I recently bulged the barrel in my limited performance center model 14 4inch revolver. I was heart broken!! i called smith and wesson and they told me because its no longer made they will not and or cannot replace my k frame 4 inch full lug barrel.... after being down in the dumps for a while i found "Mcgowen precision". after a call and a few weeks they managed to reproduce my barrel EXACTLY down to the last detail. I thought they would just get close enough but when I got it back I was just amazed at the level of craftsmanship by Mcgowen. I couldnt tell the difference between my old barrel and new one. funny enough I could only tell the difference between the two because the new one wasn't stamped "smith and wesson". not too much of an issue because the gun looks the same and im not thrilled with the service that i got from smith and wesson anyway. a horror story if you ask me. they told me "good luck finding another barrel" and left it at that.....

What -- no photos? Without pics this is just a bittersweet story -- nice ending but....

lol very true id like to wait untill the barrel is back on the frame before i post a pic. s good friend of mine has the action wrench and the forcing cone cutter to set my cyclinder gap. he'll been down to visit in a couple of weeks to intall my barrel. but trust me when i say mcgowen precision is remarkable seeing as how mine was the first revolver barrel that they have ever made and it rivels that of smith and wesson

Were You shooting reloads or factory ammo?
Did the bullet lodge in the barrel?
Just curious about exactly how the bulge happened...

very good question and i wish i had an answer.. i was shooting factory ammo and never had a squid or a bullet lodge in the barrel so im flustered as to how the heck it happened. now im not claiming that it was a defect, as im sure i did it somehow but im clueless as to how because im pretty OCD as far as my revolvers are concerened

Congrats on getting it fixed up.
Any contact info for this company that reproduced a barrel for you?

__________________
Lynnie, Professional Pest

and finally a pic of Mcgowens barrel on my 14 4inch

Attached Images

photo.jpg (96.3 KB, 296 views)

That looks real nice.

__________________
Lynnie, Professional Pest

McGowen Precision Barrels Home

Im glad you got you gun fixed. Another option would have been to find a 4" model 17-6/16-4 barrel and have it rebored to 38 cal,or cut down a 14-6 6", those barrels show up on forums from time to time.
I understand that S&W maybe could have given you some other options,or been more informative, but I dont think you can knock them for not having replacement barrels for a very limited production gun 100-125. Plus guys scooped up any left over barrels to convert model 14's and 19's to 4 inch lugged models long ago.
Your gun looks good ,its good to know if it ever happens to someone else. Bowen does nice work in this area also. Bob

If I could ask did you remove the old bbl and send it to them to copy or did they do it on there own. I know Harry M. he has done some work for me and did a great job.

Thanks RB

Looks great is the barrel crowned like the orginal?

Tom

yup the barrel is crowned like the orginal. I sent them the old barrel for them to measure and reproduce. when i got it back it took me a minute to figure out which one was which, im really impressed with how nicely they machined it.

Do you know if they saved a pattern of it so they could reproduce more of them? Do you have the name of someone to contact at McGowen that is familiar with your particular project?

Thanks!

I spoke with Dan i believe. The final cost was around 600$ for the barrel. I would assume that they have the specs still as they told me they had to program the measurements into the CNC machine. It seems like they are the only option for somthing like that. I dont understand why smith and wesson wont or dont make those barrels or any barrels for a blued k frame. Other than that pencil barrel for their classic 14 reproduction. Which by the way doesnt look like the original 14 6 inch barrel. They did away with that thick top rail portion. Im not sure i thats the term for it but if you look at the two side by side youll see what i mean. Oh well. Hope that helped