The other day someone posted a picture of a S&W Model 625 with a two inch barrel on a revolver page and a bunch of people lost their minds with comments like ‘stupid’ and ‘400 fps.’ This made me wonder- how stupid is it? I have this here Brazilian-contract 1917, see…
I verified that another barrel was available to me then cut the 1917 to 2″. In the interest of science, of course…
Some time back I tested my defensive load (using the Speer 200gr. ‘flying ashtray’) in my Detonics Combat Master .45 with a 3-1/2″ barrel. Averaged 848 fps. and 319 ft/lbs. at the muzzle. Fired through four layers of denim into Clear Ballistics Gel it penetrated 14″ and expanded to an average of .640″.
respectable expansion.
The Challengerrrrr!
Using the same chronograph I tried the 2″ revolver. I didn’t use gel for the S&W, but it clocked *drum roll* an average of 841 fps. for 314 ft.lbs. Huh. How could that be?
For one thing the way revolver barrels are measured. Semi-auto pistol barrels are measured from the breech-face and revolvers are measured from the front of the cylinder. Can you guess how long the barrel of the S&W is from the breech-face to the muzzle? 3.58″, basically the same length as the Detonics.
“But what about the cylinder-gap?” I hear you cry. BBTI discovered in tests that surprisingly little velocity is lost via the cylinder gap. In this case differences in temperature, humidity and other factors could have affected the results slightly and made up the difference.
Having tested this I’m going to tell my buddy to keep his barrel. I’ll finish this one up as a snubby. I already bobbed the hammer and checkered it so it can easily be thumb-cocked. New, more ‘classic’ grips, a crane-detent and a grip adapter. Maybe strip and rust blue it.
I had a real thing for cap-and-ball conversion revolvers for some time, and I still like them. Patron R.R. requested photos of the guns conversions I have done, so here they are:
This is the first- a Cimarron Richards Mason in .38 Special converted to an ‘Avenging Angel-‘ style snub-nose. I converted the grip to a bird’s head, removed the ejector and reshaped the barrel-lug. Getting ready to do a video on this one.
I call this set the ‘Boy’s Night Out’ set. This is a cut-down 1860 Army with a Kirst gated Conversion in .45 and my hand-made .45 Derringer. Also have the cap-and-ball cylinder, loading lever and some cleaning tools.This Remington 1858 ‘Pug’ features a Home-made conversion with a modified loading lever to retain the cylinder-pin and a bird’s head grip.Pretty good shooter at seven yards.
This beast is a reproduction Walker conversion I call ‘Thumper.’ The cartridge is one I made up, a streched .44 Colt I call .44-55 walker. It uses a 200gr. Heel-base .451″ bullet ofver 55gr. of FFFg black powder.
This Avenging Angel is in .38 Colt Short. Thus uses a modified bored-through cap-and-ball cylinder.
here it is in it’s case with hand-made tools and a reloading set-up based around an Ideal reloading tool. The shape of the grip has been changedto make it more concealable.
This Remington in .44 Colt has a Bisley-style grip, lowered hammer-spur and a still-functional loading lever if I were to put a cap-and-ball cylinder in it.
This little 1849 reproduction got the full business- the barrel line to .251, homemade conversion cylinder and converted to a spur-trigger. The Caliber is .251 TCR.
The Remington has a Kirst Gated Conversion.
This one is an 1849 reproduction with a barrel and cylinder lined for .22 LR. I told Linda it’s was a style called an ‘Avenging Angel.’ She said it looked more like an irritable Cherub, and we’ve called it the Cherub ever since.
I lined the barrel of this 1860 with a .360 liner and the cylinder to accept .38 S&W. The grip is Ivy Wood cut in our yard and seasoned in the shop, so this one is called Poison Ivy.
Yes, I made the lined cases. Mostly from wooden boxes bougt on the cheap in second-hand stores.
There’ve been a couple of others, and there are some in the work-in-progress’ stage but this is the most of them. I’ve largely moved on from making conversions; interests change over time but I still love these guns and still shoot them. Lot’s of fodder for future videos!
So I have this S&W K-frame project based on a Model 1902. Shortened barrel, crane detent, hammer bobbed and checkered; just a whole bunch of modifications really. The Goncalo Alves grips I made for it are very grippy and look good. But they just didn’t seem to fit the pugnacious, no nonsense gun. I felt it required a different sort of nonsense.
Enter The Antler!
I thought that antler had just the look I wanted. Because antler is cool. I grabbed the biggest chunk in the shop and commenced to sawing. Then it was on to the belt sander to get the pieces flat. I marked the flats based on the shaped of the grip frame and with bandsaw, belt grinders and files fitted the results to the frame.
Yes, the grips are asymmetrical, but in a calculated way that works very nicely in my right hand. I actually cut the antler so its natural curves would work out this way.
Then it was more shaping on the belt sander, then sanding drums and finally hand sanding. I finished the grips with many coats of lacquer, and liked the look a lot.
Came out great! Uh, just ignore that small, uh, gap at the top of the grip in front. Oops.
I felt they meshed well with the retro character and details of the gun, and they worked alright in my hand. Firing was comfortable, but…
Trouble in Paradise?
…not perfect. The stock round-butt K-frame shape works OK for my hand, but isn’t ideal. I’ve always done better with custom grips, Pachmayrs or at least a T-grip adapter. The classic of course would be the Tyler T-grip; been around forever and suits the gun’s esthetics. But there are two choices for procuring one: pay too much for one on eBay or play t-grip roulette with Tyler.
OK, I love Tyler T-grips and like I said, they’re classic. But no one has let them in on the fact that it’s the 21st century. You send in a check with an order, and before you die you will almost certainly get your T-Grip. OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration. Maybe.
BK grip adapters make them too. They are plastic, but have their advantages like having two clips instead of one. You can also order and pay online and their service is great. But plastic, even their ‘ivory-‘colored ones, seem again just a bit out of step with the gun. I dithered, but then realized something. I have opposable thumbs, and they work. I also have a workshop and some skills. I have aircraft aluminum in said shop. I can make one. And I could maybe find a piece of antler to make it out of. Because antler is cool.
I did, sawed the chunk out, cut and ground it to shape then hand-sanded it and lacquered it. I got some thin nickel-silver that was lying around, cut and bent it around the frame of the gun. But how to secure it? Typically it would be riveted to the casting, but antler does not rivet. I contemplated a screw, but then my brain started working. I used the Foredom Tool with a carbide burr to carve out a place for the clip to fit, fetched some random dust from the belt-grinder table and grabbed some super-glue. I glued the clip in place (which would never hold the clip if it was on the gun by itself.) Then I filled the cavity over it with dust and dripped superglue into it and let it solidify.
Super-glue and dust to retain the clip. Don’t judge me!
After the glue set I couldn’t pull the clip out with my fingers, and I Am the Brute Squad, so I figured it is good enough.
looking good!The nickel-silver clip holds the adapter, pinched in place securely between the grips and the frame.Fits as it should.
This gives me just the grip I desired, high on the gun and very comfortable. I’m really happy with how this came out.
Antler is a lot easier to work and finish than aluminum, so this did not take too long as such things go. For me at least, with the tools and considerable skill to draw on; your mileage may vary.
Now I need a holster, and I know a guy with leather and a shop…
