.355 barrel for 627

[Akkid17]

I am wanting to get a 627 or 327 or another s&w 8 shot revolver and I was wanting to use the same 38 super and 9mm loads I have worked up or at least the same brass and bullets and I have seen several topics on shooting 9mm and 38 super but it looks like people are using .357-.358 bullets.

So my question is, can I shoot 355 bullets out of a 357 barrel or would I pretty much have to get it rebarreled for the different diameter?

If that's the case who/where would I be able to have this work done? I haven't seen any place that advertises this practice (probably because most people don't want the hassle/cost)

Also, if 38 super cases will work would 38 super comp work as well with the moon clips? I don't need that, but I already have the brass so it'd be nice to consolidate. I have no desire to buy another complete set up just for this gun (brass bullets dies especially since I have lots of 9mm/38super stuff already) plus I like the the idea of being able to buy bulk 9mm from the store and going to a match, unlikely to find the same for 38/357 in the quantity need for a 2 day match.

[Toolguy]

One of the problems with that setup is the cylinder throats will still be .357. Oversize throats are not recommended for good accuracy. It depends on the individual gun and a host of variables. It might work out OK or you might have to use .357 bullets.

Walther makes a .355 barrel blank that is sold as a 9mm, 38 Special and .357 barrel. I have made some barrels out of those and am getting good 50 yard accuracy with .357 bullets. I haven't had time to try .355 (9mm) or .356 (.38 super) yet, but that is the plan. I will get another cylinder and ream it for .38 super and try it eventually. I would recommend having Clark Custom do the rebarrel job.

The .38 Special and .38 Super are only .004 or .005 thousandths apart in diameter, 9mm is a bigger size. You may be able to use the 2 .38s interchangeably.

I don't know if .38 super and super comp will work with the same moon clips, maybe Hearthco can tell you. Or if you have both measure the part where the moon clip goes. If they measure the same, you're good to go.

[Akkid17]

I'm fairly certain the extractor groove is the same diameter but not sure on the height or if that has anything to do with it. I'll send an email out to hearthco to find out.

I shoot .355 bullets out of my 38 supercomp open gun so that's what I have for bullets. I was planning on using the 357 sig bullets (Montana gold 357 sig 125 gr JHP) since they are more rounded for loading quicker and I have a case that is just sitting around but those are also .355 diameter.

Thanks for the info on the walther barrel I'd like to have a little better bullet to barrel fit if possible but, if I'm not mistaken, it sounded like you were saying it would be possible to shoot the 9mm bullets out of a 357 barrel, would this hurt the barrel or forcing come? I'm assuming that along with accuracy, speed would diminish due to the gap.

Thanks again

[Carmoney]

Frank Glenn put .355 barrels on a couple of revolvers for Jay Tappe a few years ago, and the results were excellent.

[DougCarden]

.355 barrels with a Taylor throated forcing cone may give you what you want. My short colt only gun has a .355 barrel and does really well with .355 /.356 bullets

[Akkid17]

.355 barrels with a Taylor throated forcing cone may give you what you want. My short colt only gun has a .355 barrel and does really well with .355 /.356 bullets

Did you have the barrel put on or did come to you with it? Who made the barrel?

[Akkid17]

Also, with potentially shooting .355" bullets out of a .357" barrel would it be better to shoot lead or will jacketed be fine? Just thinking that the lead could conform better to the rifling and overcome more of the diameter difference than a solid walled jacketed bullet could

[Akkid17]

Another question I have is; would this only be a viable option on a 627 stainless steel model or could I do this in a 327 or trr8 scandium? Since the entire purpose for this gun would be plinking, steel challenge and knockdown steel. Maybe some uspsa minor, but it will likely never see a full power major load in its life with me and I am liking the idea of the scandium for a really quick handling gun.

Not sure if it was entirely apparent from the first posts but I am entirely out of my depth with regards to revolvers I only recently realized how fun they are and now I'm hooked and can't get enough. So, all of your help and input is greatly appreciated. Thanks

Edited August 5, 2013 by Akkid17

[MWP]

I just did some searching on this idea myself, but haven't made the move on any of it yet. Try Dave Lake at Bentwood Guns in Vegas, I was referred to him about the same idea, a .355 barrel on a 627, and he said it's not the first one he has done. Tom at TK custom is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to throwing 38 super/9mm in revolvers. It sounds like JM has been pushing the factory for an 8 shot 9mm, so maybe that will appear someday as well.

Edited August 5, 2013 by MWP

[Akkid17]

That would be awesome! I already bought the 625 JM so it would make sense to have a 627 to go with it!

[TGO]

Have only gotten excellent accuracy with long bearing? surface area bullets. Messed with the .355 barrels years ago, but short bullets didn't shoot too well with standard length cylinders in anything unless bullets were as big as possible. i shoot lots of different things through my 627 supers and as long as they have long bearing surface they shot well. But larger diameter bullets always shoot the best.

[DougCarden]

Rob is spot on of course. You will want to use bullet weights of 147 and up. I love the zero 150 jrn .356 bullet but they are not currently making those....groan!

Mark Hartshorne of pinnacle high performance did my original open short colt short cylinder gun with the .355 barrel.

[toothguy]

My Bianchi revolver has a .355 barrel and it will shoot a Zero 115 .355 bullet well, but only at higher velocities to get the bullet to obterate. It is not picky at all with 105-158gr .357-.358 bullets I have tried because they obterate at any speed. I have an STI Target Master that is a 9mm but the barrel slugged at .356. It shoots very well with .357 Zero 125 JHP revolver bullets.

I think the best reason to change the factory barrel is to change the twist rate. Going from 1 in 18.75 to 1 in 10 makes the gun less picky with bullet weight.

[MWP]

Mark at Pinnacle does some really great work. I talked to him about the project and he was all for it.

Rob, I was told the same thing, shorter/lighter bullets aren't your friend in this case. The idea for going to a .355 barrel was to standardize some of my components, but hunting down heavy, .356 bullets sounds more work than doing a .357 barrel and using the same 158s I use for 38.

Doug, tell me more about your short colt cylinder. Just cut down to reduce freebore? How is the accuracy vs a full length cylinder? I was cautioned against cutting one down and told the gap flash was ridiculous, any experience with that?

Edited August 6, 2013 by MWP

[Akkid17]

If you were to cut back the cylinder to minimize the amount of free bore ( cylinder?) before it reaches the barrel/rifling wouldn't you also chase threads on the barrel to extend the barrel further toward the cylinder to accomodate for the extended flash gap? Short cylinder = long barrel extension? Or is that not the case.

Edited August 6, 2013 by Akkid17

[toothguy]

If you were to cut back the cylinder to minimize the amour of free bore ( cylinder?) before it reaches the barrel/rifling wouldn't you also chase threads on the barrel to extend the barrel further toward the cylinder to accomodate for the extended flash gap? Short cylinder = long barrel extension? Or is that not the case.

Accuracy comes from consistency. The front part of a revolver cylinder charge hole has a tapered chamber that should be the same dimention for each charge hole. So if you shoot a .358 lead bullet it still will exit the chamber .357 in a 686. The forcing cone should be cut square to the cylinder face and the cylinder should be aligned so the gap is consistent for each charge hole. The forcing cone and the crown need to be cut concentric. The gap depending on the revolver is usually between .003-.005''.

I would not cut the front, chamber area of the cylinder.

[Akkid17]

Aaaahh... I see, I misread what was posted earlier. I thought someone was talking about shortening their cylander to make the free space from the end of the bullet to the end of the cylinder shorter and in doing so increasing the gap. My bad.

I'm getting the feeling that to be able to shoot the bullets that I want to out of a 627 I'll be needing to get a new barrel for it that is .355". Someone already mentioned walther making blanks, are there any others out there? I'm not against walther I just like having options.

Thanks again everyone

Edited August 6, 2013 by Akkid17

[Akkid17]

Update: I got an email from TK and he informed me that the extractor groove is narrower on 38 supercomp compared to 38 super so it would be necessary to purchase separate moon clips specifically for that case. He has them and all you have to do it order the SS 38 super clips and specify in the notes that they are for 38 supercomp

[Toolguy]

Sometimes the cylinder is cut shorter and the barrel extended back to match but still retain the correct cylinder gap.

[Akkid17]

What is the purpose of shortening the cylinder? Is it along the lines of I wrote earlier, to have less free cylinder for the bullet to travel before reaching the bore? And how much does this help, since I will be mainly shooting 9mm and occasionally shooting 38 super, I'm wondering if this may be something to consider.

[toothguy]

What is the purpose of shortening the cylinder? Is it along the lines of I wrote earlier, to have less free cylinder for the bullet to travel before reaching the bore? And how much does this help, since I will be mainly shooting 9mm and occasionally shooting 38 super, I'm wondering if this may be something to consider.

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=103772

[Akkid17]

Gotcha. Shortening cylinder = unnecessary (aside from the hey look at me factor)

[Toolguy]

Yup.

[Carmoney]

Yup.

[Mover480]

I shoot 38 super bullets, .356 Zero 125 gr JHP, in 38 Short Colt in a .355 barrel with a custom throat that is similar to a Taylor throat. My GS used a Shilen blank to make the barrel (which I think was a special order). Did not shorten the cylinder. The gun shoots 1.5" 16-groups out of the Ransom Rest at 50 yards. The stock barrel didn't come anywhere close to this accuracy, that is why we changed it. However, my stock 627 snubby with a 2 5/8" barrel will hold the x-ring at 50 yards with the same ammo. Go figure!