Does anyone convert vintage 27s/28s to 8-shot .357?

J

Jim March

New member
C title...I have no qualms about buying an old S&W N-Frame S&W and having it converted with an 8-shot cylinder, if any reputable gunsmiths are doing this. There's a good 8-shot speedloader now available for the Taurus 608 that should work, or we could switch to moonclips.

I saw an ad on gunbrokers for a "Smolt", a custom model 28 with a Python barrel :). Converted to 8-shot, man, that'd be slick :).
 
I am not an expert, but would you be able to cram an eight shot cylinder in there without skimping too much on the thickness of the cylinder wall?
 
Why pay a king's ransom for a custom job when the product already exist. Taurus 608 (eight shot) is a Smith action with a Colt (look) barrel. Last time I checked, they were under four hundred bucks.

BTW moon clips made for the 627 Performance Center don't fit the Taurus gun. Holes don't line up.

There was an outfit that made 8 shot conversions for older six shot 627's. I believe that Sixguns.com has a write up somewhere in their web site.

Robert
 
Baumanize in NY state once performed 7-shot .357 Magnum conversions on the M27/M28, but the company disappeared around the same time that Taurus introduced their large frame 607 (pre-608) and S&W introduced the 686+.

RPM/Prest Precision in Arizona made an eight .38 Super conversion for N-frame revolvers, but it represented more than just a change in cylinders. The gunsmith Charlie Prest started with a standard S&W N-frame revolver, stripped out nearly everything, offset the barrel axis and firing pin slightly higher, machined a new 8-shot .38 Super cylinder from 17-4 stainless, fit a BarSto barrel blank, and reworked the action to around 7 pounds. (This is the Reader's Digest condensed description, BTW.) The full-house IPSC conversion was once quoted around $2,000. Unfortunately, I have heard reports that Mr. Prest no longer offers gunsmithing services.
 
The new 8-shot 27's are beautiful. They cost around $800-900. Would that be any more $ after the conversion of an old 27?
 
Having both a 627PC and a M27-2, I compared them with the calipers one day. The frame is NOT the same. The barrel is set higher in the eight shooter, and of course this means that most the action is changed as well. The outer cylinder diameter is the same, but the barrel sits slightly higher, which means the firing pin also must sit higher. Not a simple change.
 
Jim,

I saw some very reasonably priced 27's and 28's at a gunshow (<$300) and later asked a gunsmith (Dale at DM Custom) if he did 8-shot conversions. He did not, but he could give me a name, if I wanted. I did not take him up on it, but you might call Dale at (916)348-9827 and ask.

Lee
 
627pc, you confirmed what I was thinking about. I could fathom an easy 7rd conversion, but not the 8-shot. Now, I understand just why those 8rd PC guns have looked just a little 'off' from otherwise standard N-frames.:)
 
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