1964-2014...The .41 Magnum

..The Mountain Gun series....who here think that they should have 5" slim barrels instead of 4"...isn't the 5" Model 27 the best balanced N-frame of all...so being the 50th Anniversary of the .41 Magnum it was time for a "slim barrel 5" 57"....

Life started out as a badly rusted and pitted 1973 vintage Model 27...



Sorry for the bad pic of the end of the barrel...the pits were deep...





Bought the gun last fall and before my gunsmith, who trained at S&W, left for Florida for the winter had him spin the barrel off... It then went to Delta Gunsmithing to be rebored to .41. I was tempted to have them rebore the cylinder to .41 Special as I already have a USFA SAA in .41 Special but since I had an extra Model 58 cylinder I just decided to have the smith trim the barrel back and keep it a Magnum...

When the smith came back in the spring I left the gun with him before taking off on a three month western vacation... Just got back last week and picked the gun up today...











More than enough meat for a .41 hole...



Some of the deeper pits at the end of the barrel were just too deep to polish out but as this is a shooter I don't really care...

So this guns will join the other 5" 57 that this same smith saved from a badly rusted 6" first year 1964 gun.

Only had time to fire six test shots...more shooting this weekend...

Bob
 
SuperMan said:
So X...if I bring the two 5" guns and the Reeder you going to come up next week, shoot and take me out for German food???

;-)
Click to expand...

I think we could manage something like that. :)

It will have to be either Monday or the weekend. I'm tied up Tues-Fri with other commitments.
 
SuperMan said:
..The Mountain Gun series....who here think that they should have 5" slim barrels instead of 4"...isn't the 5" Model 27 the best balanced N-frame of all...so being the 50th Anniversary of the .41 Magnum it was time for a "slim barrel 5" 57"....
Click to expand...

I'd be all over a 5" .41 Magnum Mountain Gun....Bob, so when are you going to start mass producing them? :)

KO
 
....soon as I can find a supply of 5" 27s....

I'm wearing this one now in a Dillon/Mitch Rosen 5" holster I bought several years ago when I had a friends 629 Classic for a while. Kept the holster for the 57 5" and now comes in handy for this one...

Bob
 
Dr.Lou, I knew those Ahrends would look good on a 657, had 'em on my watch list and was going to grab 'em if they lasted the night.
KO
 
ko41 said:
Dr.Lou, I knew those Ahrends would look good on a 657, had 'em on my watch list and was going to grab 'em if they lasted the night.
KO
Click to expand...

I see we both have good taste, or at least similar taste. Yeah, I was watching a couple and couldn't make up my mind, and then I saw these - was actually looking for K frame retro combats, but I thought these would look good on this M57thread. I'll let you beat me out of the next pair. lol
 
Dr.Lou said:
I see we both have good taste, or at least similar taste. Yeah, I was watching a couple and couldn't make up my mind, and then I saw these - was actually looking for K frame retro combats, but I thought these would look good on this M57thread. I'll let you beat me out of the next pair. lol
Click to expand...

Very similar taste :D

657-3inch-No2.jpg


KO
 
Last edited:
My all purpose plinking load isn't working the best for my new custom 657-4. It was leading the bore a bit plus I should be able to get tighter groups with the revolver.
Some more load development needed.......
Before I start adjusting powder, alloys, and diameter I'm going to try the plated 210gr FP from X-Treme Bullets that I bought to try in my Desert Eagle.

657cstm-trgt.jpg


Or I could try one of the other cast bullets I have a mold for. The Lyman 410459 has been my main bullet for 30 years,
the Ranch Dog TL411-255 RF is for the Marlin 1894 and I use the Lee 170gr SWC in a Uberti 1873 rifle converted to .41 Magnum.
Most of the other molds are fairly recent acquisitions that I have only cast sample batches from.

cast-cartridges.jpg


Or a jacketed bullet, though I'm getting pretty low on some of the discontinued ones and you really have to look long and hard to find any of the jacketed bullets.
41bullets-jacketed.jpg


I should get loading. :)

KO
 
Last edited:
ko...what is the history of that gun?? I have never seen a 657 with a titanium cylinder and the "41 MAGNUM" on the barrel just doesn't look like anything I have ever seen come out of the S&W factory...

Bob
 
Bob, it originally was a standard used $400 7 1/2" barreled 657-4. I found a used 7 1/2" barrel and had a local gunsmith cut it down to 5 1/2" and milled to look similar to some of the Performance Center guns. Weigand front sight base installed. Model 357PD Titanium cylinder was ordered from Numrich (Took 4 tries to get a cylinder that wasn't all beat up.). I'm not too fond of the size of the ".41 MAG" on the barrel or that it says MAG instead of MAGNUM. I still have the original barrel and cylinder so I could swap them back if things didn't work.
It is a more neutral balanced 41 ounces vs. the front heavy 54 ounces of the full lug barrel and unfluted cylinder original configuration.

KO
 
Nice.... I have a first generation -2 Hunter that is very early...serial number 5. It has a fluted cylinder instead of a smooth one.

Also have a 6" 657 that I have thought about having cut to 5" and a Wigand front sight installed...something that should be on all Smiths...

Thanks for sharing...Bob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
29-2 1964 w/Cokes???
Replies
5
Views
504
22hipower
22hipower
bravastar1
First year Model 57-Shipped May 1964
Replies
9
Views
723
Doc44
Doc44
L
Recent purchase 1964 vintage 25-2.
Replies
9
Views
484
alwslate
A
quinn
S&W 44 Magnum At The Tower of London
Replies
7
Views
907
H Richard
H Richard
R
41 magnum News
Replies
0
Views
493
RETDOE
R

Latest posts

Back
Top