Cracked forcing cone

[Honda-doug]

Hi Guys,
A good friend of mine has recently aquired an early hand ejector, It is a M&P .38 special in nickel with a 6" barrel, Built around 1919 or 1920. It was his great grandfathers pistol, so it is special to him. The downside is it has a timing issue and was neglected or misunderstood for so long that the forcing cone is cracked in 2 places. Otherwise the condition is quite nice. Is this gun finished as a shooter?? I would like your opinions as to the best course of action. Can it be sent back to S&W??

 

[Honda-doug]

Hi Guys,
A good friend of mine has recently aquired an early hand ejector, It is a M&P .38 special in nickel with a 6" barrel, Built around 1919 or 1920. It was his great grandfathers pistol, so it is special to him. The downside is it has a timing issue and was neglected or misunderstood for so long that the forcing cone is cracked in 2 places. Otherwise the condition is quite nice. Is this gun finished as a shooter?? I would like your opinions as to the best course of action. Can it be sent back to S&W??

 

[mtb1bkr]

If only the forcing cone is cracked then he could find a replacement barrel and have it put on or a good smith might be able to cut the barrel back a bit and rebore it. The timing issue is easy enough to fix by a gunsmith. Might be a good gun to send to David Chicoine to have repaired. He could even re-blue if a new barrel is put on it to make everything match. Here's his website: www.oldwestgunsmith.com/gunsmith

S&W won't mess with guns this old due to the availability of parts for them.

Bill

 

[Jack Flash]

Is it really important to shoot it? (Just asking...)

For what it would cost to get it running again, especially if looks mean anything, he could buy a fine .38 Special shooter and have change left over.

I would just keep his great grandfather's gun all original as a non-shooter, retaining any value it has as a keepsake.