Has my 14-3 been modified to take .357?

I just measured the cylinder and it's 1 9/16" which as a decimal would be 1.5625"

And yes, to the guy that suggested it was a model 15, I double checked and it's stamped 14-3. Not sure how it got the 4" barrel, but between that unusual barrel length and the unusual cylinder length, I suppose Grandpa modified this thing quite a bit.
Do the six 357 Magnum rounds fit easily into the gun's chambers !
I don't see where you answer this question ...
My 3 - 38 Special K-frames (un-modified) will not fully chamber 357 magnums rounds .
I was just wondering ,
Gary
 
A friend has a 5" but it is a pre-14 and has no model number.
See if you can get the serial number. There were not many K target guns from the early 1950s with 5" barrels. There's a good chance your friend has one of the Missouri State Highway Patrol units, which were .38 Combat Masterpiece revolvers with a special order 5" barrel. If it is one of those, and you supply the full serial number, I can tell you exactly when it left the factory. There were only 367 of them built, so far as we know (365 MSHP units and two overruns).
 
Back in the late 60's and 70's Dan Combs, who was the armor for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, modified most all of the model 10's to .357. I know of no problems or ill efects from this modification. I carried mine and shot it regularly with RP 125gr ammo.
 
Soooo a month later and still waiting to see if the op confirmed lately that the magnum ammo fits...or did I miss something? Regardless I like the heavy profile barrel, very cool.
I'd like to hear whether or not factory 357 Magnum rounds fit too, but the OP seems to have forgotten us.
 
I have a 38/44 Outdoorsman (N frame) that will chamber .357 Mag cartridges, BUT... the issue isn't so much will they fit, it's pressure; will modified cylinders withstand the pressure of .357 Mag ammo? According to the Lyman's handbook, .38 Spl. ammo 'maximum loads' run pressures of between 16,800 to 18,800 cup while .357 ammo 'maximum loads' run 38,300 to 42,000 cup.(with a 158 gr. bullet). The old 38/44 load data is hard to find, but I suspect they ran around 22,000 cup due to the shorter case. I have seen revolver cylinders blown apart due to overpressure; and while the N frame guns were 'designed' to shoot the heavier loads, I'm not going to risk a .357 round in my Outdoorsman. As an aside, the 'L' frame guns were produced to obviate the problem with forcing cone/barrel issues on K-frame .357 guns (Models 13, 19, 66, etc.). Just to be safe, I would advise not to shoot .357 rounds in a modified .38 Spl. K-frame cylinder.
 
I KNOW that the ops cylinder is a 38 special cylinder. I also know that lots of those 38 cylinders got reamed to 357. I have yet to hear of one that blew up. As I state earlier if that was happening we would ear all about it. Haven't. I also stated I believe it is better to fit a real 356 cylinder. But, then on another note I have also reamed and recessed sever 38 special cylinders to fire 9mm in full moon clips. A 9mm is slightly large base than either a 38 or 357 and runs at 35,000psi which hey is the same pressure as a 357mag. So far none have blown up and TKC will rechamber a K or even J frame 38 cylinders to accept and fire 9mms.
 
I KNOW that the ops cylinder is a 38 special cylinder. I also know that lots of those 38 cylinders got reamed to 357. I have yet to hear of one that blew up. As I state earlier if that was happening we would ear all about it. Haven't. I also stated I believe it is better to fit a real 356 cylinder. But, then on another note I have also reamed and recessed sever 38 special cylinders to fire 9mm in full moon clips. A 9mm is slightly large base than either a 38 or 357 and runs at 35,000psi which hey is the same pressure as a 357mag. So far none have blown up and TKC will rechamber a K or even J frame 38 cylinders to accept and fire 9mms.
The thing most tend not to consider, when comparing the maximum average chamber pressures (expressed in pounds per square inch) of two different cartridges, is the actual difference in interior surface square inches between them. The .357MAG cartridge case has considerably more available interior surface area, with each square inch experiencing 35,000 pounds of pressure, than does 9x19mm cartridge case. So, what’s that all mean, in this context? I haven’t a clue. Hey, I just ask the questions; I don’t have the actual answers. The ability to understand the practical details of that stuff is well above my pay grade.
 
Last edited:
The thing most tend not to consider, when comparing the maximum average chamber pressures (expressed in pounds per square inch) of two different cartridges, is the actual difference in interior surface square inches between them. The .357MAG cartridge case has considerably more available interior surface area, with each square inch experiencing 35,000 pounds of pressure, than does 9x19mm cartridge case. So, what’s that all mean, in this context? I haven’t a clue. Hey, I just ask the questions; I don’t have the actual answers. The ability to understand the practical details of that stuff is well above my pay grade.

Not very far above mine.

PSI is exactly that Pounds Per Square Inch. A rating over a given area. Increasing the area means you need to increase the volume of gas or liquid needed to achieve an identical pressure. In other word a 357 needs more gas to achieve that 35,000psi, but the amount of pressure on any given part or length of the chamber wall is exactly the same. A 357 can push a heavier bullet better only because of that increased volume. The effect of the pressure on a tube of the same diameter and wall thickness remains the same.

It just so happens that when I work part of my responsibility is being in charge of pressure tube inspection and testing. I no longer do the actual testing, I just supervise and deal with the people doing it. In fact this spring I dealt with the inspection and pressure testing 10s of 1000s of 1/2, 3/4 and 1" tubes from 4' to 20', with walls from .079 to .109. . I regularly deal with mechanical engineers and APIs. (Authorized pressure vessel inspectors) While the wall thickness, and diameter of the tube effect its pressure rating the length far and away less to do with its ability to contain a pressure. The radius means a lot. A 1/2 tube with the same wall thickness as a 1" tube will contain more pressure. The length however doesn't mean much. A 1/2 tube with say .093 walls 1' in length and one 20" in length will contain the same amount of pressure. before they rupture. Interestingly the size of a thin spot in the wall effects the its ability to hold pressure. A large spot being weaker than a small one..

A pressure vessel failure 15 years ago cost 7 of my coworkers their lives. But, that was the result of micro fracturing due to hydrogen embrittlement in the heat effected zone of a weld.
Hydrogen can begin to penetrate and weaken the grain boundaries in metals under certain circumstances.

Daniel J. Aldridge, age 50, Anacortes; Matthew C. Bowen, age 31, Arlington; and Darrin J. Hoines, age 43, Ferndale. The four burn victims were: Matt Gumbel, age 34, Oak Harbor; Lew Charles Janz, age 41, Anacortes; Kathryn Powell, age 29, Burlington; and Donna Van Dreumel, age 36, Oak Harbor. Both Kathryn Powell and Donna Van Dreumel, burned over more than 50 percent of their bodies, died at UW Burn Center on Friday. May They Rest in Peace.


On another note, those 9mm chambers on K frames are slightly thinner right at the cylinder stop notch than the 38 or 357 chambers
 
Last edited:
Back
Top