Talk me out of having Bowen do a .45 Colt conversion on my S&W M28

Well, I'd hate to see a good M28 get chopped up, and I don't really see that you would gain anything by it. I don't think that there would be any difference between it and an M25. But, it is your gun, and if it makes you happy then go for it.

If I had a good DA revolver in .45 colt, I'd be trying to talk you into a trade. I had an M28 a few years ago, and it was in rough shape, but it was a magnificent revolver.

If your M28 is real loose or pitted or in generally bad condition,
then it might make a bit more sense.

I have a 625 Colt(with lock), and I am very pleased with it.

Last week I had the wonderful pleasure of shooting a 28.
The downside is that my friend WOULD NOT sell or trade it
to me.

Your gun; Your money; I would not.

As far as "Why do I want to do this."

I have asked myself that question, more than once,
about a trade or purchase,
but usually it was after the fact.
SO, you are ahead of me
on that one.

Regards,
Old 112

Good clean looking gun. Being Dad's I sure would keep it in some form or another.

I'd get the cylinder gap (endshake?) seen to and try some 200 gran .357s. That might feel manly enough to save you the $600 caliber conversion bill.

Does the yoke or cylinder have any endshake? If it does, it may be causing your binding problem. If not, it will be easy for a gunsmith to shave a bit off the rear of the barrel---but he will probably have to recut the forcing cone as well.

My Model 28 is now chambered for the 45 ACP. The rebore was done by Dick Nickle and the rest of the work by me.

Some things to be aware of:

Is the diameter of the muzzle large enough to safely allow it to accept the 45 bore?

The front sight may have to be removed and replaced to accomodate the new cartridge.

You will be essentially be recreating the S&W Mountain Revolver except yours will be blued.

The B/C gap can be opened if you want to stay with the 357 cartridge.

In a S&W, the 45 LC can be loaded somewhat hotter, but it is not in the same class as the ruger. Be careful if you handload.

I built mine in the late 70s, long before the Mountain revolver and I could never find a M25 with the 4" skinny barrel.

Now, I would look for a Mountain Revolver but then I did not have the choice.

Good Luck.

I have a Model 28 that was converted to .45LC in the early 70's by Bob's Gun Shop in Clare MI. I bought it used after the work was done. It has a 1950 barrel for .45ACP with the shallow rifling, but shoots really well. The chamber walls look mighty thin, but I've been shooting it for 30 years and I don't worry as long as I keep the rounds to factory pressure.
It used to be my bedside gun. I now have a modern many round semi auto in it's place. It has always been a fine and accurate shooter and I have a couple of standing offers to buy if I ever decide to sell.
Today there are a number of fine .45LC DA revolvers available and I wouldn't cut up a 28 that will only increase in value.

You've got a four-inch, 1960s-vintage Highway Patrolman that was once your father's? I mean, it's your gun now and it's still a free country, but I wouldn't change a thing other than getting it tuned up.

Kinda like StrawHat says, you'll almost be re-creating the 25-13. I have a Model 28-2 and a Model 25-13. Both have similar handling characteristics and trigger feel. I've been told S&W makes a new batch of the 25-13 every few years - although that may have just ended with the re-introduction of the classic line. A new one will have the internal lock which no one has a use for, but its presence doesn't bother me.

On the other hand, with the conversion you'll get the personal attention of Mr. Bowen's work. It may be that he will do wonderful things to the feel and function that you won't find in a stock S&W.

Have you ever handled a Bowen worked over gun? It is a thing of engineering beauty! You will not be sorry. You may want to just sit and fondle the thing and marvel at the fit, finish and function. Go for it if you have the $!

Bowen is an artist

The 28 was a 'plain jane' attempt at attracting the law enforcement dollar and was only moderately successful in doing so. Who wanted a plain vanilla, N-frame .357?

I've seen 28's rebored to .44 special. I'm not sure how much steel that would leave in your cylinder wallls for the .45 colt conversion though.
If Bowen offers that as a service then I'm certain his experiance should be your guide on the matter.

You'd be making a mistake

A very big mistake. Keep that Model 28 just as it is. Search around and you will be able to find a Model 25 in .45 LC or .45 ACP that will satisfy that urge you have.

Don't do something now that you will really regret later. M28's are no longer being made. In its' day it was a utilitarian gun and a lower cost because of it. Now the value is climbing, and climbing.

The Doc is out now.

"Listen to this man's advice! He speaks the truth" Quote from millions of satisfied THR viewers.

FWIW, there's an awfully nice M-28 converted to .45 ACP by the late Austin Behlert, from an estate sale I believe, languishing in a very small local shop where I live.

I don't think it's quite what you had in mind, but his asking price is so close to what the conversion, or even a good used M-25/625 would cost that I thought I'd throw it in the mix as an alternative to changing your Dad's revolver.

I already have a sweet M-625 or I'd have bought it myself.

Anyone interested in contact info can PM me.

Hamilton Bowen does amazing work, and I like the idea of more money into the East TN economy.

But this is work that can't be undone. You need to think carefully about changing an heirloom so fundamentally.

Given the full-on Bowen treatment, I would go for it myself. Assuming you're not going to sell it either way, I wouldn't care about resale value. If you want to "fall in love with the gun", the work done as much as the caliber would do it for me.

As others have stated, check with Bowen on what kind of loads this conversion can take and take that into consideration.

Go for it! Bowen's work is the best. IMO the slimmer barrel on the 28 also looks a lot better than the heavy tube on the 25-5...much classier. It will be a gun you will be proud to own, and since it was your Dads why not keep it and make it something you will like.

Skeeter Skelton had his M28 and Blackhawk .357s converted to .44 Special because he considered the cylinder thickness under the stop notches to be marginal for .45 Colt. In fact, he even saw one that rechambering would have cut through. Apparently S&W holds closer tolerances on factory .45s than they do .357s.

No doubt Mr Bowen would check that before he reamed.

Friend of mine had three .357s, M28s and an M27, converted to .45 Colt but that was 30+ years ago and he was able to find M26 barrels for two of them. The third got an M25 barrel, whose rib did not match up with the topstrap, but it sure shot well. Bob Snapp did the work.

Bear in mind that the M28 cylinder is substantially shorter than an M25-5's. I think a .45 Colt factory load will fit, but some of the big SWCs, made with long noses for more powder space, will not. Elmer Keith had something to say about that, when rechambering .455s to .45.

Bear in mind that the M28 cylinder is substantially shorter than an M25-5's. I think a .45 Colt factory load will fit, but some of the big SWCs, made with long noses for more powder space, will not. Elmer Keith had something to say about that, when rechambering .455s to .45.

Click to expand...

This is a fact.

.44 Special chamber i.d. is .4589"

.45 Colt chamber i.d. is .4862.

Chamber walls and webs will be .013" thinner for .45 than .44.

See my post #21 above.
Skeeter's own words at:
http://www.darkcanyon.net/Converting_357s_to_44Special.htm

And remember, Elmer Keith blew up more than one .45 before he decided .44s were better.

I think I'd get the cylinder gap fixed and buy a .44 Mountain Gun bear bumper.