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

[ElToro]

i'll let you borrow my 4 5/8 SBH .45 ruger if you want, but dont chop that old beauty.

that being said, peruse teh S-W forum and you will see some serious art that bowen has done. i'm not saying its not nice work and the heavy duty conversions he does are wild. but i wouldnt with my gun.

but its your money and your gun.

 

[Snapping Twig]

Personally I wouldn't do it. Buy a 25-5 or some such and keep the 28 as is. They aren't making them anymore.

 

[1KPerDay]

well then can someone here tell me how much I could expect to pay to properly fix a tight barrel/cyl gap and/or endshake on a M28? I asked in another thread and didn't get any answers. thanks

 

[Jim Watson]

Bowen says:

No. SW210 Set Cylinder endfloat and headspace Set to factory specs to ensure proper ignition and action cycling
SW210 $50

No. SW220 Set barrel-to-cylinder gap Set at .004--.006. May be necessary to set endfloat and headspace for best results. Includes recutting the forcing cone and refitting the ejector rod. Same procedure as installing a barrel.
SW220 $95


S&W might do it for less and probably faster:
To discuss Smith & Wesson Performance Center Services call 1-800-331-0852. Please have your serial number available when calling for information.

 

[Buckshot Bill]

I'll also agree with many who say to find a model 25 if you want a .45 LC. There's a good reason all the guys above are saying keep it! Get Dad's 28 tuned up, keep it in the family, and shoot the daylights out of it. I've got a 6" model 28 and I love it! They're really easy to shoot well with. If you decide to keep her, 6 months or a year from now I'll bet you won't regret it. Good luck on your decision, Buckshot Bill

 

[20nickels]

Just fix it. Not to turn this into a zombie-bear thread, but you mentioned bear country, I have an S&W in .45 and a .357, I'll take the .357.
Gunblast.com reviewed a blued S&W .45 Colt Mt. Gun.

http://www.gunblast.com/SW-25Mountain.htm

 

[1KPerDay]

Thanks Jim, and everyone for the good advice.

 

[Slamfire]

For $600, go find a 45 LC mountain gun. And that way, you have two guns, a M28 and a M625.

I purchased a recent M625, it is a fine, well built piece of hardware. Very accurate.

 

[Stainz]

My dealer has a new 625MG from the last run on the shelf - $689 or less, I think. Lipsey's, the distributor, has some now that S&W made for them. I'd leave the old 28 alone - maybe send it back to S&W (They have parts...) for the looseness. Bowen is a master craftsman - no doubt - but we mere mortals, with limited funds, can never recoup a penny of what we spent on conversions, should we have to part with such a treasure. In fact, often times custom conversions won't sell easily, much less for what just the revolver was worth. Still, his work is top-drawer.

I'd opt for a 625MG in .45 Colt - new - IL or not. You'd have two that way, as others have mentioned.

Stainz

PS I have two 625MGs in .45 Colt - everyone who shoots one of mine, including two new such shooters Tuesday at the range, are converts. One even had a 25-2 in .45 ACP. The big old round is just fun - my first revolver love - and my first-ever S&W.

 

[swampshooter]

conversion

the .44 or .45 will not give increased stopping power over the best .357 loads unless they are loaded to modern pressures. considering the thin chamber walls of the conversions i don't think this would be advisable. repairing your 28 is a relatively minor repair and shouldn't cost very much. I would repair it and use the best 180gr. hunting loads. Some good brenneke slugs would be much more effective against bears even if they are 20ga. provided you have time to reload. If insisting on a more powerful handgun buy the S&W mountain gun.

 

[1KPerDay]

The big old round is just fun - my first revolver love - and my first-ever S&W.

Sounds like you did it right the first time.

Some good brenneke slugs would be much more effective against bears even if they are 20ga. provided you have time to reload.

I didn't even think of that... Hmmm... I wonder what would be quicker on target if spooked by a bear... ejecting the lead-dust round from the chamber and dropping in a slug, or dropping the shotgun and drawing a revolver?

I suspect the latter... but I may start to carry a few slugs just in case I get jumped by a slow-moving semi or something. Thanks for the idea.

 

[mec]

Bowen is a total class act and so are his revolvers. He will enhance the function of the revolver and make it more valuable to the vanishing breed that appreciates fine revolvers.

 

[Stainz]

My two 625MGs - the top, a late '01 produced -6, was bought new as a shocker of a gift for me by my wife 8/02. The bottom - a late '96 -5 I later traded for with a range friend who had just bought it - not thinking how much fun S&W's are to load/unload as a leftie. He is a BPD LEO - and needed it to dispatch rabid/mad dogs, his .40 Glock having been emptied on one pit bull, which stopped at his feet. He never got to 'try' it - a local 'smith botched his trigger job - boogered the springs instead of replacing them. I offered to replace them - instead, he traded for a Ruger .45 Colt I had - great for me - $11 worth of Wolff springs fixed it, like I said they would.



The rounds in the HKS #25-5 speedloader are, like the one below, Speer #4484 250gr Gold Dot JHP bullets designed for 800 fps full opening in ballistic gel, etc. I'd hate to be the 'etc'. They make - like the 255gr LSWC next to it - 840-850 fps from the 4" tube, while staying under the 14 kpsi SAAMI spec. I've been assured that the 255gr LSWC should run the length of a hog easily. The far right round is a 200gr LRNFP @ 720 fps in a .45 Schofield case - pure fun. The -5 sports S&W Dymondwood Combats, while the other MG sports square conversion/fg Ahrends in cocobolo. Wood is perfect for the minor recoil of these guns. Mine will never see +P ammo - 14 kpsi max, even though it is designed for 21-22 kpsi of the .45 ACP. My revolvers/my rules... YMMV.

Stainz

 

[1KPerDay]

Lovely...

He never got to 'try' it - a local 'smith botched his trigger job - boogered the springs instead of replacing them.

This kind of story is discouraging me from trying a local smith...

 

[20nickels]

Springs are easily replaced. Heavy handedness with files and stones is a serious problem.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

the gap measures .006 with the cylinder pushed back and with it pushed forward I can't even get my smallest gauge in there. .0015 won't go. So I assume that's the problem. I haven't tried measuring with empty cases in the cylinder as some advised me to do...

I was going to tell you that should be repaired by a good gunsmith but Jim Watson beat me to it. I would take his suggestion and have S&W go over the gun. They will not only do the repair you want done but many time the will find things to fix that are covered under the warranty and fix them too. (for free)

Instead of spending $600 on a conversion I agree you could find a nice M625 for ~ the same price. When your Dad's revolver is fixed you will like shooting it too because a correctly functioning M27 or M28 is a extremely accurate and fun gun to shoot.

 

[Big Daddy Grim]

I would not do it but thats me I think very large waste just use the 6 and get a new one.

 

[mec]

Smith and wesson could remove the end shake and do a good job of putting the revolver in good shooting fix. The problem is that if they find any action parts they consider out of factor spec, they will replace them. I had that happen with a model 29 I sent in for refinishing and timing and end shake problems. It came back with a MIM trigger. Somebody had ground a bit of metal off a non-contact portion of the original. There was nothing functionally wrong with the original trigger and they did send it back with the gun . The revolver works fine but a lot of people would not appreciate the substitution.