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S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present All NON-PINNED Barrels, the L-Frames, and the New Era Revolvers


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  #51  
Old 12-29-2018, 08:50 AM
SuperMan SuperMan is offline
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Just sent off my second .41 Special project... Have always wanted a 4.75" Colt SAA...and have had two in .45 Colt but just have never bonded with the round. Have been looking for a "cheap" .357 Magnum to have converted but the price of even a shooter grade USFA or Colt is way more than I wanted to spend on a "base" gun...

Have been hearing really good things about the quality of recently made Uberti firearms... Ran into a deal at a local shop that had a bunch of Bennelli factory demo guns with full new gun warranties... Ended up with a .22 and .357 that one could not tell apart except for the grips...

Shot the .22 last week...excellent shooter but needs a very slight sight correction to the left...

Called Jack Huntington at JRH and he said no problem to rebore/rechamber to .41 Special...so the gun arrived there last week... Called him yesterday to make sure he got the gun and he said he was really impressed with the fit, finish and action.... Besides the caliber change he is also going to install one of his dovetwiled front sights so once a load is set it can be properly centered and adjusted for height... May even ship the .22 for the same front sight one day...

Bob
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Last edited by SuperMan; 12-29-2018 at 08:53 AM.
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  #52  
Old 12-29-2018, 11:55 AM
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The 10mm will duplicate .41 Special pretty easily. Despite what some say, it will not duplicate full charge .41 Magnum. The Ruger would, I think, handle some of the really hot 10mm loadings. Probably not a steady diet though. It definitely fills the same nitch as the .41 Special.
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  #53  
Old 12-29-2018, 12:59 PM
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I love the idea of re-chambering to an obscure caliber, but have to agree that a 10mm GP100 makes the 41 SPL less attractive.

That said, I agree that an N frame is actually only a few ounces heavier than a L frame.

Last edited by dr. mordo; 12-29-2018 at 01:02 PM.
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  #54  
Old 12-29-2018, 01:20 PM
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Very little difference in the weight of the N frame and the L frame. The biggest difference is the grip frame dimension and the distance from the back strap to the trigger. There is also a balance difference. The N frame balance point is further to the rear. I am comparing a 686 4” and a 627 Pro 4-1/8”. The 686 has full under lug and the 627 does not.
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  #55  
Old 12-29-2018, 02:37 PM
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The Conversion looks Great and the OP should be Proud of that gun. I am hoping that S&W will bring out the M69 in 41 Mag, it would be a Natural since the Cyl/Frame already handles full power .44mag. It would be a Simple matter of changing the Cylinder, and Barrel Tube.
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  #56  
Old 12-29-2018, 03:18 PM
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Fact,

The 38 special gets better ballistics over the 357mag when loaded with unique powder with swc bullets.

The 44 spec gets better ballistics over the 44 mag when loaded with unique powder with semi wad cutters.

I’m sure the 41 special will follow suit. Why waste the larger case of the 41 mag on a lighter load when the 41 spec performs better over the magnum?

Do ya think we may see a new production revolver in 41 special? A lighter, smaller revolver.
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  #57  
Old 12-29-2018, 04:14 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nipperdog View Post
The Conversion looks Great and the OP should be Proud of that gun. I am hoping that S&W will bring out the M69 in 41 Mag, it would be a Natural since the Cyl/Frame already handles full power .44mag. It would be a Simple matter of changing the Cylinder, and Barrel Tube.
...if it wasn't for Ruger and Freedom Arms the .41 would be a memory....

You would think that with as little effort as it would take to make a .41 Magnum version of the 69, Smith would do it....I'm not going to hold my breath...

Unfortunately the perfect .41 Magnum was discontinued... The Taurus Titanium Tracker weighs the same as a 60-10 and is close to a K-frame in size... Don't really care that it only holds 5 rounds...it gets the job done and is a joy to carry and shoot compared to the N-frame 357PD and NG...

I have one of the 4" GP-100 10mms...a very fine gun...this would have been the ideal LE gun back in the day... Great balance, lots of grip possibilities, fast reloads and could shoot .40 S&W....

I've sent a couple of emails to Starline asking them for a 10mm Auto Rim like the .45 AR....hope everyone else does too...

Bob

Last edited by SuperMan; 12-29-2018 at 04:16 PM.
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  #58  
Old 12-29-2018, 07:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigBill View Post
Fact,

The 38 special gets better ballistics over the 357mag when loaded with unique powder with swc bullets.

The 44 spec gets better ballistics over the 44 mag when loaded with unique powder with semi wad cutters.

I’m sure the 41 special will follow suit. Why waste the larger case of the 41 mag on a lighter load when the 41 spec performs better over the magnum?

Do ya think we may see a new production revolver in 41 special? A lighter, smaller revolver.
What do you mean by "better ballistics"?
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  #59  
Old 12-29-2018, 07:42 PM
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Uh yeah , I'm kind of interested in his explanation of that one myself . Regards, Paul
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  #60  
Old 12-29-2018, 09:11 PM
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Originally Posted by dr. mordo View Post
What do you mean by "better ballistics"?
More fps using the 215gr swc in the special over the magnum.
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  #61  
Old 12-29-2018, 09:42 PM
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OK, but why? A .41 ain't a .44 and is more than a .357! It's kinda of a deal that "some people" NEED! If you can't handle a .44, go to a .357.

If your ego requires more, resurrect the DEAD .41 MAGNUM WIMP LOADS!
To each their own, I GUESS!
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  #62  
Old 12-30-2018, 12:03 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Abbynormal View Post
OK, but why? A .41 ain't a .44 and is more than a .357! It's kinda of a deal that "some people" NEED! If you can't handle a .44, go to a .357.

If your ego requires more, resurrect the DEAD .41 MAGNUM WIMP LOADS!
To each their own, I GUESS!
From reading this post, a lot of folks don’t understand the concept of the .41 Special. It’s not about recoil. It’s not about a smaller gun with reduced capacity. The L frame is S&W’s “.41
Frame”. Essentially the same size as Colt’s .41 frame which is used for the Python. The Ruger GP 100 is essentially the same size also. Ok, why not just chamber these guns for the .41 Mag? Real simply put, they won’t handle it. Back in the day, Pythons were rechambered to .41 Mag. Colt warned against the conversation, probably with good reason. There is no spec for the .41 Special, as there is no factory loading. The general consensus is that you move the 210gr slug at 900-1000 FPS, vs 1300-1500 for the mag. The “wimpy” police load was loaded to about 900-950 as i recall. Folks like Jordan, Kieth, Skelton, Et al claimed it to be the perfect police load. The formula was something on the order of .40 caliber at 900 FPS or so. Well, how come this wasn’t the rage in the M57 and M58? Both are built on the N frame. The guns are big and heavy. The L frame is just about as heavy but not quite as large. There is a reason that S&W retained the dimensions of the K frame grip in the L frame. Many users find the K/L grip dimensions a perfect size. The .40 S&W M646 was not successful, despite being a L frame nd chambered for a very popular cartridge (at that time). This same basic gun could be chambered for 10mm and shoot both the 10 and the .40 with moon clips. About as much chance of that happening as Smith chambering a L frame for the .41 Special. But then again, Ruger is doing just that with the GP 100. I’m divesting my firearm accumulation rather than adding to it. I would probably make an exception if S&W were to resurrect the 646 in a 10 mm version. The 610 is out of production, but it too is a N frame. Some of my all time favorites have been N frames but I’d still like to see a six shot L frame in a caliber starting in “4”. I’m not a especially GP100 fan, but if I ran across one in 10mm at a good price I could be tempted.
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  #63  
Old 12-31-2018, 08:41 PM
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Groo here
Epj is quite correct.
The 41 was to be a less powerful round but S&W did not want
to make another frame so the N frame was used ..
Some of the first loads for the 41 mag were more powerful
the 44mag!!!!!
The new GP100 10mm is just what the "Old Boys" wanted.
A smaller frame, good power , starts with a 4 but not so
hot that most could not handle it.
Now with moonclip speed loading and a lesser load [aka. 40S&W]
The 10mm mid frame may be the best of both worlds...
PS. I have a 3in N frame 41 , a 2 3/4 in M-69 44mag and a 3in
Gp100 WC in 10mm.
The 10mm gets the nod as a carry gun...
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  #64  
Old 12-31-2018, 10:30 PM
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Now that’s what I’m talking about. If one could find a 646, I would assume that the cylinder could be reamed to 10mm. It would be nice if S&W would go ahead and make a 10mm on the L frame. The real hot Buffalo Bore, Underwood, Norma type ammo might be a little much for a steady diet. However, some warm .40 or some mild 10mm ought to be just the trick. 180 grains at 950+/- should be potent but very controllable. Not likely to find the 646, so the Ruger may be the only option.
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  #65  
Old 09-12-2020, 04:01 PM
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ttt for bushog.........
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38spl, 45acp, 629, 65ls, 686, 696, cartridge, colt, commercial, headstamp, l frame, m28, model 28, model 625, mountain gun, recessed, ruger, saa, starline, taurus, transition, universal

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