Well, I have had this gun a while and never checked to see if the silly thing would chamber .357 Magnum shells....and, it does. If I had known that I would never have paid the money to have it lettered. Anyway, as I have gotten older, I've been trying to sell several of my guns and this was one of them. How much do you think the reamed cylinder affects the value at this point? Does it just kill it altogether. In case it matters, it's a pre-war model with all numbers matching.
My .38/44 Heavy Duty Bummed Me Out Today
- Thread starter Joe_Pike
- Start date
I think you pretty much answered your own question. You could look for a replacement cylinder, but then you are spending money on a gun you want to sell. It is certainly worth something since someone will want it for parts.
You may make more off it by selling the parts. In this case the sum of the parts could be worth significantly more than the revolver.
Wait for other opinions since the above is simply my opinion. Not sure what you can do with the $75.00 S&W Letter.
You may make more off it by selling the parts. In this case the sum of the parts could be worth significantly more than the revolver.
Wait for other opinions since the above is simply my opinion. Not sure what you can do with the $75.00 S&W Letter.
Deaf Smith
New member
Reamed cylinder? Nothing. While it can take .357 magnums now it was minimally altered.
BTW, back when I was 20 or so I had a nickle plated HD that had been reamed to .357 mag. Wish I had it back!
Deaf
BTW, back when I was 20 or so I had a nickle plated HD that had been reamed to .357 mag. Wish I had it back!
Deaf
How much value lost? To the absolutely irrationally insane collector who demands pristine examples...it's worthless. To the rest of the more sane firearms enthusiasts...nothing. Reamed chambers on an HD are meaningless to 99% of shooters. But it seems to really bother you so you may as well sell it because clearly you will never be happy with it.
Given than I've seen three-screw magnums go for that much or more, I don't really think that $795 is an unreasonable price (I paid $1000 for a post-war 5-screw pre-27 with a 3 1/2" barrel about a year and a half ago and felt like I got a good deal). While I don't consider myself to be a serious collector, I am somewhat of an "advanced accumulator" and I prefer my guns as unmolested as possible. That being said, reamed chambers on a .38/44 really wouldn't bother me as they don't impede the gun's ability to shoot the ammunition for which it was originally made.
Actually, from a shooting perspective, the reamed chambers are kind of a good thing. One could handload honest-to-goodness .38/44 ammunition in .357 Magnum cases and not have to worry about it finding its way into a less-robust .38 Special revolver.
Actually, from a shooting perspective, the reamed chambers are kind of a good thing. One could handload honest-to-goodness .38/44 ammunition in .357 Magnum cases and not have to worry about it finding its way into a less-robust .38 Special revolver.
Joe, as S,P. mentioned to hard core collectors it has no interest. To the rest of us mere mortals it's a nice peace of revolver history. Depending to the barrel length $795, when you add in the assorted fees, may be a tad high.
Best of luck, whatever you decide to do with it.
Best of luck, whatever you decide to do with it.
Bought it at Bass Pro years ago and I'm sure they didn't even know what it was, let alone checking that.
No fees as I'm selling it locally. It's funny, but when I bought this gun the general consensus was it was about a $1,200 gun (I paid a fraction of that). Gunbroker at the time even confirmed that. The Smith & Wesson Standard Catalog (of 2006) has the grips listed at $600, and someone on Ebay recently sold some of these same grips for $600. My how things change.
William Munny
New member
If I were looking for a Heavy Duty (I'm NOT), the fact that the cylinder had been machined to accept the longer .357 wouldn't bother me in the least so long as the rest of the gun indicated it was well cared for. Don't low-ball yourself and just give it away. I'd say it's easily worth $795 to someone wanting a classic shooter. JMHO
Model12Win
Moderator
I wouldn't tell him nothin and just sell that tooter.
He 38-44 was made before the .357 and I believe that the cylinders were straight bored. There was no need to dream it with a headspace restrictor.
Unless you can find definitive evidence that your cylinder was actually reamed to be full length bore, it was reamed full length at the factory.
Unless you can find definitive evidence that your cylinder was actually reamed to be full length bore, it was reamed full length at the factory.
Remington74
New member
If it was straight bored as Briandg mentioned it is not an issue. It's not as though the cylinder was colored in flash pink or some other such nonsense. Unless you intend to market to a high end collector the fact that it MAY have been bored to accept .357 may actually increase it's perceived value to someone purchasing it as a shooter. Unless you reload when was the last time you saw 38/44 ammo on the shelf? I would only ask the question is that particular gun rated or able to handle full house .357 loads?
Does it have pre-war N frame magnas on it? Those alone are worth big bucks is in excellent condition.
Cylinders are not straight bored on these guns. Reaming will hurt value on pristine guns, but not as much for high grade shooters. I'd rather have a reamed pre-war HD with original Magna grips than an un-reamed gun with aftermarket grips.
Service grips bring less money.
Cylinders are not straight bored on these guns. Reaming will hurt value on pristine guns, but not as much for high grade shooters. I'd rather have a reamed pre-war HD with original Magna grips than an un-reamed gun with aftermarket grips.
Service grips bring less money.