Rechambering a 12/6 revolver

tactical870

tactical870

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I'm looking to rechamber a 12/6 .32 caliber S&W revolver to an antique status caliber and need some ideas. I'm thinking 8mm Lebel revolver would be easy and I could probably crimp the case mouth in enough to shoot .32 cal bullets without any issues. Any other ideas? Thanks....
 
Assuming you have a lathe; I would suggest bushing the chambers and sleeving the barrel and chambering for the .22 Morris shell. You can make the shells from shortened Hornet shells. You would need to make your own chambering reamer and loading dies because the Hornet shells are thicker than the original Morris shells.

cheers mooncoon
 
.25ACP is not on the no go list for centrefire antique status. Sleeve the bore and the chambers.
There is also a .22 wildcat based on the .25ACP. The .22 Flea?
 
.25ACP is semi-rimmed. Might headspace on the mouth, might on the rim. I don't know. Either way, the cases could be poked out with a stick if necessary. .25ACP does not use a .257 groove diameter .25 barrel; it is a bit tighter. To get one deregistered, this wouldn't matter. At least this is a readily available cartridge, smaller than .32.
 
achtanelion said:
You could also try something based on a shortened .300 rook case. With a hollow base bullet to flare out and engage the rifling you wouldn't need to rebarrel.

J
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The 22 morris is also known as the 297/230 but can be customized using a .22 slug. There was a larger version known as the 297/250 rook rifle shell and it can be loaded using slugs intended for the 25 auto. The disadvantage is that those slugs are probably hard to get partly because the 25 auto is on the prohib list and is becoming less common. The advantage of the .22 morris is that the slugs are readily available plus it uses a rimmed case

cheers mooncoon
 
tactical870 said:
I'm looking to rechamber a 12/6 .32 caliber S&W revolver to an antique status caliber and need some ideas. I'm thinking 8mm Lebel revolver would be easy and I could probably crimp the case mouth in enough to shoot .32 cal bullets without any issues. Any other ideas? Thanks....
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hmmmm... actually the 8mm lebel idea isn't bad IMO. if you reamed the cylinders enough to 8mm revolver case you could probably load .32 cal bullets and use the existing bbl. Would that be a big enough change to get away from the .32 S&W prohibited status? - i don't know. But it surely would be the simplest and cheapest option. Thing to do before you start is try some .32 bullets in the 8mm lebel case and see how well they stay there. Roll crimp probably hold them, but that's just a guess on my part.
 
hmmmm... actually the 8mm lebel idea isn't bad IMO. if you reamed the cylinders enough to 8mm revolver case you could probably load .32 cal bullets and use the existing bbl. Would that be a big enough change to get away from the .32 S&W prohibited status? - i don't know. But it surely would be the simplest and cheapest option. Thing to do before you start is try some .32 bullets in the 8mm lebel case and see how well they stay there. Roll crimp probably hold them, but that's just a guess on my part.
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Today's conversation went quite well with the CFC (other than the heads-up in my other thread) And as long as I have it verified by a gunsmith there seems to be no problem deregistering if it's chambered in 8mm.....
 
tactical870 said:
Today's conversation went quite well with the CFC (other than the heads-up in my other thread) And as long as I have it verified by a gunsmith there seems to be no problem deregistering if it's chambered in 8mm.....
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If you do use the original barrel, you might need to grind the ".32 S&W" designation off or it might cause you grief in the future. Then you'd need to be a bit careful that you (or somebody else in the future) didn't shoot the .330" 8mm bullets through that .314" bore!
 
If you do use the original barrel, you might need to grind the ".32 S&W" designation off or it might cause you grief in the future. Then you'd need to be a bit careful that you (or somebody else in the future) didn't shoot the .330" 8mm bullets through that .314" bore!
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Very true..... shame to grind a nickled gun though....
 
tactical870 said:
I'm looking to rechamber a 12/6 .32 caliber S&W revolver to an antique status caliber and need some ideas. I'm thinking 8mm Lebel revolver would be easy and I could probably crimp the case mouth in enough to shoot .32 cal bullets without any issues. Any other ideas? Thanks....
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You have to replace the frame. The law doesn't allow you to change status of prohibited by re-chambering the gun. V:I:

You can do it with short barrel guns. Different law. Short barrel is prohibited device if not used on prohibited gun.

However, you cannot do it with prohibited .32 or .25 gun (once adopted or manufactured for those calibers, they are prohibited forever, even if you change barrel). .32 and .25 barrel are not prohibited devices.
 
However, you cannot do it with prohibited .32 or .25 gun (once adopted or manufactured for those calibers, they are prohibited forever, even if you change barrel). .32 and .25 barrel are not prohibited devices.
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This is not the info I got when I spoike to the woman at the CFC. She told me the gun would need to be documented that it was no longer .32 S&W then it could be de-registered. The gun was built in 1886 so things should go ok..... Now for the big issue. The chamber is too short to chamber 8mm Lebel revolver and the extraction with .25 acp appears to be a major issue. Any thoughts on what to rechamber to? Even a rimmed wildcat? It's going to have to be quite short though as it only just chambers 32 S&W shorts....
 
guess_kto said:
You have to replace the frame. The law doesn't allow you to change status of prohibited by re-chambering the gun. V:I:

You can do it with short barrel guns. Different law. Short barrel is prohibited device if not used on prohibited gun.

However, you cannot do it with prohibited .32 or .25 gun (once adopted or manufactured for those calibers, they are prohibited forever, even if you change barrel). .32 and .25 barrel are not prohibited devices.
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Problem being how it applies to antiques, since it's only a gun based on caliber. The caliber rules for post 1898 are meant to avoid them becoming restricted, but since this one won't be, it isn't a problem.

It's not a question of which status; it's a question of no status.

I say get'er deregistered.
 
guess_kto said:
You have to replace the frame. The law doesn't allow you to change status of prohibited by re-chambering the gun. V:I:

You can do it with short barrel guns. Different law. Short barrel is prohibited device if not used on prohibited gun.

However, you cannot do it with prohibited .32 or .25 gun (once adopted or manufactured for those calibers, they are prohibited forever, even if you change barrel). .32 and .25 barrel are not prohibited devices.
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I believe that you're thinking about handguns (forever and always a handgun even if made into a rifle) instead of prohibited.

Criminal code, section 84(1)

“prohibited firearm”

« arme à feu prohibée »

“prohibited firearm” means

(a) a handgun that

(i) has a barrel equal to or less than 105 mm in length, or

(ii) is designed or adapted to discharge a 25 or 32 calibre cartridge,
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It's available at http://canlii.ca/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-c-46/latest/rsc-1985-c-c-46.html

Tactiacal870, I'm glad to see you looking at a smaller caliber rather than larger. It seems to me that making the cylinder walls thinner, even by a tiny amount, is looking for trouble.

Of course, you could always call the CFC and ask if you could re-chamber to .320 revolver. ;-)
 
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