Toolguy

As someone else on BE has said before- The best way to make a small fortune gunsmithing is to start with a large fortune.

What I used to tell the foreman when he came out in the shop to see how things were going - We're havin' more fun than a barrel o' managers!

Toolguy. I would love to see those pics also along with any tips you may have to make the standard Hogue convertable to revolver. Thanks. The pics are up, let me know if you still have any questions.

Ask Dawson.

Married men don't live longer than single men... It just SEEMS longer.

I have a new old stock one like you want. I'll trade you straight up for the one in the picture if it is unaltered. Sorry to hear about your terrible misfortune.

Here are pics of the holster and some of the guns used in it. All that's required to change to a different gun is to loosen the knob on the back of the crossbar and slide it up or down. It takes a few seconds, no tools required. There are 2 different size muzzle plugs on the crossbar, one for 35 cal, one for 44 & 45. 4" JM 625 5" 44 Automag 29 6" PPC 686 7.5" Open Bianchi 686 locked unlocked

That is a great looking 41 Magnum! I know it's just a stock factory gun, but I always liked that barrel style.

I would definitely be interested in the exact holster you purchased and how you converted it. any pictures would be great also.. This is for my 627 pro the I purchased frm MIke Carmoney that he did his magic on.I plan to use it for steel shooting all frm stand and draw with no movement. My picture poster helper doesn't get back until about 5:30. I'll get some pics on later this evening. One of my guns is a 627. All the guns work great. You can use this holster locked for run n gun, or unlocked for standing. Either way is just as fast. The gun cannot fall out or be knocked out when the holster is locked.

I converted a Hogue Power Speed holster over to revolver. Those are about $90.00 in Brownell's. This holster is absolutely secure when locked and lightning fast. The one holster works for all my Smiths that are from 4" to 7-1/2". I can post pics tomorrow if you're interested.

The advice above is as good as any you'll get. Stay away from mill drills that have a pipe connecting the top to the bottom. You can only take light cuts with those, as they vibrate all over the place when taking a decent cut or in harder material.

You can also take out the spring and plunger and stretch the spring a little or put in a heavier spring or tap the front hole for a #10-32 and put in a #10-32 cone point set screw. You can make your own cone point by putting a regular setscrew in the lathe or drill press chuck and file a point on it while it's spinning.

Congrats on yer new metal muncher! Give us a shout if ya need any perfeshunal advice.

The newer style Houge rubber and rubber with wood on the bottom work the best for me. I've tried 'em all, even custom made ones. That doesn't mean they're the best for someone else - other hands are different shapes and sizes. Mine are about average size.

Tell me what front sight you want, I'll send you one. For example: how tall - .250 or .300? Black or Fiber Optic? What color Fiber - red, orange, green? Green is the brightest, orange is a close second, red is a distant third. Include shipping address. Almost forgot - Pin on or Clip on?

It's probably OK. A lot depends on the powder and the pressure curve it generates. Slower powders are generally safer for the heavier loads. There are exceptions to everything.

You're right. I had forgotten about those. I don't know what the cartridge dimensions were on the JAG, I just made mine regular Automag. I assume the JAG must have been different in some way.

+1 Martin! A lot of really great ideas!

Great shooting Luke!

I built a 44 Automag pin gun on a M29 about 20 years ago when the only moonclips were 45 ACP. As far as I know, it's the only 44 Automag revolver there is. The reason I went with that chambering is to get more horsepower on moonclips than was possible with 45 ACP. It has a ported slab bull barrel, a full underlug, a 4 position Wichita Rib, bobbed hammer, trigger guard hook and good action. The best pin load in that gun is a 300 gr. bullet, lead or jacketed, 8.5 gr. of WW231 and standard primer. It runs at 915 fps with a 275 power factor and is very pleasant to shoot. It will clear 2 pins in one shot if they are together even if they are full of other bullets. I have shot full power 44 Mag. loads in it many times, but those are hard on the time clock and not needed. I still shoot that one once in a while and it is not getting worn out. I think a 45 Win Mag would work fine too, probably with the same load. You can get 44 Automag from Starline now, but back then I made 500 of them out of 308 rifle brass. I'll never do that again. Once I got into making the brass, I was wishing I had gone the 45 Win Mag route because you could just buy those and they would fit on a moon clip too.

The covered backstrap makes the reach too long for me too. It saves your hand on heavy recoil magnum loads, but no one shoots those kind of loads in a match.

THOSE didn't sound like 41 Magnums...

You punch it out from the back where the hammer nose ( firing pin) goes in, put the new one in from the cylinder side, and stake it in. You can do it yourself, but I would recommend to send it to Smith and let them do it.

You can replace the hammer nose bushing and file the new one down to the breech face.

Apparently Blondes aren't any smarter now than they were then!