Minimal J-frame- Finished.
Jan 11, 2018 2:16:34 GMT -5
alukban, magnumwheelman, and 1 more like this
Post by tinkerpearce on Jan 11, 2018 2:16:34 GMT -5
I don't know if I've mentioned this gun before- it's a Rossi M68 that I picked up cheap a couple years back. It's a clone of the S&W Model 60- seriously, the parts are interchangeable. It's become my 'bench gun-' the gun that I experiment on and goof off with. In it's original form it had a 4" barrel and a square-but grip frame. It's been through several iterations as I tried different things and learned new stuff. A bit back I looked over a Taurus 'View,' the sub-sub-compact version of their Model 85. The grip is too small for my hand, there are no sights and the ejector is basically useless. That's before we even get to the ultra-gimicky transparent side-plate. But it got me thinking- how small could I make a J-Frame without seriously compromising its usefulness? I decided to find out.
The gun wasn't stock anymore, but I'm going to skip all the stuff that came before. I removed the barrel and cut the threads longer, then shortened and re-cut the forcing cone, leaving me with a 1-3/4" barrel. I shortened the ejector to match, leaving enough to still do a decent job ejecting the spent shells. I bobbed the hammer, then serrated the top so that the gun can- theoretically at least- be thumb-cocked. I cut the base off the grip-frame and shortened it, then re-attached the base with silver-solder. I had to modify the mainspring retainer, but that wasn't too difficult. Initially I cut down a handle just to test the size and try the gun out, but then I made a new handle from Zebrawood. I also ground the grooves off the trigger and polished it smooth. I relieved the sides of the trigger-guard at the front to allow easier access to the trigger, beveled the throats of the chambers and finally mounted a front sight and touched up the finish with Van's Instant Blue.
Here's the gun with one grip-panel removed to show the shortened frame-
Here's the gun in it's current state-
Firing the gun with standard pressure ammunition is not uncomfortable; the gun is not rated for +P. Now that the new grips are finished and mounted I need to take it down to the range and test the accuracy and how it handles in rapid-fire.
It's all just for fun and education, but I really like the way that it has come out.
The gun wasn't stock anymore, but I'm going to skip all the stuff that came before. I removed the barrel and cut the threads longer, then shortened and re-cut the forcing cone, leaving me with a 1-3/4" barrel. I shortened the ejector to match, leaving enough to still do a decent job ejecting the spent shells. I bobbed the hammer, then serrated the top so that the gun can- theoretically at least- be thumb-cocked. I cut the base off the grip-frame and shortened it, then re-attached the base with silver-solder. I had to modify the mainspring retainer, but that wasn't too difficult. Initially I cut down a handle just to test the size and try the gun out, but then I made a new handle from Zebrawood. I also ground the grooves off the trigger and polished it smooth. I relieved the sides of the trigger-guard at the front to allow easier access to the trigger, beveled the throats of the chambers and finally mounted a front sight and touched up the finish with Van's Instant Blue.
Here's the gun with one grip-panel removed to show the shortened frame-
Here's the gun in it's current state-
Firing the gun with standard pressure ammunition is not uncomfortable; the gun is not rated for +P. Now that the new grips are finished and mounted I need to take it down to the range and test the accuracy and how it handles in rapid-fire.
It's all just for fun and education, but I really like the way that it has come out.
