SW New Model #3

[atomicsauace]

Just recently purchased a SW new model #3 in .44 russian.The bore doesn't have much rifling left.Can the barrel be relined to the original cal?I was reading "gastonglock's" post in the gunsmith section but didn't see an answer to his question about relining.Who sells barrel liners here in Canada or is it possible to buy a modern replacement barrel/cylinder?Also where can I get new replacment grips?

 

[Win 38-55]

I would suggest you first try it at 25 yards with pure lead bullets. Hard cast should not be used in antique revolvers because it causes substantially more impact as the hard cast is forced into the forcing cone, stretching the frame. David Chicoine, in an email to me, mentioned that a lot of old antique revolvers have stretched frames.

You might be surprised what almost non-existent rifling can do by way of accuracy. Once you have done this, ask yourself if you are really going to need to get better accuracy that what that barrel will deliver.

 

[jethunter]

A lot of the old revolvers don't have much rifling left and still shoot well with softer bullets, especially if you can find a hollow base bullet. The Webley MKI/II .455 revolvers had very light rifling to start with, and some revolvers that have been shot with a lot of hardball have hardly anything left but most of them will shoot well with soft bullets and even better with soft cast hollow based bullets.

 

[Hangfire]

Anyone know of a commercial source of soft lead cast bullets?

 

[tokguy]

I've got an antique win 94 that the rifling is shadows. Pure lead, oversize bullets and mild loads; venision X 6 and counting.

 

[tumbleweeds13]

Hangfire, If you're in southern Ontario, I can give you the contact info for the guy who casts the lead for my New Model #3. Nice & soft. PM me if you want it.

 

[H Wally]

If you choose to reline, Barry at Bits of Pieces in Vancouver does very good work for good prices. Downside is that it takes a while.

 

[Shooting Bastard]

Anyone know of a commercial source of soft lead cast bullets?

The Bullet Barn... Google it. Andy really knows his stuff!! Set me up with rounds for my antique SAA...

 

[josquin]

The Bullet Barn... Google it. Andy really knows his stuff!! Set me up with rounds for my antique SAA...

Bullet Barn are excellent, but their bullets are NOT soft! (Nor do they do hollow-base). From their website:

[FONT=verdana, sans, arial, helvetice]Manufacturers of Hard Cast Lead Bullets
[/FONT][FONT=verdana, sans, arial, helvetice]made with Virgin Alloys,
for all Reloaders demanding
"Greater Accuracy"[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana, sans, arial, helvetice] Top Quality - Brinell Hardness Level 25 [/FONT]

Or did Andy do you a special run with a softer alloy?

"Win 38-55"s advice re not using hard cast as it may stress the frame on an original sounds sensible.
Like firing standard .45 ACP ammo (19k PSI) in a converted Webley .455, (designed for about 13k PSI)
you may get away with it, but why take the risk?

Stuart


[FONT=verdana, sans, arial, helvetice][SIZE=+1]
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[jethunter]

Bullet Barn are excellent, but their bullets are NOT soft! (Nor do they do hollow-base). From their website:

Or did Andy do you a special run with a softer alloy?

"Win 38-55"s advice re not using hard cast as it may stress the frame on an original sounds sensible.
Like firing standard .45 ACP ammo (19k PSI) in a converted Webley .455, (designed for about 13k PSI)
you may get away with it, but why take the risk?

Stuart

Most all the commercial cast bullet manufacturers cast HARD and that doesn't work great for our old antique guns. Some of them might be able to cast some softer bullets if you ask. Brinnell hardness of 25 is not suitable IMO for anything, and in my experience a brinnel hardness of around 8-10 or even softer works well in antique handguns shooting at velocity under 900 fps. Having a good fit makes a bullet shoot better and reduces leading. Soft-ish cast bullets .001" to .002" oversize shoot better and cause less leading than bullets that are way hard and undersize. Most commercial cast bullets are too small and too hard.

 

[burnt_servo]

Just recently purchased a SW new model #3 in .44 russian.The bore doesn't have much rifling left.Can the barrel be relined to the original cal?I was reading "gastonglock's" post in the gunsmith section but didn't see an answer to his question about relining.Who sells barrel liners here in Canada or is it possible to buy a modern replacement barrel/cylinder?Also where can I get new replacment grips?

uberti makes a replica single action of the s&w top break .

after doing a ton of reading it is my understanding that the uberti barrel and cylinder should be the same size and the longstrap version .

also the rear locking posts on the uberti may be taller than the s&w frame .

i can't remember if the barrel and cylinder assembly is 350.00 , or just the barrel ... but it might be worth taking a chance that it can be made to work on a antique frame .....

( btw the cylinder ejector mechanism is suposed to be slightly different than the s&w version .... so if a guy went this route it might be a good idea to swap the whole barrel , cylinder assembly and make that fit to the antique frame ) .

after looking at the barrel i have just picked up , it would be very thin if i reamed it out for a liner ..... thin enough that i would seriously consider a series of very delicate tack welds with a tig welder to hold everything into place .