Making a "596" 44 spl 5 shot Progress Update photo

[Hondo44]

I'm starting a new project, a one-of-a-kind blue L frame 5 shot 44 Spl with square butt starting with a 586 4". I bought the 5 shot cylinder and hand from S&W but of course it's stainless steel from a 696.

I plan to have the original barrel rebored by Bowen or someone. But 1st I'm going to reshape the barrel to a 1950 Target vintage look by milling the rib narrow and shortening the shroud and re-contouring to the slender barrel shape.

Then I'll refinish the entire gun. Ruger uses a black passivate finish on stainless screws when used on a blue gun. It matches the Ruger blue steel parts perfectly. I may do the entire gun in it or just the SS cylinder if it's a good match to the re-blue.

I've been planning it for a couple of years when I 1st bought the cylinder and installed it in my 296. I like the SS cylinder in my 296 but a 586 'host' gun just recently fell in my lap so I'm moving forward.

My 296 w/ SS cylinder from a 696

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

One has already been made. While visiting Jim Stroh's shop several years ago he showed me one he had made for himself. L or K-frame with 696 cylinder installed and a 4" bored out mdl.66 barrel installed. A nice piece!

 

[Hondo44]

One has already been made. While visiting Jim Stroh's shop several years ago he showed me one he had made for himself. L or K-frame with 696 cylinder installed and a 4" bored out mdl.66 barrel installed. A nice piece!

Hi Mike,
He kust have made it on a K frame. The Mod 66 barrel has a different bore axis to ejector/cylinder axis distance than the L frame. Was it a stainless gun?
Thx,

 

[TAROMAN]

Interesting project. As a longtime 44 Special fan, I wish you well. As for finish, as you will have a stainless/blued hybrid, you might look into Black-T. A very nice and durable finish that the FBI HRT uses for their entry weapons.

 

[Hondo44]

Interesting project. As a longtime 44 Special fan, I wish you well. As for finish, as you will have a stainless/blued hybrid, you might look into Black-T. A very nice and durable finish that the FBI HRT uses for their entry weapons.

Hi Kehmkej,
Thanks for the suggestion and the link. Black-T is definitely black! The black passivate I mentioned that's used by Ruger seems to be blue enough to match a blue finished gun. Can't stand hybrids.

Thanks again,

 

[RidgwayCO]

Hondo44, your project sounds terrific. Here's a photo of my "M691", a converted M681-3. David Clements did the work for me last year, and I'm still smitten with it. A 4" barrelled .44 Special with fixed sights works so well for me. It's now wearing a set of Crimson Trace "Hoghunter" laser grips, and is scary accurate with my 200gr LRNFP handloads. David beadblasted mine, but a black finish sounds great too.

Post some pictures of yours when it's done!

 

[Mule88]

Ridgeway, I love your gun, what was the turn around time on it?

 

[RidgwayCO]

Mule88, turn around time was almost exactly a year. David doesn't do many of these. It required a new custom-made front sight, plus the barrel had to be sent out to be re-bored and re-rifled. Worth the wait though...

 

[Hondo44]

RidgwayCo,

Oh man, how sweet is that!! That 's one fine packin' handgun. A one-of-a- kind or if not, can't be many. I'm still debating about keeping my 4" barrel length or going to a 3"or even a 2". I like my 624 3" and the L frame 696 looks good at 3". I like the full ejector stroke I can maintain with a 3" also.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

Jim,
you may alrready know about this place/man, but if not, he may be what you are looking for regarding your re-finish. He blues SS. His work is fully equal to Fords.

Firearm Refinish and Restoration

 

[Hondo44]

Jim,
you may alrready know about this place/man, but if not, he may be what you are looking for regarding your re-finish. He blues SS. His work is fully equal to Fords.

Firearm Refinish and Restoration

Hey Gun 4 Fun,

Good to hear from you again. This guy sounds like excatly what I need!! Thanks very much for the reference, you solved my knarliest problem. He sounds perfect!

Thank you,

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

I am going to have him blue one of my SS Weatherby Mk V's.

I like SS restance to rust, but I prefer the traditional look of blue. According to his site, he can make the blued SS look about like a stock Colt 1911 does on the side of the slide. that's pretty good if you ask me.

I have been reading this thread with great interest, and am very interested in seeing what you end up with.

 

[keith44spl]

Sir,

Although not an 'L' frame...But, a stainless 3 " barrel (624) on this .44Special.

Just a light bead-blast and off the the local black oxide dipper.

And sha-zam black all over.

One of My favorite everyday workin' revolvers

Su Amigo,
Dave

 

[Hondo44]

Dave,
That's a cool tough looking gun and a very durable finish. What gun did you start with, a pre model 21 or Model 21?

I've got a little model 36 with 3" full lug barrel like that from Smith, a very limited short prodution run of black guns.

 

[tdan]

Ridgway............Did your smith use a 696 cylinder and extractor for that conversion? Personally, I'd kinda like to have a 4" Mountain Gun tapered barrel on an L-frame. Visualize a 686 MG with 5-shot cylinder and a .429" bore. Probably not a bad idea to buy the parts from the current Nite-Guard 44Special version while they are available. I suspect it will be discontinued shortly due to lack of sales...........just like the 696.

 

[Hondo44]

Ridgway............Did your smith use a 696 cylinder and extractor for that conversion? Personally, I'd kinda like to have a 4" Mountain Gun tapered barrel on an L-frame. Visualize a 686 MG with 5-shot cylinder and a .429" bore. Probably not a bad idea to buy the parts from the current Nite-Guard 44Special version while they are available. I suspect it will be discontinued shortly due to lack of sales...........just like the 696.

tdan,
That's a good idea, the cylinder and barrel would already be black and they'd be a drop in. The barrel is only 2 1/2" and it's a 2 piece barrel. But I just looked at the S&W website and it's already no longer listed. If you can still get the cylinder, you could order the 44 Mag barrel liner and a 6 shot 357 nightgurad barrel shroud; it would have the proper L frame spacing between cylinder center axis and bore axis.

 

[RidgwayCO]

tdan, I got the M696 cylinder assembly (including extractor) and 5-shot hand from S&W. Shipped them along with the M681-3 off to David Clements, and the revolver above is what he sent back. David did relate that the new 5-shot cylinder from S&W was incompletely reamed for .44 Special, but he remedied that...

 

[mm6mm6]

Omigosh, these are the most gorgeous revolvers I've ever seen!

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Hi Mike,
He kust have made it on a K frame. The Mod 66 barrel has a different bore axis to ejector/cylinder axis distance than the L frame. Was it a stainless gun?
Thx,

Yes, it was a stainless gun. Memory fuzzy could have been an L frame barrel. This was several years ago when he showed it to me.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

Omigosh, these are the most gorgeous revolvers I've ever seen!

Who you kiddin'?
You have some outstanding revo's, and the pics of them to prove it.
Nice to see you posting. I haven't seen you here for quite some time.