An old oddity: .44 Special 4" with Chrome Lined Bore

[jaymoore]

nice 5 screw 4"...when did it ship? Did you or the previous owner swap out the hammer and trigger?

It was sold and returned on an auction site just before I got it. (Probably GB) It had just come back with the explaination "It's too nice for what i want to do with it"...Riiiight....

I suspect the scum who "temporarily bought" it swapped the guts out with a "ruint" hammer and trigger during the inspection period. So it looked the same but the action- wasn't! I pointed out the drama to the seller, who, after he calmed down, offered it to me for a somewhat less hideous price than what the auction brought. Fortunately, I had some spares that worked without further fitting. I like smooth triggers so it bothers me not at all.

Sharp eye!

BTW, it hasn't strayed far from it's factory "ship to" location. I live within 30 miles of the hardware company to which it was shipped way back in '55.

 

[BSA]

Did the chrome plating reduce the bore diameter?

 

[Jim Watson]

Possibly because it's easier to do the whole thing? No worries about incomplete masking, etc. I remember that Metalife and Armaloy were big firearms "hard chrome" plating concerns in the '80s. Metalife I thought looked more like a stainless S&W looking finish and Armaloy did a matte finish sort of like the chrome plating on S&W hammers and triggers in stainless revolvers.

Could be your friendly EPA, et al. have run most of these shops out of business?

Both are still in business. To my surprise, Armoloy will plate gun bores.
Metalife does not say yea or nay.

 

[jaymoore]

Did the chrome plating reduce the bore diameter?

I'm sure it did, but without knowing exactly what size it was to start, I can't tell you by how much. The plating thickness is no more than 0.001" or so. Not likely ist it as thick as the usual military plating thickness. Kinda hard to use the magnetic thickness tester as it needs to be at right angles to the surface to work.

 

[keith44spl]

I'm sure it did, but without knowing exactly what size it was to start, I can't tell you by how much. The plating thickness is no more than 0.001" or so. Not likely ist it as thick as the usual military plating thickness. Kinda hard to use the magnetic thickness tester as it needs to be at right angles to the surface to work.

Jay,

I used a chrome service once upon a time, a gage company,
that could flash chrome as thin as .000025 (25 millionth's) on plug and ring gages.

I agree with your guesstimate of .001 as that would be .0005 to the side, would work jest about anywheres.

Glad you brought this subject up...I'm thinking of a project revolver for this treatment rat-now.


Su Amigo,
Dave