Possible Smith 28-2 Project

G

Gazpacho

New member
Hi All!

I just picked up a nice, moderately used Smith & Wesson 28-2 4" (N1938xx) that I am considering doing a little custom work on. Mechanically it's fine, except that the cylinder gap is getting a bit wide. I'm considering two different directions for this revolver:

1) 3" Heavy Barrel, Full Lug, Hard Chromed, C&S Extreme Duty Sights.
2) 8" Thin barrel, Extractor rod spur, Blued, Fully Adjustable Sights.

Neither handgun version will be used for SD. #1 will get some use in Ninja Games, or #2 for target shooting.

Anyone have preferences or suggestions? Anyone do something similar (with pics)? Also, do you have suggestions for someone to do the work?
 
Sounds fun... I had a Model 28 that a gunsmith friend helped me turn into a Model 25, 1955 Target gun. I purchased the barrel and cylinder (with extractor). We replaced the barrel and then I had the luxury :rolleyes: of timing the cylinder by hand using needle files. Turned out to be a winner too!

What you'd need to do is obtain another 4" barrel (Gun Parts Corp #325060B - $125) and have a 'smith modify that to a 3.5" (or so) barrel which was a factory barrel length for the Model 27. The "short" M27 was a great shooting gun and just slightly easier to carry. With the 3.5" barrel, the underneath part is mostly the "lug" for the extractor shroud. It looks fairly wicked that way too.

If this is going to be a "fun gun" you could buff the frame & cylinder yourself and have the gun reblued and it would look more like a Model 27. My other choice would be Armalloy hard-chrome finish which is nearly indestructible (but I tend to dislike sliver/gray/stainless finishes generally).
 
You could have the barrel cut to 3.5" (can't go less due to ejector rod) or buy a 3.5 M27 barrel but the top strap will not match exactly. A longer barrel would be same as the latter above.

All of this would get very pricey very quickly. You would likely wind up spending FAR MORE than it would cost to simply buy a 3.5 M27.

Hard chrome? Yuck. Your gun, do what you will, but yuck. Again, you must have very deep pockets because you're talking about spending a lot more than what the gun is worth. Also bear in mind that such a modified gun is hard to sell later and loses any collector value instantly. This would be a very bad investment monetarily. Take a $300 M28, do $250 worth of barrel customizing, $200 worth of refinishing, and you wind up with a gun that will fetch $250 at auction. No thanks.

If I had a "nice, moderately used" M28 I would shoot it is and forget the expensive geegaws and doodads and unnecessary custom work that will not really add to the gun's performance nearly as much as it will deplete the wallet. Do you really think you will notice the 1/2 inch difference in the barrel? The M28 was built to be a heavy duty service pistol. What part of this doesn't suit your needs for your stated purposes for this gun?

Like I said, your gun so do as you wish, but I don't think you need any of the stuff you're talking about.
 
It's not a matter of needs, it's purely a matter of wants. I like the frame and action, but he barrel just looks ugly to me. This isn't an investment gun. I bought it because it was cheap enough that I could mess with it with a clean conscience. Further, I often suffer from Can't Leave Well Enough Alone Syndrome, and using this as a project gun will divert my attention away from my other guns.

At this point, I'm in the planning stages, just collecting ideas.
 
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