The barrel said "Colt 38 Army Special" on it. It probably means nothing, but 38 specials drop in the chambers the way you'd expect them to in a standard 38.
Nobody really knows how the forcing cone got damaged. The cylinder is nice and tight and it never was a spitter, so the timing didn't seem off. My grandfather didn't reload so it wasn't a reloading problem. The forcing cone is split out at the bottom of the barrel with a chunk missing. He noticed it when he was cleaning it before putting it away. Much to my Dads dismay he kept on shooting it off and on for a couple years before dad comvinced him to stop it.
The replacement barrel I got from "Gun Parts" is a bare bones parkarized barrel. I made up some oak blocks and turned the old barrel out of the frame. it came out without any real resistance, but the replacement barrel certainly doesn't turn back in either easily or far enough. I suspect there might be some thread damage, nothing much, but it needs to be chased out with a tap.
