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S&W Barrels

shilowar
For curiosity sake....Do the N Frame Revolvers in .44 and .45 ACP share the same barrel? IE the Model 29 vs. Model 25, same barrel or different dimensions in rifling?

Yeah I just wondered...what about 10mm, .41 and .40?
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Comments

5 comments

Date Votes
  • shilowar
    Does a pinned barrel S&W revolver demand a higher premium than the non-pinned barrel?What are the advantages of the pinned barrel?When did they change?
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  • dcs shooters
    They have to be diffrent. A 44 bullet is .430 and a 45 is .452. A 45acp bullet would most likley lodge in a 44 bbl. The outside dimensions are the same.
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  • Horse Plains Drifter
    What dcs said. The externals are the same, but internal dimentions are caliber specific.
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by shilowar
    For curiosity sake....Do the N Frame Revolvers in .44 and .45 ACP share the same barrel? IE the Model 29 vs. Model 25, same barrel or different dimensions in rifling?

    Yeah I just wondered...what about 10mm, .41 and .40?


    No. While the external barrel dimensions are similar, the internal diameter of the barrels is NOT the same:

    A .44 magnum/.44 special bullet is .429" in diameter.
    A .45 (long) Colt bullet is .454".
    A .45 ACP is .452".
    A .41 magnum is .410" (10.41 mm)
    A 10 mm/.40 SW is exactly .400 (10.16 mm).

    So in short, you can't fire a .45 ACP or .45 Colt bullet though a .44 magnum barrel (well. . .at least not safely, and you wouldn't want to try this).

    While you probably could fire a nominally .44 magnum bullet through a .45 gun, the bullet would have a poor grip on the rifling and let propellant gas flow around the bullet, leading to low velocity, increased wear on the revolver, and dismal accuracy.

    Likewise, while you probably could get away with firing 10mm/.40SW bullets through a .41 magnum barrel (or *maybe* the converse. . .though I wouldn't condone nor try it), I'd be shocked to hear that the actual bore diameters of the .41 magnum and 10mm revolvers were identical.

    If you checked, I think you'd find that the 10mm revolver uses its own distinct barrel.
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  • David Nunn
    At one time, a long time ago, when Smith & Wesson cared about making quality firearms, the Masterpiece series of target revolvers were available as a "matched" set. You could get three revolvers in .22, .32, and .38 calibers, each weighing and balancing exactly the same. The barrel outside diameters and the width of the barrel ribs were varied to achieve the correct weight and balance.
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