S&w 686 In 9mm

JB said:
so new barrel and new 9mm cyninder what kind of cost would one be looking at
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This totally custom work. The cylinder would have to be made and the barrel turned from a blank.

Check with Gunnar at Armco (link at top of page) for the feasability of the project.
 
JB said:
Ok what do you had to do to a S&W 686 to shoot 9mm do you just need the 9mm cyninder for it
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Hi JB,
Cylinders must be machined for moonclips and also machined to fit 9mm cartridge. The S&W barrel should shoot 9mm bullets with acceptable accuracy but not great accuracy.

If you are thinking of this for IPSC Revolver-Std division it is not allowed (according to Vince Pinto) and will not qualify for Rev Std division because the cylinder has been machined to change calibre. For a plinking gun (or maybe IDPA? - I don't know those rules/requirements) it would be great, Gunnar would be the man to talk to.

Cheers
 
"...to shoot 9mm..." Whatever for? There's absolutely no advantage. If you want a lighter load, use .357 cases loaded to .38 Special velocities using a 148 grain wc.
 
Not meaning to highjack this thread, but I'm curious. Why would you have to change the barrel on a 686? I used to own a 686 and my barrel slugged out at .356". I've had 9mm that slugged out at .359":eek:. As a matter of fact I've checked the barrels on two new Berettas for a friend of mine and both of them were .357-.358". The .359 barrels I had were a 9mm Llama and a Luger Artillery. Must be a European thing. Now granted, the Llama and the Luger maybe a little worn, but the two Berettas were as new condition.
 
John, You know me and my mentality when it comes to custom gun work. If you've got the cash and the desire, that's all the justification you'll ever need.

However, my personal opinion is this idea takes the short bus to school in the morning.
 
Look for an older S&W 9mm revolver if that's all you want, however a multi caliber switch cylinder revolver is tres cool. Have a cylinder for 38/357 and another for 9mm, maybe throw a 38 Super and 9mm Win Mag option in there too. Hmmm (sound of gears turning and smell of wood burning). - dan
 
Hi-Standard said:
Not meaning to highjack this thread, but I'm curious. Why would you have to change the barrel on a 686? I used to own a 686 and my barrel slugged out at .356". I've had 9mm that slugged out at .359":eek:. As a matter of fact I've checked the barrels on two new Berettas for a friend of mine and both of them were .357-.358". The .359 barrels I had were a 9mm Llama and a Luger Artillery. Must be a European thing. Now granted, the Llama and the Luger maybe a little worn, but the two Berettas were as new condition.
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If you are going to shoot 9mm, then you need a smaller ID bore (.356) for greater accuracy.
 
dan belisle said:
Look for an older S&W 9mm revolver if that's all you want, however a multi caliber switch cylinder revolver is tres cool. Have a cylinder for 38/357 and another for 9mm, maybe throw a 38 Super and 9mm Win Mag option in there too. Hmmm (sound of gears turning and smell of wood burning). - dan
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The big problem is that switch caliber revolvers tend to be inaccurate. You are dealing with a potential stacking of tolerences in the bullet diameter .354-.358. Then you've got the problem of the freebore increase in the shorter cases.
 
Stock S&W barrels are on the tight side and usually shoot very well with 9mm -.355-356") bullets. Others - Ruger, etc. - not so well. A really good match barrel made to shoot .38's is normally slightly bigger so as not to distort a soft lead bullet of .357" to .358" diameter, and is bloody awful with 9mm bullets. Ask me how I found this out years ago....

Once you convert a recolver cylinder to 9mm, you would likely severely bulge brass if you shot hot .357 Magnum loads, but "normal" loads would work great and .38 Super would also work well. The cylinder machining, by the way, leaves about half of each chamber rear face intact, so the rimmed ammo works just great. I love versatility :)

BTW, freebore doesn't seem to create any great difficulty. Note there are some very accurate .45ACP revolvers, and revolvers by their nature operate with a whopping freebore distance anyway :)

Gunnar

www.armco-guns.com
 
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7x61 said:
The cylinder machining, by the way, leaves about half of each chamber rear face intact, so the rimmed ammo works just great. I love versatility :)

Gunnar

www.armco-guns.com
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Gunnar, would moonclip conversion also work the same for a gun like a Model 19 with counterbored cylinders? Would I be able to use moon clips AND still use single 38 rounds?

Cheers
 
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