I have had a 49 since the late 60's, and it has had hot handloads and 110 grain Super-Vel through it almost exclusively.
Still as good as new.
The old J-frame .38's are getting a bad rap lately on the lier-net for being somehow weak.
IMO: Such is not the case at all.
The 5-shot cylinder makes the cylinder walls almost the same thickness as the K-Frame Magnums over the webs and bolt cuts.
The forcing cone is almost completely supported inside the frame.
And it has no gas ring cut on the bottom like the K-Frame magnum barrels.
They have all been heat treated the same as the Magnums since they were introduced.
They would likely handle todays lower .357 pressure indefinately if a .357 would fit in them.
Still, they are a very small gun, and steady use of high-pressure ammo will eventually loosen them up faster.
I for one, have never been able to shoot one enough to do that, but I suppose if you tried really hard, and had enough time & money for ammo?
BTW: They were not +P rated, because there was no such thing as a SAAMI +P rating for .38 Special ammo until 1974.
Then, in those pre-lawyer run days, if you called S&W and ask them, they told you a limited amount of +P would not hurt a thing, other then loosen the gun up a little faster, maybe.
We need to keep in mind that in 1950 when the J-Frame Model 36 came out, there were 38/44 Hi-Speed loads that were really todays .357 Magnum ammo in a shorter case. People were told not too shoot them in smaller J & K guns, but you can bet some did.
And the guns didn't come apart.
rcmodel
