27 S&W to 38-40?

[rockrat]

Have a hankering for a 38-40 S&W. Have a couple of 27's so figure I can donate one for this. I can get Delta Gunshop to rebore the barrel, but need someone to rechamber the cylinder

Any suggestions on somebody for the job? Anybody heard of this being done befoe also? Lastly, is it a DIY, as I have chambered rifle barrels before, but never a pistol cylinder.

thanks

[theperfessor]

I think doing this as a DIY project is based on the kind of equipment you have available and how skillful you are in using it. I have never done this but if I were to do this on one of my guns I would analyze what needs to be done and how much it would cost to buy the tools needed vs the price of a professional gunsmith job. You're going to have to enlarge the throats by about 0.040". Can you do this accurately? Not just get the right diameter but also keep the holes in the right location? A piloted reamer might work, but depending on how close it fit the existing throat you can add in a little more possibility of having the center of the hole move a little. The cost of a piloted reamer is also a consideration.

A better way might be to use a lathe and bore out the throats, or use a vertical mill, an accurate center finder, and a boring head.

Then you've got to cut the chamber. A piloted reamer could be used for your job since the 0.401 diameter the cylinder would initially be bored to is bigger than the nominal 0.379" chamber size of a .357 Mag so it should clean up all the way through. Since the .38/40 is a bottleneck case a reamer is probably the best way to go, but again there is the cost issue. Of course if you can make a reamer yourself that can save you some money but that takes time and the right tools. If it were a straight walled case it could be bored with a single point tool and polished, but that would be very difficult to do accurately and consistently on 6 holes with a bottleneck form.

Just add up the cost and make a decision based on your time, skill, and equipment base.

No disrespect intended to professional gunsmiths or even do-it-yourselfers here, but a lot of gunsmiths are using small home-shop size equipment to do their work. They can do what they do because they know more (hopefully) than you or I do about how to fix, maintain, and upgrade machinery of a particular type. They can spread the cost of a chambering reamer (or a go-nogo gauge, or anything else) over dozens of firearms, where you or I look at the cost for doing one firearm. They can spread the time around to make fixture or a special tool over dozens of guns, where we have to put that time in for one piece. Gunsmiths don't use any equipment that the average hobbyist couldn't acquire, they just know what needs to be done and how to use their equipment to do it. They know more than you or me, and may have artistic skills that are unique, but basically they don't do anything we couldn't do if we knew how to do it properly.

I have thought about this, I'm thinking of rechambering a .44Mag SBH to .45 AR. I want to shorten the cylinder and extend the barrel back into the frame. And I'm still thinking about the best way to do it. And reading everything I can find about how the pros do it.

[targetshootr]

I imagine rifle twist rate would be different from revolver twist. i'd send the cyl to Andy Horvath to rechamber. Or let him line bore it to the gun for optimum accuracy. Delta charges $150 plus shipping to rebore, the guy Clements uses, Al Siegrist in Whittemore, Mi., charges $115, iirc.

[rockrat]

Thanks

[sargenv]

You may want to look into getting a 610 replacement barrel for your .401" barrel. If the rifling twist for the 10 mm/40 S&W is useful, that might be an easy way to get yourself in the ball park without a lot of re-boring and the like.. I'm not sure why you wouldn't sell a model 27 (a lot of people like these old 27's) and pick up a 610 to do the work on... but then I know next to nothing about gunsmithery... I know at least a few ppl that would love to get their hands on model 27 barrels longer than the standard 5.5" tube most 627's are being sold with these days..

[rockrat]

It is an 8 3/8ths tube. Might sell the thing and look for a 610 to convert, but like the old N frames

[Gunsmoke4570]

I would reconsider altering the M27. Those things will bring really big bucks these days, more than most new revolvers. ANY of the N-Frame blued revolvers will bring big bucks.

[targetshootr]

i have a 6 1/2" 44 spl barrel you could put on it, if you're into that caliber. Matter of fact, I have a 44 spl cylinder too, not recessed so it must be for a model 24.

[sargenv]

Yeah, the long barrel N frames fetch a premium.. you could likely get yourself a -2 model 610 classic unless it was the Blue frame that you like.. I don't think they ever had a blue framed 10 mm. I know a gent that shoots for Team S&W and he grafted a blued model 25 6.5" tube onto a stainless 625 frame and had a Ti cylinder fitted for it. He is a very good shooter looking for that "edge" that the current factory doesn't produce.. and no.. it's not Jerry M :)

[targetshootr]

You can do conversions using different barrels and cylinders and keep the original parts. I had a 44 mag barrel and cylinder put on this 5 screw 28 to make a poor mans pre-29.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b233/targetshootr/DSCN4515.jpg

[DCM]

I would reconsider altering the M27. Those things will bring really big bucks these days, more than most new revolvers. ANY of the N-Frame blued revolvers will bring big bucks.

So very TRUE! I got sick to my stomach when I saw what they go for now! I severely regret selling my model 27 and 29!

If I were to do a conversion I would do as others said and buy replacement parts so it could be returned to original.

I think I would scour the gun shows and garage sales first. You can usually find a cheap suitable bubbaized something to start with that won't lose any value by modifying it.

They don't make them like they used to!

[tonyjones]

Hamilton Bowen, bowenclassicarms.com, has converted many S&W 38/44 HD's to .38-40,
.44-40, .45 Colt, etc. The guns that have been engraved by Dan Love with carved ivory grips by Paul Persinger are drop dead gorgeous IMHO.
Regards,
Tony

[klcarroll]

.............I have thought about this, I'm thinking of rechambering a .44Mag SBH to .45 AR. I want to shorten the cylinder and extend the barrel back into the frame. And I'm still thinking about the best way to do it. And reading everything I can find about how the pros do it.

Hey! …….You’re describing a weapon I have been fantasizing about for some time now!!

I’d REALLY appreciate hearing about how your project works out!


Kent

[targetshootr]

II'm thinking of rechambering a .44Mag SBH to .45 AR. I want to shorten the cylinder and extend the barrel back into the frame. And I'm still thinking about the best way to do it. And reading everything I can find about how the pros do it.

Is that the auto rim? I have a medium frame om Ruger in 45 acp which is a handy sized gun. The throat length is still pretty long but it doesn't seem to affect anything.

[358wcf]

RockRat-
Touch base with Hamilton Bowen (Bowen Classic Arms)- I believe he has done several Smiths to 38-40- His work is superb- without question- and his turn-around is surpisingly quick- I had him turn my Model 27 357 into a 4" 44Special without using any new parts- I defy anyone to tell it is not a factory 44Special, except, of course, for that giveaway checkering on the topstrap and barrel rib- the classy-est 44Special Smith on the range, for sure. Cost for that job, done 2-3 years ago, was in the neighborhood of $1000, but the best work is not cheap. I hope my grandkids appreciate what I do for them!
Don't cheap out on your job- do it right, and be proud you did!

358wcf [smilie=1:[smilie=1:[smilie=1:

[sharpshooter3040]

cool Idea. Is there enough meat on the cylinder go 6 passes with a reamer. if so is the length right. Is there enough wall thickness left after reaming, especially in the stop notch area? Are the cylinders chambers recessed ? cutting the chambers should be easy enough with a good dividing head.


Doug

[rockrat]

38-40 is smaller in dia. than the 45 colt. which is in the model 25. May turn that Bain and Davis cylinder into the 38-40. So many projects, so little time it seems.

If I get it done, everyone here will be the first to know the results