Round-butting a K-frame

[Gunhohulk]

I did it to a 65-1 along with adding a 66-1 4” barrel that was chopped to 3” and ported. The end result was pretty cool looking but it doesn’t shoot all that great. Probably not anything I’d do again but I don’t have any regrets either.

 

[smoothshooter]

The level of difficulty is low. It's mostly a time and effort endeavor. You put the round butt stocks on and scribe around them, then remove them and cut to the lines. The one caveat is to leave enough material down the middle to be able to keep the original slight crown across the grip frame all the way down. Or, in the case of a grooved backstrap, you will lose the grooves. There is a lot of hand filing and finishing.

Would there be possible strain screw hole issues to deal with?
IIRC, any problem with that is fairly easily resolved.
25 years ago a part-time gunsmith and full-time engineer friend of mine converted 2 square-butt stainless K frames to round butts for me. I hung around to watch him do one of them while we stood around and swapped old hunting stories, etc.
He used an old pair of kinda’ rough round butt wooden grips I had to scribe the outlines on the grip frame before removing any metal. He had it done in about 45 minutes, maybe a little less, and it was a perfect job.
Looked like it came from the factory that way.

 

[Vtgw938]

I thought about doing this to a 13-2 that I put a three inch barrel on but I like it with the square butt. I know I could put some round to square grips on it I suppose but with UM Boot Grips or magna's with a T-Grip it is better for shooting.Also I would come close to the serial number to the front, maybe even into it.

The strain screw is affected in that the metal around the head is cut some so with no other modification the screw would stick out from the frame. Also, no serial number can be affected no matter how many places it might show up on the frame.

 

[Engine49guy]

The 2.5" snub model 15, 19 and 66 have a taller frame at the front top ( they also have a longer rear site leaf that goes all the way to the very front of the frame and mates to the barrel ramp.
This was done because the 2.5" barrels front site ramp mates right to the frame so they frame needed to be slightly taller.

In comparison the 4" and 6" versions frame steps down at the front so it mates to the barrel rib which is slightly lower.

I have seen RB snub frames mated with a 4" barrel which looks ok but the frame is taller than the barrel rib.
Problem in putting a 2.5" barrel in a standard SB frame is the barrel rib would stick up above the frame since it steps down.

Btw the 3" versions fs ramp doesn't mate to the frame so the frame steps down like the 4".

 

[Muley Gil]

Once upon a time (late 1970s) the regulation book that BATF sent out had a provision for a licensed gunsmith to restamp the serial number on the frame before removing the SN that was stamped by the factory. Later on, that provision was removed.

I have converted a number of K and N frame revolvers from square butt to round butt. I only altered the ones where I didn't have to touch the serial number. The hole for the strain screw does need to be deepened or the head of the strain screw needs to be altered.

 

[stansdds]

You don't want to mess with the serial number, plain and simple. A skilled gunsmith should have little problem in converting a square butt to a round, so long as the conversion does not encroach upon the serial number.

Now, if this is a factory square butt with a 2 1/2" barrel, a variant that is not commonly seen, it is worth a lot more in factory form than it will be if altered.

 

[ken158]

Im thinking you are getting ready to make a mistake… Just post your SB gun here and someone will buy it. Take the funds and buy a factory RB gun and you have no worries with serial number, strain screw and sighting alignment.

 

[Borderboss]

The more I stare at the attached photo, the more I think this is a rebarrel. Not really an issue for me if I get it at the right price, as I still like the look.

 

[80sgyrene]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a patridge on a 2.5.

 

[VictorLouis]

I bought a M12 years back with poor finish. I knew right away this would make a good project to RB. It's labor-intensive for sure. While I got the 'shape' right, I didn't try for perfection. I just wanted to fit the set of Spegel style UM's

 

[Borderboss]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a patridge on a 2.5.

Me either, but I dig it.

 

[2152hq]

The more I stare at the attached photo, the more I think this is a rebarrel. .......

I'd think so too.
The top edge of the bbl rib is lower than the abutment that it is supposed to evenly meet up with on the frame.

 

[viceunit]

19-3 snub

Photo of my 19-3 2-1/2" for comparison.

 

[dfariswheel]

S&W would make short barrel square butt revolvers on special order for both law enforcement and individual customers.

Hollywood special ordered one for Clint Eastwood for the movie "The Gauntlet".
I think it was a Model 66 2 1/2 inch.

It's very possible to do a square to round butt conversion with nothing but a file, and if you're skills are up to it, you can use a checkering file to re-do the grooving on the back strap.
This can be almost impossible to distinguish from a factory job.

 

[StrawHat]

The revolver on the left is a Model 25-2 I had the grooves extended after it was rounded. Center is a Model 28-2 that I rounded. Revolver on the right is a Mountain Gun.

Three methods of dealing with the grooves in the backstrap.

Kevin

 

[KAC]

Seeing the Patridge front sight leads me to think the 19 was barreled to meet the specs for an "Off-Duty Revolver" for the PPC Off-Duty Match. I have a 66 that I did the same to.
KAC

 

[steelslaver]

A now deceased gunsmith converted some and was told by one of the local ATF agents if the serial number was in the crane area too, it didn’t matter if the butt serial number was completely or partially removed. On one particular gun he did, there was no number in the crane and the gunsmith restamped it on the side of the grip frame. He was advised this was fine as well. I guess this didn’t break the law as far as altering the number.

At one time after the GCA of 1968 a gunsmith could move the location of the serial number. The ATF decided this wasn't allowed at some point.

The serial numbers are not all in the same spot. Some are such that you can round butt. Other are to far forward or back. If one was so inclined you could re cut the back strap grooves.

 

[Borderboss]

Photo of my 19-3 2-1/2" for comparison.

Yep, that looks right. The gun I'm looking at is a rebarrel. Bummer.

 

[2152hq]

My 01FFL went back to 1972. Now retired in '22.
I don't recall ever seeing anything that allowed the Gunsmith (01FFL) to move a manufacturers imprinted ser# to another location on the frame. WITHOUT first application to the BATF for such a move on a specific ATF Form.

Maybe I missed it, that's entirely possible.

 

[Borderboss]

I appreciate all of your help with this topic for me. It seems like the rounding can be done reasonably easily, but caution as always.

However, also valuable was the discussion about the gun itself. Since I can't actually handle the gun since it's an online auction, I'm going to pass on this one. Given that it's almost certainly rebarrelled, there could be a bunch of issues involved like was the work done properly, what's the state of the forcing cone, and the strange look of where the barrel meets the frame. I don't want to end up falling down a project rabbit hole spending hundreds of dollars to correct problems.