Rechambering a revolver....who does it?

[Jrw8214]

Does anyone know who can rechamber a revolver? Im damn tempted to purchase a Beretta Laramie in .38(since the .45s are drying up) and just have it rebored to .44 Russian. I also wouldnt mind having a Ruger Birdshead Single-Six rechambered to a slightly larger caliber. Who does this kind of work at a good price?


Thanks,
Jrw

[Ranch 13]

Any gunsmith that truly is a gunsmith vs a gun parts changer should be able to do it.  Actually anybody with a good lathe and the ability to set it up can do it.
Can't get much more zip out of the single six due to cylinder length and diameter. 32 Hr is a good little cartridge.

[Jrw8214]

Yeah i was thinking that. I was just remembering Happy Trails used to do conversions on Single-Six's converting them to .38/357, but i know they closed up the shop.

[Delmonico]

I've got an older adjustable sighted Single six in 32 mag, to be truthful I would not even consider 38/357 for it.  There is some data for Ruger only loads, I've been shooting them for years.  If interested send me a PM and I'll discuss them with you if you are interested.   That new 323 S&W reaches what we've been doing in our rugers with the 32 mag for years.

[Jrw8214]

I appreciate that offer. I dont have one yet but when i get one i'll keep it in mind. Ive no doubt the .32 H&R is a fine caliber, i know its ballistically superior to .38 Special, but i just wasnt sure if it would have asmuch takedown as a larger .357 sized bullet. Im not a competitor in CAS, i just prefer the older style guns. I never cared much for modern style guns. Basically i just like the smaller size of the birdshead single-six. To me, its like a modern day version of the Lightning/Thunderer which i think makes a perfect companion to a breaktop revolver(hence the Laramie).

My reason for bringing up this topic was so i could be sure before i purchased these guns. I will get them, but i wanted to know if i could infact get a .38 Special Laramie converted to .44 Russian. If not, ill just hold out until i find one in .45. As for converting a Single-Six, that was just a hunch i had. Im sure i could be perfectly happy with the .32 H&R caliber.

Since i can pretty much get any gunsmith to bore out the Laramie, can anyone give me an idea as to what kind of money something like this would cost? Ive never had any custom work done to any of my guns so i have no idea what a gunsmith would charge for something like this.

Thanks,
Jrw

[St. George]

That depends on the gunsmith and you - and whether you want the barrel liner to show or to be invisible.

He's also going to have to re-work the ejector 'star' in order to fit and that's yet another chore you'll pay for, and it's still going to be marked in the smaller caliber unless you have it buffed and re-marked and refinished.

Personally - I'd wait to buy one in .45.

Otherwise, you're putting a lot of money into an Italian clone.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Jrw8214]

The ejector star is something i never thought about(although i shouldve). I agree St. George. I was just wanting to know how much something like this would cost. I have nothing against .45 Colt, infact i think .45 Colt and .357 Magnum are the two best calibers one could have. However i just find something very elusive about those more historically accurate calibers such as .44 Russian.

[Professor Marvel]

Greetings JR -

RE: Single Six Conversion -

I recall reading of interesting new model single six conversions, including a .357 mag. If I recall correctly the .357 mag conversion required a completely newly machined 5 shot cylinder, some newly made internals and complete retiming. Whilst possible, (rather like the 5 shot > .45 single actions) it is entirely a very pricey custom affair.

One simple Single Six conversion is to the .327 magnum, but it still requires expensive new cylinder and rework, as done by Bowen.

As our Good Delmonico pointed out the existing .32 mag can be "loaded up for Rugers" to  very effective level, and is COTS available as we speak.

Since a variety of off-the-shelf lightweight .357's are available and Since one is definitely "giving up" some performance vis-a-vis the .357:
.32 H&R mag 100  gr (6.5 g) JHP 1,208 ft/s (368 m/s)    324 ft·lbf
.327 Fed mag 100 gr (6.5 g) JHP 1,400 ft/s (430 m/s)    435 ft·lbf
.357 Mag     125 gr (8.1 g) JHP 1,600 ft/s (490 m/s)    710 ft·lb


RE : Laramie Conversions:
However,  as your original query was regarding the conversion of a .38 Laramie to .44 Russian, I am clearly rambling on (as is my prediliction) soley for entertainment value :-)

we see that CDN is "blowing out" the .38 laramies...

Since this puppy is a breaktop, you are entering a whole 'nother world 'o hurt and expense ...
obtaining let alone fitting a new barrel in .44 could be dicy. Reaming and relining might be easier. Reaming and rechambering the cylinders is possible, but as  our good St George pointed out, that's more pain for what is still a clone.

best to wait for one to show up used after the original owner tires of it's quirks ....

I too would LOVE to own a reliable breaktop in a good caliber .... :-(

yhs
prof (grumpy) marvel
thus the simplest method t convert to .44 would be to pick up a .44

[Jrw8214]

Thanks for your reply Professor Marvel. I had every intention of keeping the original barrel and just having it rebored just like the cylinder. To me that just makes more sense than buying a whole new barrel. Plus i heard its better for accuracy to have a cylinder and barrel rebored together. Infact i just found someone willing to do the job. The guys at oldwestgunsmith.com offer that kind of work on original NM3's and they just told me they'd have no problem doing it to a repro like the Laramie. I agree with you and St. George that with the extra money its probably not worth it. However, while i agree, i cant help but feel that if im gonna shell out that much money for a revolver, i might aswell get my money's worth and get exactly what i want. Life is too short to settle for second best in my humble opinion :-)
Of course i could just get a Russian model and change the trigger guard....ive actually been considering that alot more lately. However i feel with my small hands, a Laramie would fit me much better with the original style hard rubber grips than a Russian grip would. I also think the hammer may be a little bit more difficult for me to reach on the Russian with that part in the grip that rests in the part of my hand between my thumb and index finger.

I think i'll stick with the .32 H&R in the Birdshead Single-Six. Like i said i have no doubt that its a fine caliber and i recently discovered a gentleman not far from me that makes some nice hotter loads in that caliber.