S&W Hand ejector .455 / 45 conversions

Meant that heat treating was different from earlier not bieng so, as opposed to different heat treat :)

I'm not entirely convince that what has been referenced to as heat treat at this time period would qualify in the traditional definition as don't think that the alloys would have been receptive anyways
R
 
robin2y said:
Meant that heat treating was different from earlier not bieng so, as opposed to different heat treat :)

I'm not entirely convince that what has been referenced to as heat treat at this time period would qualify in the traditional definition as don't think that the alloys would have been receptive anyways
R
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From what I understand materials were basically plain carbon steel, with maybe a nickel alloy until the US production of Patt. 1914 and Model 1917 rifles.
They are supposed to be similar to 4130.

Smle actions are roughly 1020 cs.

There has been little to no materials research except for the M.1911 which according to Clawson was roughly 1040 Carbon Steel until late 1917 when it was changed to roughly 1080 CS.

All the specification materials shown in Colts shop notes are basically mill tradenames rather than standardized grades of steel.
 
I checked the star on the cylinder and the serial has been peened off, so methinks it was switched with a factory .45acp cylinder. The chamber thickness is thicker than my .455 colt.
 
When you look down the cylinder, is there a sharp shoulder for no rimmed 45 ACP to headspace on? This would be impossible if a reamed 455 cyl.
R
 
robin2y said:
When you look down the cylinder, is there a sharp shoulder for no rimmed 45 ACP to headspace on? This would be impossible if a reamed 455 cyl.
R
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There is a shoulder and they headspace fine! I would think it is safe to fire factory 45acp with this cylinder, accuracy aside?
 
The cylinder should be fine for 45 acp, as it appears to be sourced from a 1917. You should measure the hole at the end of the cylinder. If it is .452ish then probably no point in upsizing to the .455 bore diameter slugs without reaming the cylinder. Another option is to fit one of the 45 acp barrels that tradeex has and use regular .451's if accuracy is an issue.
R
 
Thanks for the input robin. I'll try measuring everything and see what it is. The .45 slugs seem to fit snug in the muzzle of the barrel so I'll test it out and see how she shoots. I want to keep it as original as possible. An original .455 cylinder would be ideal if I could find one...but it will be a great shooter if properly set up for 45 acp
 
I managed to finally load up some ammo and test the gun out. I loaded 4.8 grains of unique in .45acp cases and used the stock.455 265 grain webley bullets and had a great grouping out of this old gun.
 
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