I have a Smith and Wesson Model 57-1 .41 Nag with an 8 3/8 barrel length. I would really like to have the barrel reduced to 5 inches or have a 6 inch barrel installed the I currently have in my possession. Can someone please advise me on options for such task? Finding a local gunsmith is pretty much out of the question. I have $300 quotes with a 3 to 4 month turn-a-round from some smiths, at the earliest. Sending it back to S&W is 100% out of the question!!! Thanks

Find a barrel online, any smith should be able to remove old barrel and mount the new one.

Yes I have a 6 inch barrel. Getting someone to install it is a different story.

Gunsmiths are turning you down?

Tagged for interest.

I have a Model 13 I’d like cut to 3” and have front sight dovetail installed.

I have been told that you need a manufacturing license to alter the gun from its original factory configuration. Tht's a new one on me.

That doesn't make sense to me....?

I don't believe there are many real gunsmiths left.  Most of the ones I know of are getting too old to work.  Like mechanics, most of the new crop are just parts changers.  No surprise really with guns being made cheaper and cheaper all the time.

Because it's BS

Actual professional way to change the barrel is to drive out the pin (if a pre 1982 mfg) holding the barrel to the frame.
Then use a very expensive specific frame wrench to unscrew the frame from the barrel while the barrel is held in a barrel vise.

The more WECSOG method is to clamp the barrel in a thick piece of leather or sheet lead in a vise and use a wide piece of hardwood the width of the cylinder window as a frame wrench to unscrew the frame from the barrel. This must be done very carefully as the frame can get bent or "tweaked" and ruin the whole gun.

I have rebarreled a Model 10 snubby this way that I bought as a parts gun missing the barrel. Turned a $180 parts gun into a $500 gun by adding a $100 new barrel.

Then you have to worry about cylinder gap. It may be too narrow, just right, or too wide.

Too narrow can be carefully fixed with a file. Too wide will need the barrel shoulder cut back to get another turn on the threads.

All of these factors contribute to the reluctance of gunsmiths to work on these guns and the high price quotes from those who are willing to.

Compare the cost to buy the gun you want and then have two guns to the cost of changing around the one you have and then only having one gun.

If the end result doesn't look factory resale is going to be quite poor .

You’ll need to find a gunsmith that owns and knows how to use a Mateo lathe in order to do it correctly. It’s not hard, I’ve done a number of them, but it does take a pretty good investment in schooling and tools to do correctly. Search for a gunsmith that has a metal lathe. You’ll need it to set the barrel cylinder correctly all the way round. I used to do this kind of stuff, but no one wants to pay for the time to set it up and do it the right way. Too many people want to pay next to nothing for the work. I gave up my FFL and now I only do gunsmithing work for fun and locally, person to person. Without an FFL I can’t accept work for compensation.

As for the need to be a licensed manufacturer, that’s an old myth. If you own the gun it can be altered by anyone with an FFL, minus the C&R variety. Now if you want custom work done on a gun before it’s sold by an FFL then you will need to have a manufacturer’s license.

https://pinnaclehighperformance.com/

Try Cylinder and Slide, Fremont Nebraska.  The do gun mods all the time.

kwg