SGT ROCK 11B
Member
A 25-2 cut down to four inches was popular with cops in the 1960s. I was cheaper and just got a surplus S&W 1917.
Is anyone out there still able to convert a Model 28 to 44 Special?
- Thread starter Stopsign32v
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SGT ROCK 11B
Member
Do you reload? 44 Special is expensive if you don’t.
Like others mentioned the Model 28 is becoming rare and if S&W makes classics it is always will be the premium Model 27 and not the Model 28. Get a 44 Magnum Mountain Gun and you have the option of Specials and Magnums.
StrawHat
Member
Going the route I chose was still cheaper than buying a Model 25-2 and cutting it to 4”.
Here are 5 of my 4”, ACP revolvers,
I customized two of them and had Andy Horvath finish one. My two are the 45 H E Model 1917 (Brazilian Contract) and the Model 28-2. Andy put the finishing touches on the Model 25-2.
The Model 22-4 and the Model 625-6 Mountain Gun are basically stock pieces.
Kevin
A 5" tapered barrel N frame .44 Special has a certain feel and balance that is hard to explain. A 5" barrel carries like a 4" and shoots like a 6". A handloaded .44 Special does everything I need a handgun to do.
StrawHat
Member
Much like the answer Louis Armstrong gave when asked, “what is jazz?” “If you have to ask, you’ll never know.”
There is a sublime difference of feel between a 5” barrel and either a 4” or 6” of the same taper. I much prefer the 4” but many have found the 5” to be the ideal length for them.
Kevin
TaxPhd
Member
AFAIK, Bowen is no longer providing services on S&W revolvers.
cstanmiller
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Abbotson
Member
Definitely cheaper than any conversion. I had an old Heavy Duty I was toying with turning into a .44 Special. After refinishing etc, etc, etc, etc it was going to be about $2300.
OP
Stopsign32v
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How the heck do you find a 5 inch 44 special S&W barrel? Been looking
It’s cheaper to buy a 24.
I had a mint 4" M-24-3 I bought about 20 years ago for $430 and loved the gun but then sold it for $750. I saw the guy I sold it to one day about 5 years later and asked about the gun and he asked if I wanted to buy it back? Said yes and bought it bought it back for the same price then sold it for $1,100. It was a beautiful gun that I liked shooting but just never saw what was so "special" about the .44 Special.
austintexas
Member
In The middle 70s I picked up a M-28 that someone had screwed up the barrel trying to drill out a stuck bullet. In those days there was a gunsmith in Bear , Deleware that converted Smiths. Or as in my case I sent the barrel and cylinder to him to be converted to 45 Colt. Just a matter of unscrew and screw on the barrel. I think I paid $80 plus postage. I never should have sold that revolver, a nice pencil barrel .45.
SWCA 892
SWCA 892
gfors
Member
The specs say the 629 is heavier than the 686. I would think it should be lighter, because of more material being removed, due to larger bore. Typo, or something else?
Jim Watson
Member
I think that if you have a yen for a .44 (or .45) conversion, it might pay to load
some 200 gr .38-44 or .357. That might get you the thump you want to feel without the cost.
Anecdote Alert
Back about 1977 a "mechanically inclined" friend was converting .357s to .45 LC. He had found 1950 and 1955 .45 barrels and had Bob Snapp rechamber the cylinders. He had the mold for the short nosed Keith and they made up into nice guns.
But I had to be different, I wanted a .44 Special. Problem was, the Skeeterites had used up all the loose barrels. A friend with a home machine shop was in the process of making a barrel from a blank but the friend doing the fitting was killed in a car wreck. I guess that partly turned barrel is laying around somewhere but what I have to shoot is a sawn off M25, so I ended up in .45 anyhow. Sawn off twice chasing IDPA SSR rules.
some 200 gr .38-44 or .357. That might get you the thump you want to feel without the cost.
Anecdote Alert
Back about 1977 a "mechanically inclined" friend was converting .357s to .45 LC. He had found 1950 and 1955 .45 barrels and had Bob Snapp rechamber the cylinders. He had the mold for the short nosed Keith and they made up into nice guns.
But I had to be different, I wanted a .44 Special. Problem was, the Skeeterites had used up all the loose barrels. A friend with a home machine shop was in the process of making a barrel from a blank but the friend doing the fitting was killed in a car wreck. I guess that partly turned barrel is laying around somewhere but what I have to shoot is a sawn off M25, so I ended up in .45 anyhow. Sawn off twice chasing IDPA SSR rules.
The M629 is an N frame and the M686 is a L frame. N frames are larger, as are the cylinders.
Engine49guy
Member
If the new 686 Mountain gun is also a 7 shot than even though its L frame cylinder is larger IIRC because of the 7th hole and narrow rib barrel it is also lighter than the smaller 6 shot .357 K frame Model 66.
Sebago Son
Member
Back in the bad old days of 1976 when J&G Rifle Ranch was listing used 28's for $140 I bit the bullet and made up a .45 Colt. While I still have it here, I would never do that again.... among other things, the front sight height of a .357 is significantly lower than that required for a .45 Colt.
Minshooter
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Boy, do I know that feeling.
Waaay back, George C. Nonte wrote praises for someone who did .44 spl conversions on Smiths (Won't say his name, but it can be found). Can only assume that as a very well known gunwriter, George got special treatment.
So, I sent him a NIB 6" Model 28 (For which I paid $125 total, from a local dealer -excuse me while I go thump my head on the wall).
It came back a massively butchered mess; a barrel liner cut off at the muzzle, presume with a hacksaw, chambers drilled out with a twist drill (not seeing any other way to score them up so badly), and assorted tool marks, on my new in the wrapper 28.
Could never get a single response from the guy. Sold the pistol face to face to someone who wasn't very fussy, but wanted it as is.
gfors
Member
doh...of course. I never even considered that, and I own examples of each frame. More coffee please!
wileyjackhammer
Member
A group of us made several model 28's into .45 Colt's.....thru a local gunsmith friend and while they may not have been perfect, it accomplished what we were after.
In the mid-70's I called S&W and bought all 5 or 6 model of 1950 & 1955 barrels they had in stock, according to the lady at S&W I talked with. They were all 6 or 6 1/2" barrels, but most in the group chopped them back to 4". The barrels cost us $50 each, if I remember correctly. I still have one of the two that were mine & back then it was sent in for a new type of hardchrome type finish.
I believe we had to change the front sights, but I can't say all of them did. We started with model 28's because they were the least expensive N-Frame and plentiful. .45 Colt S&W's were expensive & rarely seen in our area, although there were some 25-2's in .45 acp.
I have made one into .44 Spl and frankly, it would be easier to just buy a .44 mag....but I am thrilled with the one I have, which was done by a friend who had earlier made one for himself.
We also turned Blackhawk .357's into .45 Colt's for the same reasons and I still have one Snubby of those....Cowboy Action stuff...now you can just buy a snubby, which I have.....
Nowadays, it's much easier & cheaper (unless you can do the work) to find a .44 or .45 Colt pistol that fits your needs, light barrels, heavy barrels, snubbys, round butts, etc......but sometimes you just want to make one of your own, a little at a time.....
