American Handgunner Jul/Aug 1981 - Jeffersonian

for comfort-the seeds ofhis gun were then
planted.
Several days later we got together and
began to discuss the problem seriously.
The Yuma Police Department allows its
officers to carry .357 Mag pistols, however
the qualification is done with .38 midrange
wad cutters. Both Chuck and I
agreed that accuracy had priority over
power and presently he gave me carte
blanche to produce a gun to satisfy his
needs both for accuracy and carrying.
After some small search we found a
suitable S&W MIS, the old barrel was
removed and having no idea of what barrel
designs might appeal to Chuck, I proceeded
to present him with some shapes
for his approval. The first purchase I made
was a supply of I\/s" dowel rods to make
prototype barrels. We wanted the heaviest
possible barrel, yet it had to complement
the frame and overall contour of the gun.
We looked at square barrels, triangular
barrels, fluted barrels and several exotic
and weird shapes. We finally settled on I"
design with flat top and sides, with about a
\4" radius between, and a round bottom.
This seemed to satisfy Chuck and had the
best potential of.the samples offered.
STRAIGHTFORWARD WORK
The basic machine work was straightforward.
The Douglas blank was threaded
and fit to the MIS frame, indexed and cut
to a long 4", set up between centers and
turned to I". The top and sides of the
barrel were then milled flat and the rear
portion contoured to the receiver for an
eye-pleasing blend. The ejector rod recess
was a basic end mill operation and the gun
was beginning to take form. I have always
been reluctant to apply heat to a target
barrel, preferring, when possible, to drill
and tap so the ejector rod hanger required
some thought. An end-milled extension
was made forward ofthe ejector rod cut in
the barrel and a steel block made to fit the
new cut. The block was then drilled to
accept a collared plunger and spring. This
unit was then fitted to the ejector rod, and
hdd in place with two 6/48 screws. A long
sljallow forcing cone was cut in the breech,
the barrel screwed back into the receiver,
and initial test firing took place. Recoil
with mid range wad cutters was mild and
with Plus P only slightly more. Muzzle
jump was noticeably less than with a
standard Model 15.
The next project was the sights. I have
always liked the idea ofa replaceable front
sight and the DWA front sight blade width
was exactly correct for the width ofthe rear
Ijlade. An \/s" high ramp was made and
slotted for the DWA sight, drilled and
counterbored for 6/48 screws and attached
to the barrel. The sight blade was trimmed
from the bottom till the original height of
the S&W sight was reached. The sight base
and sight were drilled together to accept
two small pins. It might be noted that the
screw heads are hidden beneath the front
sight blade which not only makes a neat
AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY / AUGUST 1981
C
Farmington Road, Dept. TAH7
Rochester, New Hampshire 03867
WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN YOU
LOAD & FIRE
THESE
CARTRIDGES
IN A
SCOPE
MOUNTED
NDER
tile hunting'#llfjct is rather devastat­
. AMulitfdr Whitetail will crumble
with tIIetirat well placed shot. A
Pronghorn will turn into trophyville
but one thing for sure, you won't be
Itk:king up lens and scope parts if you
read this ad and follow through!
,• ERIES
JER ARMS
31