Conversion - Model 15 to 44 Special?

[THE PILGRIM]

I wish I had a Cousin who had 2 - 696s for sale!
Not a gun I see that often!
And with that Cousin Discount I would probably buy another one!

 

[nbedford]

I wish I had a Cousin who had 2 - 696s for sale!
Not a gun I see that often!
And with that Cousin Discount I would probably buy another one!

Well shortly before that I had gotten in the Lipsey 44 Special which was blued, and had been reloading for it, and had even put a Wilson trigger spring in it. Same cousin called me and said he had gotten in a Lipsey 44 Special just like mine, but in stainless steel (I thought "Oh Man!). Anyhow I went up to his shop and looked at his Lipsey. All was just fine until I pulled the grips. Under the grip was a big honker of a safety lock on the hammer spring, which was a definite downer for me; although I really preferred stainless. We got to $50 boot plus my Lipsey for his. I thought about it for a couple of days and called him up and agreed to it. We are after all tight hill people. I swapped out the Wilson trigger spring and installed the factory spring back in mine before we did the trade, which was just fine with him.

 

[Capt. F.]

I suppose it’s possible to turn a Model 15 into a .44 Special if you could find a gunsmith willing to tackle the job or you could watch the various action sites for a Rossi Model 720.
It’s a 5 shot .44 about the same size as a K frame and frequently can be had for $500 or less. Mine I bought around 6 years ago.

 

[Marksman]

In the mid to late 70's there was an outfit in Spokane, WA by the name of Spokhandguns that converted S & W M/66's to .44 Special 5 shot. Today they're exceedingly hard to find, wish I'd bought one back in the day.

 

[StrawHat]

In the mid to late 70's there was an outfit in Spokane, WA by the name of Spokhandguns that converted S & W M/66's to .44 Special 5 shot. Today they're exceedingly hard to find, wish I'd bought one back in the day.

Indeed, the cylinder looked like this.

Kevin

 

[Muley Gil]

I believe the Charter Arms Bulldog is the smallest .44 Special made, which looks to be even smaller than K frame guns. That being said, they are known to only be able to handle low pressure loads.

I was issued a Charter Arms Bulldog by my PD. Swapped the wood grips for rubber. I shot it with the Skeeter load, a Keith style 250 grain SWC over 7.5 grains of Unique.

That load killed at both ends!

 

[GerSan69]

I have a pair of Taurus model 431s. This is the fixed-sight model that's nearly identical to a K-frame, not the 441. My 431s fit easily in K-frame holsters.
That said, I's recommend getting one of those (they come up periodically on GB) instead of looking to redo a Model 15. Main reason is by the time you finish spending to have your 15 converted, you'll have spent more than you could get the Taurus for!

 

[Hondo44]

Shot a Model 10 converted to 44 Spl a long time ago. Owner loaded them mild and no issues, but I wouldn't do it.

I converted a 686 L frame to 44 Spl using a 5 shot 696 cyl. The hand didn't need changing. There's enough tolerance in the action for the hand to work when the chamber count is only one different (one higher or one lower), sometimes two.

Re-threaded an N frame .44 barrel. It's a great shooter with no issues.

 

[sigp220.45]

The "N" frame has always been the one for six shot calibers starting with the number "4".

This 6 shot L frame starts with a number 4 - .40 S&W.


The short-lived 646. No way you get 6 .44 holes in there, methinks.

Weird, my pictures aren’t showing up.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I believe the Charter Arms Bulldog is the smallest .44 Special made, which looks to be even smaller than K frame guns. That being said, they are known to only be able to handle low pressure loads.

The Rossi mdl 720 is a 5 shot .44 spl that is slightly smaller than the L frame . 44 spl 696. Mine's over 20 years old and is still "perkin".

 

[Hondo44]

This 6 shot L frame starts with a number 4 - .40 S&W.

The short-lived 646. No way you get 6 .44 holes in there, methinks.

True. A .4 caliber on a frame smaller than the N frame, is limited to 5 shots like another 5 shooter the 696. But Smith resorted to the titanium cyl on the 646 to make it a safe 6 shot with the .40 Cartridge. Similar to the .44 Spl Airlite TI 296 & 396 L frames which are 5 shooters.

 

[Engine49guy]

One of the other advantages of a cylinder with an odd number of chambers is that the cylinder stop notch cuts are relocated between the chambers where it is solid metal, even if you did have enough room to modify a 6 shot k cylinder from .38 to .44 caliber holes my bet is the stop notches would be dangerously thin above the chambers.

 

[Hondo44]

Exactly right and that's how S&W came up with the 7 shot .357 L frame.

And while Ruger has a .32 H&R six shot on their small frame Single Six, they went to a 7 shot cylinder on the same frame when they chambered it in .327 Fed Mag.

And custom Ruger conversions to non-factory produced chamberings and wild cat cartridges are 5 shooters.

 

[nedlate]

And while Ruger has a .32 H&R six shot on their small frame Single Six, they went to a 7 shot cylinder on the same frame when they chambered it in .327 Fed Mag.

Now I understand why the 7 shot!

I have a Single Seven and to be honest I curse it!! Unloading and loading
is different then the Single Sixes-if you go to the click to unload you now have to back the cylinder up to eject the shell. Besides a very tight fit for the shell to slide out.

Ed

 

[Protocall_Design]

True. A .4 caliber on a frame smaller than the N frame, is limited to 5 shots like another 5 shooter the 696. But Smith resorted to the titanium cyl on the 646 to make it a safe 6 shot with the .40 Cartridge. Similar to the .44 Spl Airlite TI 296 & 396 L frames which are 5 shooters.

I made 2 646s out of 686s, one 4" and one 6". They both have SS cylinders reamed out from .357 to .40 S&W. The 4" one has thousands of rounds through it and works like a champ. It's my IDPA gun. I got the 4" barrel from a guy who was having a longer custom barrel made for his 646. The 6" one is a 686 barrel I sent out and had rebored and re rifled to .40 cal. It still says 357 on the side.

 

[Hondo44]

Now I understand why the 7 shot!

I have a Single Seven and to be honest I curse it!! Unloading and loading
is different then the Single Sixes-if you go to the click to unload you now have to back the cylinder up to eject the shell. Besides a very tight fit for the shell to slide out.

Ed

The factory recognized the problem and will fix it for free. When you call Ruger to send it back, ask for a postage paid shipping tag. No more than 12 days turnaround.

Although it's pretty easy to fix; the loading trough opening isn't opened up large enough. I've fixed several. I use a fine grit 1/2" long stone in a Dremel tool about the same or slightly larger diameter as the trough. Just round out the bottom of the loading trough where the case rim needs to pass by. It doesn't take much.

Be sure not to open the top of the trough so the loading gate still fits properly.

SS guns just need the trough polished with a same size diameter very fine abrasive wheel. Of course blue guns need polishing and cold blue touch-up.

 

[nedlate]

Thanks for the information. I have several stones so I will look at that.
Ed

 

[PattonTime]

I have a 686 converted to 44 Special I bought here on the forum, its a 5" gun.The barrel was rebored to 44 caliber, & a 696 cylinder & other parts were sent along to fitted, as it came to me as sort of a "kit" the barrel was already rebored and reinstalled but the rest was not put together I had a local gunsmith finish it up for me & it works great.

 

[DWalt]

I believe the Charter Arms Bulldog is the smallest .44 Special made, which looks to be even smaller than K frame guns. That being said, they are known to only be able to handle low pressure loads.

Actually, they will handle any commercial .44 Special load and then some. I remember reading an article about that in which someone was shooting some very stout .44 Special handloads in a Bulldog. HOWEVER, I do not advise that. The Bulldog is just too light weight for shooting comfort, especially with the factory stocks.

I ended up buying a set of oversized Pachmayr presentation grips for mine, and my only handload for it uses a 180 grain cast bullet at about 650 ft/sec MV. That is as hot a load as I ever want to get for a Bulldog. I have even considered using round balls for even lighter weight but have not yet tried that.

 

[Goblin]

I’ve seen a Colt Python converted to 44 Special. The base gun would be pricey, but for that kind of project, I don’t think you’ll notice an extra grand being spent.