The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - S&W 27-2 .44 necked down to .357?

rldgrm · October 17, 2005, 10:17 PM

The gun you are talking about is a 357/44 Bain&Davis. These were never factory guns unless it is a contender barrel, that was made by Thompson Center. It is an easy wildcat to make as all you have to do is remove the cylinder from your revolver and send it to Bain and Davis to have the cylinder reamed out. A revolver could be done for about $89.00. The most popular guns to do was the S&W 28 or 27 or the Ruger Blackhawk. The cylinder had to be thick enough to handle a 44 cartridge. The resulting ammo could be loaded with anything from a 90 grain .355 bullet up to a 158 grain .357. It generates 1700+ feet per second and up to 900+ foot pounds of energy. The perfect one cartridge does it all from squirrels to black bear in one gun! I had a model 27 6' gun done in the late 80's. It used to be listed in the speer reloading manual, and data was available from Bain & Davis as well as RCBS dies and anything else you need for this gun. It may be undesireable to a non reloader but to anyone who likes the unusual and likes to play with wildkits you have a desireable gun. The cases are easy to make and reload. I'm surprised that your gun dealers didn't know anything about it as it is one of the more successful wildcats because it did not require your gun to be rebarreled, was inexpensive and effective. Hopes this helps.

October 17, 2005, 10:17 PM	#7
rldgrm Junior Member Join Date: October 17, 2005 Location: gloucester county, VA Posts: 2	357 Bain and Davis The gun you are talking about is a 357/44 Bain&Davis. These were never factory guns unless it is a contender barrel, that was made by Thompson Center. It is an easy wildcat to make as all you have to do is remove the cylinder from your revolver and send it to Bain and Davis to have the cylinder reamed out. A revolver could be done for about $89.00. The most popular guns to do was the S&W 28 or 27 or the Ruger Blackhawk. The cylinder had to be thick enough to handle a 44 cartridge. The resulting ammo could be loaded with anything from a 90 grain .355 bullet up to a 158 grain .357. It generates 1700+ feet per second and up to 900+ foot pounds of energy. The perfect one cartridge does it all from squirrels to black bear in one gun! I had a model 27 6' gun done in the late 80's. It used to be listed in the speer reloading manual, and data was available from Bain & Davis as well as RCBS dies and anything else you need for this gun. It may be undesireable to a non reloader but to anyone who likes the unusual and likes to play with wildkits you have a desireable gun. The cases are easy to make and reload. I'm surprised that your gun dealers didn't know anything about it as it is one of the more successful wildcats because it did not require your gun to be rebarreled, was inexpensive and effective. Hopes this helps.