Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Can a revolver be rebored and rechambered to different caliber

I want a k-32 Smith and Wesson 6 inch barrel in 32 long S&W. They are very hard to find and priced above my means. I presently have a K-22 and K-38. It appears the only way I can create a fascimile is to have a K-22 (Smith m17) rebored to 32 and the cylinder reamed to 32 H&R mag or 32 long provided I can find a donor pistol in k-22 or M17 in 22lr.

Would this be a practical conversion and are gunsmith who could do this? I would appreciate your feed back.

Thanks,
Bill

Hamilton Bowen or Jack Huntington could tell you for sure. I suspect it would not be a problem for either one of them.

It could be, but it's a lot more cost effective to buy what you want and sell the one you have.
(Or keep them both)

Converting a rimfire to a centerfire will require a lot more than just reboring, and the tiniest error will ruin the whole thing.

I suspect it will end up costing as much or more than simply buying what you really want.

This. Changing between centerfire calibers isn't that big of a deal as long as the new cartridge will fit in the old frame. Going from rimfire to centerfire or vice versa is a much bigger deal.

You might be able to start with a 38, then have Hamilton Bowen or David Clements make a line-bored cylinder and add a match-grade barrel. You also might be able to find a K22 or M-17 barrel and have that rebored.


Okie John

Hamilton Bowen converted a S & W M/27 from .357 to .44 Special for me, he is probably the most experienced when it comes to caliber conversions. His work is top shelf and is not inexpensive.

I've got the Mod 16 in 32 Long. What is the difference between it and the Mod 17? I've also got what at one time I though was a K22. Was told on the S&W site it's really a 22 Combat Masterpiece. There is no model number on the 22. That Mod 16 Is one of my all time favorite handguns. All I ever shoot in it is cast bullet's.

The firing pin is offset and frame mounted in the rim fire.

An old beater K38 and a K22 cylinder and barrel that have been rebored is the most likely workable scenario. Bowen can do it.
If you could track down a K32 barrel and cylinder about anyone with a frame wrench and a little knowledge could pull it off. But good luck finding the cylinder and barrel

Jim Carmichael had a .22 Kitgun converted years ago and wrote about it in Handloader.
David Ward had a Kitgun converted and wrote about it in the 12th edition of Handloaders Digest. Both of these articles are worth looking up.


It seems I have seen pictures of several Hamilton Bowen K-22 conversions to .32 H&R Magnum. Seems like his website had an article about them.
Back in the late 1980’s a few .32 caliber handgun hunters and Silhouette shooters hung out at A Place To Shoot on the South side of San Antonio. At the time Drury’s gun shop was the place to purchase ammunition and Federal brass.
There was a gunsmith in North San Antonio who seemed to specialized in PPC guns. He converted at least one Colt Diamondback to .32 H&R Magnum for a varmint caller. It was a very nice handgun.

Jack Ward wrote about the S&W K-32 in Guns magazine -8 1966 issue – available for free on-line.
Ken Waters wrote The Case for the Super .32 for the April 1967 issue of Shooting Times.
Dean Grennel, Dan Cotterman and Lee Jurras all wrote of the need for the Super .32 at one time or nother.

If you must have a K-frame the Model 16 4” is the way to go. This is a fine .32 handgun with a pinned front sight so you can shoot heavy bullets if you desire by changing the sight.


If you can live with a J-frame the Model 632 carry Comp in .327 Federal is a good one. This is an od picture of mine back when it was new.


I you want to spend a little money on a custom the Charter Arms Patriot is a good beginning. The sights stink on ice but the gun itself has proven to be a good Kitgun when loaded to .32 H&R Magnuum levels. The Patriot really needs a pinned front sight that is blued.

Unless he has started again Hamilton Bowen is no longer doing work on S&W,
MARCH 15, 2016 | CATALOG REVISION — Effective May 1st 2016, we will no longer accept S&W revolver projects and will take down the S&W catalog section. A great many of our S&W offerings involve barrel work, particularly sight and caliber conversion. More and more of the newer guns have barrels set so tightly that the factory service department refuses to remove them because of the risks of receiver damage. Unfortunately, it is impossible to know when guns are suitable candidates for barrel removal until you put a barrel wrench to one. Due to the untimely loss of friend and colleague Jim Dubell who did our reboring, we also have a considerable backlog of S&W caliber conversions to address as we are able to get barrels rebored; these are our top priority. We also expect to concentrate more on our parts business. With a couple of new machine shops hard at it now on our behalf, the sight and part situation is improving which will enable us to bring on line some needed new sight parts.

http://www.bowenclassicarms.com/news.html

Ronnie