I can't find the 45 Colt I "want". I "want" a classic S&W in 45 Colt, no hole, no MIM, just Old School. My version of a Perfect Packing Revolver. There are two candidates in my safe and I will be foolish enough to toss these out for pro's and con's.

One is a Pre 20 Pueblo PD 4" HD, dating to 1956. Its in pretty good shape with the usual cop dings, all matching but the stocks. Not drilled for .357.

The other is a Pre 27 that Brit-marked (purchased from a member here) and pretty rough. No serious dings, but considerable holster wear to the finish. It's pretty loose with lockup. Non-matching stocks. All matching otherwise. Dates to 1950.

The Pre 27 is most attractive to me as a packing gun, with the advantage of adjustable sights. Maybe I can tempt Bowen with the HD to offset the costs of conversion, tightening and refinish.

Both revolvers are shooters, not collectors per se. Any major problem with converting either one? Appreciate any comments or suggestions.

Attached Images

	HD and Pre 27 light.jpg (84.8 KB, 96 views)
	Pueblo PD.jpg (56.0 KB, 49 views)

One problem with using an N frame .357 for a .45 Colt conversion is the fact that the cylinder is short for that cartridge.

It is possible to fit a M25-5 cylinder and a newer blued Mountain Gun barrel, if you want to maintain the tapered barrel profile, to the Pre M27.

Of course, then you lose the checkered barrel rib of the pre M27.

I had a M27-2 converted to .44 Special. The .44 barrel rib is grooved, not checkered. I swapped the checkered rear sight assembly to Forum member tennexplorer for a grooved one.

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Bowen is fairly picky about the condition of the guns he will work on. I decided I wanted a 4 inch fixed sight .45 Colt and began looking for one to convert. I found a pretty good one, also an ex-Pueblo Police gun, s/n S105866, and sent it to him. He said I should find a better one, if possible one that hasn't been refinished, and returned it to me. I found another slightly earlier one, s/n S64013. It was original finish but had some light pitting in a few spots, and sent it to him. He returned that one, too.

Bowen said that the only way he can produce the kind of guns that he does is to start with a good one. When you consider that Bowen's .38-44-to-.45 Colt conversions will set you back $1,000 to $1,500 on top of the gun, the base gun is not a great place to scrimp. A member here who is a huge .38-44 fan sold me a very nice one at a more-than-fair price and I sent Bowen that. His work is impeccable, and the gun he did for me is one of my absolute favorites.

Other gunsmiths may be more oriented to the functional parts of the conversion (barrel and cylinder swap or re-bore) as opposed to the aesthetics, so if you are primarily interested in a shooter, either of your proposed guns may be a good start.

You should also look at finding a Model 25-5 which is already chambered for .45 Colt, has forged lockwork parts and no lock. Muley Gil also makes a sound suggestion.

I vote for the 25-5 spend a little custom work and you will end up with a modern heat treated gun and still fairly clasic look. I have old and new 45lcs and have to use color code to make sure the few hot loads I make don't get in the old ones.
Heat treating in old guns can be questionable.

Thanks for the suggestions, and I appreciate the observations on shortcomings. Still longing for a 45 Colt snubby, so maybe the M25 is the way to go. I do have a 625 in 45 Colt but want something "special".

Sounds like a heck of a good idee, right thar!

I've got two more in the works right now....




Su Amigo,
Dave

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