Quote:
Originally Posted by Muley Gil
"According to S&W, they are all the same after WWII. I've called and asked."
That doesn't hold water right off the bat. When the .44 Magnum was developed in the 1950s, S&W used different heat treating. Plus, depending on who you talk to, factory employees are notorious for giving bad information.
I have a M544, a 5" .44-40. I asked Roy Jinks, the historian and former head of the handgun production, if it was safe to fit a .44 Magnum cylinder. Mr Jinks said no, the heat treatment was different on the non magnum frames.
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True on all counts.
For example:
• Heat treatment was eliminated by order Oct. 12, 1945 for cylinders on the & .32 ‘I’ frames, K22, K32 & K38, and the 44 Spl & 45 N frames: S&W 1857 – 1945. And the .357 continued to have heat treatment as well as all subsequent magnum cartridge models.
Who knows what changes S&W has undertaken in the subsequent 73 years. Not only will we not get specific information from their CS people that answer the phone, but those who do know the specifics are extremely unlikely permitted to divulge those trade secrets.
So we are left with only two definitively conclusive alternatives:
1. Have the revolvers privately and expensively lab tested for confirmation of strength,
2. or follow S&W's directions supplied with every gun; use only the specified ammunition. Which does not include shooting 44 mag in a 44 special revolver.