44 magnum fits in 44 special

[youngda9]

I just purchased a 696. I have some 44 magnum brass lying around. I seated a bullet in the crimp groove to see if it fit into the 44 special chamber and it does just fine.

I thought the concept of the 44 magnum was to increase the length of the cartridge enough so that it did not fit into the cylander of a 44 special. What's going on here? Can someone else check their firearm to see if this is the case as well.

Also, would there be any issues putting 44 special loads into the larger 44 magnum brass and firing it from this gun? I believe this would actually decrease the pressure since the internal volume of the brass is now larger.

Obviously accidentally firing a 44 magnum loaded round in the 696 could be catistrophic.

 

[brucev]

Take standard factory .44 Magnum rounds and see if they will chamber in your revolver. If so, then contact S&W. If your revolver will only chamber your reloads, you need to look at the brass, etc. as the problem is with your reloads. Start with standard factory loads as produced by one of the major ammunition producers.

 

[AABEN]

DID you buy it new? If it was a used gun some one could had a 44M cylinder put on it. Is it the large frame? If it is then I would not be afrade to shoot it. But first I would check thr cylinder agenst a 44M cylinder. Good luck

 

[GregG]

I would like to know if your cylinder will accept a fired/empty .44 mag case that has not been sized (no crimp).

 

[LouisianaJoe]

Here is a thread on my 624 that has the same issue. There were others that had the same issue.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-revolvers-1980-present/228795-624-chambers-44-mag.html

My 624 will chamber Federal .44 mags. (not reloads)

 

[bpeddicord]

Sometimes the manufacturer just screws up and does something like this. Back in the 80s, I bought a Charter Arms Bulldog 44 Special with the 3" barrel from a local hardware/gun store. It would chamber 44 factory magnum rounds and my reloads. Never sent it back. A friend of mine bought it and cut the barrel back to 2" and shot the hound out of it.

 

[glenncal1]

Be very careful with that gun, touching a magnum round off in it may ruin your day. I would call S&W and see what they say.

 

[youngda9]

To reply to the questions and comments:

I do not believe that I have a factory 44 magnum round lying around. The cartridge I put in there used the below linked cast boolit.
Accurate Molds: Custom Bullet Molds

I can load up a dummy round tonight with an XTP bullet and see if I get the same results. I'll try the un-crimped brass test as well.

I'll also try to measure the distance from the back of the cylinder to the point where it narrows down further using some calipers tonight.

The revolver is is a no dash 696. It was advertized as lightly fired, there are some slight carbon rings on the front of the cylinder that indicate firing.

 

[sjmjax]

Surprise, Surprise....

Just checked my no-dash 696. CBS6XXX

It also accepts all factory and reloaded .44 magnum ammo.

I now have two 624's and a 696 "Magnums"!

 

[handgunner356]

I would call S&W and see what they say, on the 624s' if they had a bad cylinder you were out of luck. I wouldn't think it would be a big issue for them to make a cylinder but on the 624s' they would only replace it with another gun. Chances are they don't have many 696 5-shot cylinders laying around either, I'd hate to send my gun in and have them tell me they'll credit me on something else.

 

[youngda9]

According to my Hornady reloading manual.
Max case length
1.16" 44 sp
1.285" 44 M

I measured the distance from the back of the cylander to the point where it begins to neck down. Measures 1.255"-1.260" (this was a difficult measurement to make)

I then measured a 44 magnum loaded round. Brass length was 1.280". The rim length is 0.055". So the distance inside the cylander is 1.280"-0.055"=1.225". This means there is about 30 thousanths of length from the end of the brass to the point where the cylander begins to neck down.

The serial # on this 696 is CBW1XXX. Can someone give me a manufacturers date.

 

[Magster]

This is a serious issue and the answer must come from S&W. Stay in contact with them untill you get an answer. Please keep us posted.

 

[youngda9]

I haven't decided if I'm going to do anything about it yet.

 

[Roadranger]

Something to think about. If you send the gun back to S&W and there are no more 696 cylinders, they may decide to keep it. There are no new 696's to replace it with. Since your 696 obviously works as intended with 44 specials and is marked 44 special, I believe that I'd just use it as is. Bob!

 

[diamonback68]

I haven't decided if I'm going to do anything about it yet.

Whatever you do, DON'T fire any 44 Magnums in that 696. To begin with, it's an L frame not an N frame and the weakest point on the 696 is the thin forcing cone.

 

[P&R Fan]

I tried it in my 296, 696 and 624, all no-dash models. Wouldn't fit in any of 'em.
I was kinda hoping it would fit the 296. An 18 oz .44 Magnum would be interesting.
Jim

 

[CBH44]

I have a 624 of 1987 vintage that will take a .44 mag cart. loaded with a 250 gr. swc. This Smith was given the ok by Kate at S&W.