S&W Model 1905 .38 Special Project.

[Michael Tinker Pearce]

I was recently given a S&W Model 1905 round-butt as a donation to my You Tube Channel. I shot it some, did a video about it and then contemplated what to do with it. These guns are currently not particularly collectible or valuable in this condition so modifying it didn't bother me. After thinking it over though I decided I've pretty much 'been there and done that' with old K-frames and decided to leave it alone.


I posted something to that effect on social media and a gunsmith friend said, 'Hey, I've got some big heavy-barrel stock. Want to do a 3" heavy barrel?' Realizing fate was working against me and I haven't done a custom heavy barrel before I agreed. He cut threads on one and and sent me the blank. I fitted it to the frame, then turned it down to size, relieved it on the bottom to accommodate the ejector. I also turned down the mushroom-head of the ejector to fit. At a friend's suggestion I made a shotgun bead front sight, installed it and then mounted and pinned the barrel. I had to open up the tiny rear sight into a half-round to work with the bead. Gives pretty fast sight acquisition.

Then I decided, 'In for a penny, in for a pound' and bobbed the hammer, modified the trigger guard and installed an American Holly grip adapter I made the other year.


There's still a lot to do; I need to make a crane detent, cut 40 lpi. checkering on top of the hammer, do a trigger job, make some antler grips and then refinish and rust blue the gun. So far I am really happy with how it's coming along.

 

[CajunBass]

Prettttttyyyyyyy Cooooolllllll I tell you.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I can't wait to see it when your done. Do you ever have anyone ask to buy one of your resto-mods?

How's the weight balance on that one with the heavy barrel?

What was the rifling in the piece of barrel you used?

 

[horsemen61]

Awesome work

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Halfway to a Fitz Special -- the lack of a cylinder pin lug on the new barrel adds to the Coltish vibe.

 

[Michael Tinker Pearce]

I can't wait to see it when your done. Do you ever have anyone ask to buy one of your resto-mods?

How's the weight balance on that one with the heavy barrel?

What was the rifling in the piece of barrel you used?

With the 3" barrel you can feel the extra mass, but it feels good to me. I don't know the specific rifling pitch of this barrel; the barrel blank this is cut from was specifically for .38/.357 so most likely either 1:16 or 1:14 (these are standard pitched used by S&W and Colt respectively.)

 

[J-Bar]

It looks mean. Something a curmudgeon would carry.

I want it.

 

[1KPerDay]

Dig it. A lot.

 

[doubleh]

You already know what I think of your abilities but that one I would have left alone.

 

[Jim Watson]

Me, too. That shotgun bead is ugly with a capital Ugh.

 

[Mr. Mosin]

Don’t necessarily need a crane detent

 

[silicosys4]

I was reading about ppc custom guns a while back. One of the exerpts from an article was a quote from a gunsmith about a gun he'd modified for a NYC officer.
The officer wanted a 4" heavy ppc barrel installed on an otherwise unmodified gun. Since ppc barrels usually are installed in 6" lengths on heavily tuned and modified custom guns, the gunsmith asked why.
The officer replied that he'd bent his last guns barrel over the head of a perp.
Kinda reminds me of that.
I always did like the look of the ppc "backup gun" customs. Some of those snub bull barrels looked wider than they were long.

BTW the front sight is a nice touch. The very first snub I ever bought was a 1923 Army Special in .32-20 that had been cut down into a snubnose with a shotgun front sight D&T'd in.

 

[bannockburn]

Tinker

I say, Jolly good show!

With that shortened bull barrel it sort of reminded me of one of those turn of the century British Bulldog revolvers.

 

[Tallball]

Nice. I really like a 3" DAO revolver. The heavy barrel is a nice touch.

 

[Mannlicher]

I like it. Practical and stylish

 

[GooseGestapo]

HERESY!
I presume you’re also going to Cerecoat it in hot pink!
It WAS, an “elegant weapon from a more civilized time”.

I’d have;
1. Left it alone! Shoot it and enjoy it for what it is. Or,
2. Had it polished and reblued.
3. Sent it to Turnbull and had it restored and frame case hardened colored.
I can tolerate the grip adapter.
Original triggers and hammers are now nearly impossible to find.
No way would I have butchered a legacy S&W…

I have two Lady Smith I-frame hand ejector .32’s. Both are UGLY, mottled formally nickel plated and corroded bores.
Both will still tack-drive with a 90-100gr cast bullet at .314” over 2.0-2.8gr of Bullseye. I plan to bequeath them to my grand daughters.

 

[entropy]

To all the naysayers, I say, "Poppycock!" Do you look at a Fitz Special and turn your nose up? MTP is an artist in steel, this is a prime example. Sure, there's been a hiccup or two along the way...., but even on those, the work has been always exemplary, no matter what you think of his esthetic.

 

[Jim Watson]

Do you look at a Fitz Special and turn your nose up?

Every time, every darn time. I crack my knuckle, spit on the ground, and lay a curse on the mutilation and the mutilator.
Unless, of course, it was done at Colt to the order of John Henry Fitzgerald, which makes it a Collector’s Item.

 

[Jim Watson]

What was the rifling in the piece of barrel you used?

I don't know the specific rifling pitch of this barrel; the barrel blank this is cut from was specifically for .38/.357 so most likely either 1:16 or 1:14 (these are standard pitched used by S&W and Colt respectively.)

Smith standard, at least of that vintage is 18.5". I figure it was chosen to give adequate stability with minimum black powder fouling accumulation.

Anecdote Alert:

There used to be a substantial shop with a good range where we shot PPC at the time. So a couple of guys came in with a barrel blank that they wanted turned and threaded for typical PPC heavy revolvers. The proprietor declined, saying he did not know the twist, which he would have to calculate for the application.