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

[Lt.Donn]

The ops photo shows that the cylinder is a short 38 special. Because it was his Grandpa's I would leave it alone, reamed or not. Plenty of those were reamed to 357 without any ill effects, but not the best plan. If I want to convert a 38 special to 357 I fit a factory 357 cylinder by shortening the barrel extension and re-cutting the forcing cone or installing a 357 barrel. Neither the barrels or cylinders are hard to come by. I have yet to see a frame that let go where the cylinder remained intact.

As far as the 6 rounds with 357 head stamps go. I would NOT use them to see if the cylinder was reamed. They may well have been shortened by whoever gave gramps the "good ones". I would check with known factory 357 brass.

Might be fun to pull one and see what's inside

 

[Hawg Rider]

Welcome to the Forum, and my condolences on the passing of your Grandpa. However, he did leave you an interesting Model 14-3 revolver and it should be a fun shooter. I would have to vote with the majority, and whether or not it was modified to shoot .357 Magnum rounds, I would stick with .38 Specials...just to be safe. As you probably know, the Model 14-3 was available from 1967-1977, and with only a 6" or 8-3/8" bbl. However, according to the SCSW 5th Ed. (pg. 256) there is a "Premium for 4" Model 14-3s." Apparently there were several production runs of 14-2s with 4" bbls for Dayton Police Supply, and some for the Air Force shooting team at Lackland AFB ("AFPG"). Perhaps some of those barrels were fitted to 14-3s? Maybe one of our Forum gurus will be along with more info. Regardless, you have a nice revolver. Shoot it and enjoy it!

 

[Okie Red]

It was common for police officers to ream out the model 15 to accept the 357. A local cop here would do it for a reasonable fee.

The snub model 15 was especially desirable because we could not get the 2.5 inch model 19.

I do not recall them ever boring out a model 14. I do remember the discussion because I think the model 14 has a shorter cylinder and would not fit the 158 grain bullets in 357. Anybody actually have experience with the older pin barrel model 14s and the longer ammo?

Personally, I know there was different heat treatments over time. I am not comfortable firing a 50-60 year old gun sold as a 38 Special, with 357 mag ammo.

This discussion has come up with respect to the 38 Super. The 38 Super with moon clips is fast for competition, but must be loaded hot to reach power factor requirements. Many guns are modified for this, but they made lots of concerns about the model 14 at the 38 Super pressure ratings.

I would like to hear from people who have fired the 357 and 38 Super in these modified model 14s and model 10s, not just people speculating.

Back in the late 60s and early 70s Dan Combs was the armorer for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and well respected in many shooting circles. The OHP issued S&W model 10 heavy barrel revolvers. He modified many of the issue guns to accept and fire .357 magnum ammo. I was a young deputy sheriff and he reamed the cylinder in my 10-5 to do the same. At that time I was just getting started into reloading and was loading a lot of 2400 powder and loading it hot. I shot a lot of .357 ammo out of that model 10-5 without any problems. I know where the gun is today and while it is not shot a lot today it still functions fine. I own a Model 64-8 at present that has even reamed to 357 and do not hesitate to shoot 357 out of it. Do what you want and believe what you will.
Jim

 

[DoubleNickel]

Interesting. Local shop near me also has a 14-3 6" that has a .357 cylinder and barrel. The ejector shroud also doesn't quite line up with the frame on the bottom

 

[Okie Red]

Back in the late 60s and early 70s Dan Combs was the armorer for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and well respected in many shooting circles. The OHP issued S&W model 10 heavy barrel revolvers. He modified many of the issue guns to accept and fire .357 magnum ammo. I was a young deputy sheriff and he reamed the cylinder in my 10-6 to do the same. At that time I was just getting started into reloading and was loading a lot of 2400 powder and loading it hot. I shot a lot of .357 ammo out of that model 10-6 without any problems. I know where the gun is today and while it is not shot a lot today it still functions fine. I own a Model 64-8 at present that has been reamed to 357 and do not hesitate to shoot 357 out of it. Do what you want and believe what you will. We all have opinions and different experiences.
Jim.

Back in the late 60s and early 70s Dan Combs was the armorer for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and well respected in many shooting circles. The OHP issued S&W model 10 heavy barrel revolvers. He modified many of the issue guns to accept and fire .357 magnum ammo. I was a young deputy sheriff and he reamed the cylinder in my 10-5 to do the same. At that time I was just getting started into reloading and was loading a lot of 2400 powder and loading it hot. I shot a lot of .357 ammo out of that model 10-5 without any problems. I know where the gun is today and while it is not shot a lot today it still functions fine. I own a Model 64-8 at present that has even reamed to 357 and do not hesitate to shoot 357 out of it. Do what you want and believe what you will.
Jim

Correction:The pistol was a model 10-6 and not a 10-5 as I stated in my post. My mistake. Jim