Who could square away a revolver for me?

[bernie]

In the near future I am wanting to have a Model 64 with a 4" barrel cut back to 3", have it bead blasted (it was DOC gun and is pretty scuffed up) and possibly do an action job on it? Not looking for something heavily customized, just a nice carry piece.

 

[Brian Williams]

Mark Hartshorn at Pinnacle High performance. He has done a few for me.

 

[WC145]

I'll second the Mark Hartshorne recommendation. Mark has worked on several of my revolvers, including taking a beater S&W M28 and converting it to a 3" RB .41mag. He used a Ti cylinder from a M357PD and a 4" M58 barrel that he cut down to 3", recrowned, removed the rollmarks, and made a new front sight. It was bead blasted and blued for a matte finish. Nothing fancy but a great carry revolver with plenty of punch. I'm sure he can do the job you're wanting on your M64.

 

[Brian Williams]

WC that thing is soooo cool.

 

[Biblethumpncop]

I am having a local gunsmith do something similar to what you want. I have a model 10-8 heavy barrel that I'm having the 4" chopped to 3", slab sided, Novak dovetail front sight and the gun will be finely bead blasted and parkerized.

I also gave him a model 64-5 with a 4" and an extra 3" barrel which I will have installed and the gun finely bead blasted.

 

[Riomouse911]

Good deal, the bead blasted stainless look is one of my favorites, I blasted my 686+ several years ago and carried it for a little while as a duty gun. (Recovering from a thumb injury.)



The Model 64 will look great once it’s done.

Stay safe.

 

[Homerboy]

Chopping down a barrel always looks wrong to me since the writing on the barrel isn't centered. I was watching a show last year and the bad guy pulled out a 3" K frame and pointed it at the good guy's head. It immediately looked wrong so I paused the screen. Sure enough, the writing on the barrel was not centered. Clearly a 4" that had been cut back. Still functional, of course, but that would bug me.

 

[Biblethumpncop]

Chopping down a barrel always looks wrong to me since the writing on the barrel isn't centered. I was watching a show last year and the bad guy pulled out a 3" K frame and pointed it at the good guy's head. It immediately looked wrong so I paused the screen. Sure enough, the writing on the barrel was not centered. Clearly a 4" that had been cut back. Still functional, of course, but that would bug me.

Slabside the barrel.

 

[Homerboy]

Slabside the barrel.

I guess, but that changes the look, too. By the time you spend all that money modifying a square butt 4” Model 64 you could have sold the 4” and bought a 3” and be ahead.

 

[bernie]

I hear what you are saying. However 3” Model 64’s are far from common. The only one I see listed on Gunbroker looks to me like it is actually a mislabeled 4”. It is listed at a price of $699, which by math, is about $150 more than me buying a model 64 and then having the barrel cut and recontoured. For me it makes sense.

 

[sparkyv]

Chopping down a barrel always looks wrong to me since the writing on the barrel isn't centered.

Solution:

removed the rollmarks

 

[Homerboy]

Solution:

That would work, too. I just like my guns to look authentic. I sold a 3” 65 years ago. I shouldn’t have. Not easily replaced.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Lew Throne of Throne Arms (look for FB page). Lew was 17 year a machinist before attending gunsmithing school at Trinidad State. He was easily the best machinist in our class (would have been a crying shame if he wasn't). He has a complete machine shop. While some of us struggled to get work done, Lew breezed through easily. He also made more tools than the rest of us (but I made some he had no use for like a jig to reassemle the Mini-14 trigger guard magazine catch and a hinge forming tool for patchboxes).

 

[StrawHat]

…Chopping down a barrel always looks wrong to me since the writing on the barrel isn't centered...

This is a S&W Model 22-4, from the factory,



The lettering is not centered.


Kevin

 

[Homerboy]

This is a S&W Model 22-4, from the factory,

View attachment 1036262

The lettering is not centered.


Kevin

Ok. Looking at my Model 10 and 64 4” barrels. If the barrel was cut to 3” it would end right after the lettering on both sides of the barrel. I’ve seen 4” cut to 3”, and the lettering looks all wrong. Without slab siding it, the whole look is wrong to me. If somebody has a 4” cut to 3” feel free to post.

 

[Jim Watson]

Look?
You can't see the lettering when it is in that nice snuggly holster or from behind the sights.
I elect function over form. I'd probably just try to find a way to carry a tapered 4" and save the trouble, though.

ETA: Boy I had that one backwards. Function always.

 

[Homerboy]

Look?
You can't see the lettering when it is in that nice snuggly holster or from behind the sights.
I elect form over function. I'd probably just try to find a way to carry a tapered 4" and save the trouble, though.

Never said it would affect function. But I know it would bug me. I remember noticing it immediately in the tv show I spotted it in. It wasn’t a close up or a steady shot. The actor pulled a gun and pointed it at the guy. In real time, it might have been 2 seconds. It jumped right out at me. Hit pause and went to the TV to confirm it. Sure enough, the Smith and Wesson lettering ended right at the end of the barrel. Clearly a 4” chopped down to 3”.

 

[StrawHat]

This is a S&W Model 22-4, from the factory,

View attachment 1036262

The lettering is not centered.


Kevin

My point is, the lettering is not always centered on factory revolvers.

Kevin

 

[Jim Watson]

At one time the factory would fill special orders for short barrels by cutting off long barrels, so markings would not be centered on a perfectly legit gun.

 

[bernie]

I regularly carry a 4” revolver. I have several. But at work a 3” would hide just a little bit better.

 

[Homerboy]

My point is, the lettering is not always centered on factory revolvers.

Kevin

Ok, but they’re factory. Not chopped down after they left the factory. People will do what they want. For me, I’m not interested. I saw a 3” 64 at a gunshow once. Got all excited and checked it out. Chopped down. Guy selling was telling me it’s a custom job. To me it just looked like a chopped down 64.