Hoping to find one of the Belgian copies of the S&W 44 DA Frontier Mdl. Looking for any and all information the experts here may have. Would like to know if any parts interchange with the original? Will the grips interchange? On the barrel it says, "44 Winchester Cartridge"..... Is this 44-40?
Many thanks, Paul.

Interchangeability? Not likely.
.44 Winchester = .44 WCF = Winchester 1873 = .44-40.

The S&W 44 Frontier is a 44-40 in S&W DA revolvers, but never assume that the caliber stamping on a European copy is accurate. I have a Belgium 44-40 DA copy, but the barrel is stamped "Schofield 44 S&W Ctge". At least they spelled Schofield correctly.

As far as parts compatibility, almost certainly nothing will fit if it is a Belgium copy. Most of these revolvers do not even use the same mechanism and have different size frames.

Here is one example for comparison with a 44-40 S&W DA Frontier.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

The Liege and Spanish copies are a fascinating part of these. Many of the Liege revolvers in particular were sold by Officer supply stores in Imperial Russia. Russian officers purchased their personal side arms, as did the officers of most European armies. Russian officers of the 1880 and 1890s armed with the No 3 felt they were being "out gunned" when fighting against opposing troops armed with double action sidearms.

Sometimes these copies are very different than the originals manufactured in Springfield, and some times you have to look closely to differentiate them.
Here is one that is of Liege manufacture but it has features that make it hard to tell.
DSCN3523as.jpgDSCN3524s.jpgDSCN3526a.jpgDSCN3528as.jpgDSCN3529as.jpg


This very tired weapon was purchased many years ago from the family of a Russian officer who fought in WWI and later for the Whites in the revolution/civil war. It was originally nickel plated but very little remains. The grips are clearly marked with the S&W logo but don't look exactly "right". The stamping on the barrel rib is close to correct but very worn so hard to read exactly. The cylinder face shows the Liege proof and chambers 44 Russian but has no step in the chamber.
Joe

Thank so very much gentlemen for the details and the wonderful pictures! They are truely worth a 1000 words. That also explains why I have seen them with so many differant 44 rounds listed.
Other than originals, where could I get replacement grips?

S&W reproduction stocks are available in a couple of different sites. Vintage Gun Grips and handgungrips.com. If you are talking about a S&W 44 DA, most any original or repro K frame hard rubber stocks will fit, but the originals were hand fit and all a little different. The repros will also require some fitting, plus screws and hardware is extra. You might also check ebay, since they often have original stocks for sale and by the time you purchase the repro stocks and hardware, you might find originals for the same price.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Thank you Glowe,
I had seen these 44 DA with modern S&W grips but had no idea they were from a K frame! Thanks for the information! Anything else that can be thrown in please do. I know so little of these Copy S&W 44. Would not mind hearing about the #3 models also!

If you are looking for stocks for a copy of a S&W, I would try to get hold of a set of S&W stocks to try before spending $50 or more on a set. They will almost certainly need hand fitting, but can be done with increasingly finer grades of sandpaper to 400 and then hand polish to finish.

If you look at my copy with original stocks, you will see they are quite similar. You could remove the S&W logo on a K frame set and they would look appropriate for a Belgium gun.

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Gary
SWCA 2515