Pistolero
Well-Known Member
OK, rainy afternoon. Decided to drag out a few rarely fired revolvers and see what the barrels and cylinder
throats measure.
Old S&W Regulation Police, is first up. I picked this up at a bargain price at a gun show, some idiot decided that the
exterior of the barrel needed "his help". Filed it all over, no caliber markings left, lots of ugly file flats, really ugly, why
I got it for a song. This is a J-frame, short window, chambered in .38 S&W, not .38 Special. OK, so I knew the barrel
would be a bit larger, since the standard bullet diameter for .38 S&W is .360, not .357 or .358 for the Specials. Barrel
took a .349 pin, fell all the way through, zero frame thread restriction. Now the cylinder throats. Start with a .360 pin,
passes right through. OK, .361....hmmmm, seems loose, way loose, actually. I look at the front and there is a LOT of
clearance around a .361 pin. What the heck. Finally I find a pin that fits the cylinder throats nicely.....
.378 diameter!! On what planet is that considered a "proper dimension" for the cyl throat for a .38 S&W which
fires a .360 or .362 ish bullet???
Wow. Still trying to digest that one. So, almost .020" over the correct throat size. Gee, maybe this one needs
a new cylinder or just sending it down the road.
Bill
throats measure.
Old S&W Regulation Police, is first up. I picked this up at a bargain price at a gun show, some idiot decided that the
exterior of the barrel needed "his help". Filed it all over, no caliber markings left, lots of ugly file flats, really ugly, why
I got it for a song. This is a J-frame, short window, chambered in .38 S&W, not .38 Special. OK, so I knew the barrel
would be a bit larger, since the standard bullet diameter for .38 S&W is .360, not .357 or .358 for the Specials. Barrel
took a .349 pin, fell all the way through, zero frame thread restriction. Now the cylinder throats. Start with a .360 pin,
passes right through. OK, .361....hmmmm, seems loose, way loose, actually. I look at the front and there is a LOT of
clearance around a .361 pin. What the heck. Finally I find a pin that fits the cylinder throats nicely.....
.378 diameter!! On what planet is that considered a "proper dimension" for the cyl throat for a .38 S&W which
fires a .360 or .362 ish bullet???
Wow. Still trying to digest that one. So, almost .020" over the correct throat size. Gee, maybe this one needs
a new cylinder or just sending it down the road.
Bill