One of my friends has a boss with a Smith & Wesson 357Mag that he wants to sell cheap but the barrel is too short and the gun is classed as "prohibited" in Canada. I checked with the chief firearms officer and was told that if I could get the barrel replaced with one over 4" than they could reclass the gun as restricted and my licese will cover it.

I've rebarreled a couple rifles so far but to be totally honest until now I've never ever thought about doing it on a revolver handgun. I was looking for some written matter about doing it but so far have come up zero. So, I'm asking for help to learn how. Even if I have to get a smith to do it I plan to be there when it's done so that I can learn how for myself.

Thanks

NBHunter:

It's not really a lot different from rebarreling a rifle. It is important to have the correct fitting wrench to fit the frame of the Smith. Not worth purchasing for one job. Plus the fact that you will need a lathe if the barrel doesn't line up correctly.

Changing a S&W barrel is easy in concept and easy to screw up. The frame must be supported by the correct wrench. Using a wrench that does not fit right will nearly assure destroying the frame. Smith revolvers are pleanty strong for shooting but not tollerant to shade tree gunsmithing. That said, I think you may be able to get a barrel from Numrich. If you want to do it yourself check Brownell's for a book on the subject and tools. You might need to index it and a lath will be needed. After the barrel is on you will need to ajust the cylinder gap.

Really the best thing might be to send it back to Smith and let them do it, if you can swing that from Canada.

agree with everybody, & smith isn't to bad on pricing either

Might check e-bay for a barrel. S&W barrels come up there all the time. I just picked up a new 6" bbl. for my K38; very reasonable.