Member

Exactly,,, I would like to take a like new center fire K frame like a M-14 then take a M-17 bored out cylinder and barrel (with a .32 caliber sleeve/ liner) to make a duplicate of the super expensive super sought after fun to shoot M-16 32 long target version.

In the 70s I had a M-28 6 inch converted to 45 Colt. I found a gunsmith in Delaware that reamed the Cylinder to 45 Colt and relined the barrel. I had no problems with that pistol. I replaced It when S&W came out with the 25-5 in .45 Colt. The gunsmith retired not long after and I don't know who does it now.

SWCA 892

That's the Gunsmith,, I'd recognize their name if I heard it again. Only thing I didn't like about the job was when they re-stamped the side of the barrel the .44 numbers where noticeably staggered.
Later,, I considered mine surpassed (for the lack of a better term) when supply caught up to demand and brand new beautiful (at that time mesmerizing) M-29s became plentiful.

This is similar to what I had done as recounted in this thread: The seldom-seen 8-3/8" K32 Except I had a Model 17 barrel rebored to .32 caliber and had a .32 H&R cylinder reamed to .327 Magnum. Andy Horvath did the work, but I supplied the barrel and cylinder and base gun.

The hitch in doing it this way is to find someone who can rebore a barrel. Jim Dubell who had done mine has died, and I don't know who may have taken up the work. Even Bowen apparently has trouble finding someone to do barrel work.

I have seen larger bore barrels relined to .22 caliber (and I have a couple) but never anything larger than that.

Google TJ's barrel liners and see what pops up. A lot of shooters on the [email protected] have used his liners for low pressure cartridges like 25-20 and 32-20 and similar cartridges. John Taylor@Taylor machines does do liner installations on rifles and single shots as well as lever actions and has an excellent reputation. But don't know if he relines revolver barrels. Frank

Thanks Frank, I'm probably not the only one that's thought of cloning the out of sight priced .32 cal. vintage M-16 target revolvers that now cost $2,500- $5,000 for the real deal. To me this situation is exactly the same as why we covered M-28s to M-29s in the '70's.
AND of course,,the best "FIX" to the whole situation would be S&W reviving the very needed and wanted M-16 revolver and sought after J frame counter part the M-35 in a Classic Series form. I'm not up to speed on how well the Classic Series did for S&W, but believe bringing these two back would be even more beneficial. The model M-17s (and other models they did) seem to be over prolific subjects flooding every on-line sales outlet with availability verse these needed rare ones?

I did a 3 screw Ruger .357 to 45 acp this way. Never had any problem. The fellow that ended up with it shoots it a lot, no problems. I see when people mention the Classic Series they usually say..Don't know how well S&W did with them. Well, they sold every one they made.

Try Dave (Charles) Clements in Virginia? At one time he rebored the barrel and reamed the host cylinder, even changed the caliber markings on barrel.
Steve

I'm wondering if that was David Woodruff of Bear, DE (as best as I can recall after four decades) who relined a M28 barrel for me. The barrel worked perfectly, without any of the problems previous posters have postulated. Having said that, the cost of converting a revolver from one caliber to another is disproportionate to the gain, so should be considered an indulgence.

You might try Alex Hamilton at Ten Ring in San Antonio. Ten Ring Precision | Custom Guns Based in San Antonio

YES, David Woodruff that's right! Haven't heard his name since back then. Understand well the term "disproportionate" from dealing with the early M-29 days, many went over to the Ruger .44 mag rather than wait without a delivery date even being hypothetical. Others converted the 28 and maxed out hot special loads,, mine handled every round just fine too. As far as the present day need for a .32 Long -32 mag target version (long barrel target sights) in that same way like the Ruger being the only option then, I'm beginning to think trying to find the (also rare) Taurus 761 could fill in for now?

Good luck finding a Taurus 76 or 761. I stumbled onto one at the Wanenmacher gun show in Tulsa last year, but that was the only I've ever seen in real life. http://smith-wessonforum.com/firearm...i-looking.html Prior to that I had been watching one on Gunbroker that was priced at $750 or so, which was more than I wanted to pay. Someone else did though.

As with Ruger being an option back then (in single action guise) for a .44 Mag, Ruger is an option for a .32 today. They recently released the stainless Single Seven in .327 Magnum in varying barrel lengths - of course you can also shoot .32 Long and .32 H&R in it. And there are still quite a few Single Six guns in .32 H&R around on Gunbroker and other auction sites. Shot a batch of .32 guns the other day

Ruger also has the SP101 for a shorter barrel experience.

Like most here I have a slew of serious S&W's,, but for knocking around I bought a $149 Arminius .32 long
pot metal zink P.O.S. to see how I like the way (other than lack of the Armunius's accuracy). the round performs... I would like to have an affordable double action .32 target, not to be had?
I don't get why neither S&W or Taurus has a current .32 target revolver,,, or why there's not a small J frame size .22 long barreled target revolver from any manufacturer like there used to be like the M-35 ,,so as to bring the girlfriend to the range with me?

YES, Gun Brokers great for used guns! Most always dealing directly with a FFL ready to ship nice person. You get the best deal with auctions.

Guns America's Ok on some sales but tends to be overpriced.

Armslist I don't get? lots guns you want at great prices but nobody ships hardly. I guess you have to live nearby where the seller is, then go to a FFL gun shop to transfer? By the way, they have a Taurus 761 for sale right now scoped on Armslist?

Tom K.
Looking around on-line at options saw another, the Rossi M293 in .32, it's perhaps something in the Taurus level? My being "out of it " for a while don't understand how or why all the long barreled / adj. sighted smaller caliber revolvers in .22 and .32 types from the 70s and 80s from all those revovler manufacture sources are all gone?????

I was going to suggest contracting Andy Horvath as the "prime contractor" with barrel work by Jim Dubell since that was how I got Project 616 done, but if Mr Dubell has passed away, that strategy won't work any more. Maybe if you were to contact Andy and see whether he has another barrel man to work with now(?) I am very pleased with my 327 FM in stainless and have even gathered a 6" barrel and matching cylinder to make up a "classic" homage to the K-32 Masterpiece. I'm sorry I'll have to go a different way to make it happen.

Froggie

PS At the time he did mine, Andy flat refused to consider using a relined barrel for my 327 FM... whether he would use one for the much lower pressure 32 S&W Long may be a different matter.

Thanks for the info, all are pieces to this puzzle as a conceptual project. Have also to consider the cylinder boring work,or if there's a more prolific model.32 cylinder from a usable older model K frame R.P. perhaps.

The only .32 caliber cylinders from K frame S&W revolvers seen in any quantity are from guns chambered in .32-20/.32 WCF, which won't rechamber properly to .32 S&W Long.

I contemplated making a K-32 from a K-38 myself, having gathered a donor Model 15, a .22 LR K-22 6" barrel and a .22 LR K-22 cylinder. I intended to have someone like Hamilton Bowen do the work but obviously waited way to long as few people are still offering the needed rebore/rerifle services.

BUFF, wish I could find a cylinder(that I could afford) from K frame in .22LR? I'd probably do the same as you.
Steve

If the right sources are found to do the work,, and a conversion is completed then show cased online with photos and contact info the concept would take right off and that gunsmith get plenty of work. The .22 barrels 4", 6" and 8 3/8" all look thick enough to go out to .32, no problem there.
At one time his procedure was common and affordable (for then N frame .44) due to volume and multiple shops doing the work. As mentioned by some earlier about this, if the cost of work becomes " if you have to ask you can't afford it" then not going anywhere.

I have a K frame .22 barrel and a LEO trade in mod. 15-4.
Steve

I have a .455 MKII that was converted to 38 Special by dining the barrel and chambers. It was done so skillfully it did not disturb the original finish on the gun, and cannot tell it was done except by looking directly at the muzzle chamber ends. It shoots quite well.

__________________
H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Done right they're just about undetectable is right. Will start the phoning around today to get this rolling.

H. Richard, hmm now you've got me thinking about maybe seeing if someone could reline a .38 cylinder for this?
Who did this?
Steve