So you want a .38 Super revolver...

...see TK Custom.

As a few of you know...I am a .38 Super and .41 Magnum addict. If it shoots those rounds I either own it or have shot it... But .38 Super revolvers are expensive and hard to find as only a few have been made over the years.

The above said I have been hearing great things about TK Custom and having a 686-7 .38 Super revolver thought it would be nice to try a J-frame.

TK will rechamber the chambers and mill the cylinder for full moon clips for $250.00. 10 stainless clips are $75.00. So not wanting to ruin the value of the 60-10 I was able to find a complete parts kit on GunBroker for $105 delivered. The extra cylinder dropped right into the 60-10 with no fitting at all. (it did not however fit a second 60-10 I have) So after emailing with TK off the cylinder went. A week and a half later I received a call that it was done and after giving them my CC# three days later it was back in hand.

The work was beautiful and the moon clips first rate. They are of the type that has a hairline cut between each cartridge recess for very easy loading.









Shooting the gun the first time was just on some 8" plates at 10 and 20 yards...there were no misses DA.

Wednesday I did some accuracy testing with both factory and reloaded ammo.

Starting at 15 yards single and double action gave groups that were less than satisfactory with factory PMC and Fiocchi ammo. Rounds were just not going where the sights were when the trigger broke. At fist I though I was just having a bad day with a fairly small gun..but this was just too bad.



So I moved the target to 10 yards and went to benchrest which I have only done with a revolver about twice in my life...and shot SA...



...now I was disappointed. Spent over $300 for a gun that would not hit the broad side of a barn at 50 yards...

But having brought the 686-7 with me and its can of handloaded ammo I pulled out some 160 grain RN lead rounds...and things improved considerably...



I am pretty sure I caused the vertical stringing as I don't shoot pistol from a bench all that much...but the horizontal spread told me that the round would shoot IF I did my part...so I then tried the 124 Gold Dot HP load and tried to really crank down on the gun....and it works...



So next to try some more of the factory loads over a chrono to see what the velocity is vz. what they are from a standard 1911.

TK stated that the gun will also run 9mm. I checked and sure enough they will drop right in with the moon clip. There is a slight bit more of headspace present but TK said that if there is any misfiring problems send the cylinder back for a correction... It will not chamber 9x23 Winchester and TK warns very strongly against using the cartridge in the gun even if they did fit as the standard pressure for the Super and .357 Magnum is 35K PSI vz. 55K for the 9x23...

If this works out the next gun to go down with be a 649 .38 Special Bodyguard. Will work out a lot cheaper than the market is getting for a 942 and it will run Supers.... The modification in no way impedes the ability of the gun to shoot .38 Special and .357 Magnum from the modified cylinder.




Bob

That's a pretty interesting and novel idea!

Bob,
Congratulations on the new revolver

FYI, You can also shoot 380ACP if you want as well as 9x21, 356TSW and probably a few others that do not come to mind at the moment.

Opening the chamber up for 38Super is somewhat common among the S&W 940 owners that I shoot with. I did it to both of mine many years ago.



If you are a 9x23 fan, it can be shot in modern revolvers.



The unfluted cylinder is the unmodified factory original chambered in 357 Magnum that came with this 627 Pinto. The black cylinder was purchased and then rechamberd by Mark at Pinnacle

There was one of these on G-broker recently.

Thanks for the info SAA... I spoke with Dane Burns and if anyone knows 9x23s he does... He said no problem shooting them from the 6 shot 686-7...so I guess I'll give it a try.

I had also thought about shooting .380s and just came a cross a BIG bag of them that I loaded back when I was a commercial reloader.

Bob

Dumb question here but can he rechamber a J frame in 38 special to super?

I found it quite easy to shoot 38Super in my 38/44 HD with NO MODS at all required. There is enough of a rim on the Super that the cartridge will fit and headspace on the rim and eject just like a 38 or 357. I suspect the same would hold true of a 65 or 66 as well. Because of the much higher operating pressures I would hesitate to try the Super in a 38 Special (even +P rated) J frame.
The 38 Super comp case made by Starline will NOT work because the rim has been removed so the case headspaces on the case mouth
Chip King

I eagerly await your chronograph results. Is that a 3" barrel you have? I have a 9mm Model 940 with 2" barrel and I believe I have the best load possible with this combination. I'd like to see how it compares to your Super.

Dave Sinko

Bob,
So is there a .41 maggie J frame in your future?
Kevin G

Kevin G said:

Bob,
So is there a .41 maggie J frame in your future?
Kevin G

Click to expand...

A J-frame cylinder is too short, but how about a 19 ounce Titanium L-frame 41 Magnum?

colt_saa said:

A J-frame cylinder is too short, but how about a 19 ounce Titanium L-frame 41 Magnum?

Click to expand...

I have a Titanium .41 Magnum Taurus Tracker with ported 4" barrel and adjustable sights, and it is brutal to shoot, even with the Ribber grips. It feels so good when I stop!

.38 Super & .41 Mag?

You must be one of those guys who carries a 16-gauge shotgun and limburger-sardine sandwiches to the group duck blind.

Of course, the other hunters won't ask to share your shells or lunch.

I'm having a model 60 converted to a 4-round cylinder with 41 special chambers. I'll post a photo when I get her done. The timing is proving troublesome.

hotrod150 said:

I'm having a model 60 converted to a 4-round cylinder with 41 special chambers. I'll post a photo when I get her done. The timing is proving troublesome.

Click to expand...

That sounds a bit extreme, but you have inspired me to reach for my dream revolver!

A 21st-Century LeMat built on the X-frame!
Of course, it will have to be converted to a top-break to handle the center shotgun chamber. Caliber? .22 Hornet/20 gauge. A competent smith should be able to ream about a dozen .22 Hornet chambers in that cylinder.
I'll have to hire a personal physical therapist and keep an orthopedic surgeon on retainer for each time I fire the 20 gauge barrel.

...no, if I run across one I plan on buying a .41 Ti Tracker snub to go with my 4 and 6" Ti Trackers. I usually shoot them with .41 Special ammo as the cylinders are short. The velocity is usually kept to 1000 fps and these guns will out shoot the AirLite Smiths...

The question of can a .38 Special snubbie be rechambered to .38 Super...yes. Shortly a 649 will be heading for TK for the rebore and clip recess machining.

chipking...most .38 Super ammo will not chamber in most .357 Mags or .38 Special cahmbers. No clue why but Winchester will. The SuperComp brass is what the .38 Super should have been when chambered in the 1911 back in 1929...I think the outcome would have been a lot different in the popularity of the round as it would have been accurate from the gitgo instead of suffering from poor accuracy for 50+ years...

Bob

..and no, no 16 ga. guns but I do like the obscure .350 Remington Magnum for my hunting caliber of choice.

colt_saa said:

A J-frame cylinder is too short, but how about a 19 ounce Titanium L-frame 41 Magnum?

Click to expand...

I also have one of these things.

It is NOT A REVOLVER.

When loaded with factory ammunition, it IS a MULTI ROUND HAND GRENADE that explodes in your hand every time you pull the trigger.

You may be meaner/tougher than I and have a different opinion.

rayb

Proudly clinging to my 38 Super pistols, .41 Magnum revolvers, 16 gauge shotguns, and 356 Winchester Rifles.

SuperMan said:

..The modification in no way impedes the ability of the gun to shoot .38 Special and .357 Magnum from the modified cylinder.

Click to expand...

Have you tried it?
Pinnacle warns: "**In regard to the caliber conversions, I do not recommend shooting .38/.357 case's in the cylinder once this conversion is done. The cases will fire form to the 9x23 case dimensions and they will most likely stick in the cylinder.
They will shoot, but they will probably stick."

Or does TK do it differently?

TK has no such warning as the chamber will not take 9x23s...so their reamer must be a little smaller than the Pinnacle.

I should be shooting it again next week sometime...

Bob

I have a smith and Wesson 640 pro. it is already cut for moon clips and I tried dropping in some 38 super rounds(aguila) they fit although a bit snug. do you think I could buy some moon clips for 38 super and shoot them too with no modifications? seems some people say you can shoot them without the moon clips if they chamber in the cylinder.

thanks for any info

The 9mm clips and the Super clips are the same....

Sent down and received back two more cylinders from TK... This time a 649 .38 Special that I had the original cylinder done. The other was a bran new stainless Model 66 cylinder that had dropped right into a 3" 66.

Just had time for a couple of clips out of each gun...hope to shoot more next week. These were 10 shots at 7 yards DA with the 649 and 6 shots at 7 and 6 more at 10 with the 66..





This was wih the same 125 grain Gold Dot HP reload that shot well from the 3" 60-10...

Bob