[EdwinWarden90]

I have the Locking 649 with the 2 inch barrel and I am wanting to get a barrel that is 4-6 inches for when I go target shooting or make to make it a hunting gun during season. Does anyone know if other .357 mag j frame barrels would fit? Or of a place that sells aftermarket barrels for this model? Any information would be tremendously appreciate!

V/R

 

[jonesy814]

Sounds like you intend to swap the barrels back & forth depending on if you want to hunt or carry for self defense. Barrel swaps arent all that simple to do and I think once you have done it once you will not want to do it again. The new barrel would have to fit perfect or the cylinder gap will not be correct and may require some machining. The longest J frame in current production is a 3 inch, so finding a longer barrel could be tough.

 

[blazermark]

with the new press fit , swaping a barrel is a pretty specialized effort - you feel good with that, skillwise ?

in any case - the longest production barrel ive seen for any of these j magnuim frames is a 3" - and those are pretty rare to find..

 

[needsmostuff]

Come on Ed , think it out. I really can't think of a worse hunting gun than a long barreled 649. There is a reason the factory (or any other maker) does not make such a thing.
IT would undoubtedly cost close to the price of buying a quality second gun to have a barrel made and installed plus I doubt you could find a reputable gunsmith that would do it.
Respect for the prey DEMANDS a capable weapon to complete the task .
Trade it in if that is the goal, almost ANYTHTING is more suited to the task.

 

[gearchecker]

Dan Wesson has a convertable 357 magnum revolver that has quick barrel/shroud changes. It's called the Pistol PAck. You might want to look for the set. If I remember corectly there are 4 differnt barrel lengths in the set, and they're designed to be user swappable. I've been tempted a coule times to buy the seet, but everytime I get the opportunity, a S&W revolver gets in front of the DW.
Herree's a link to one of them on gunbroker.

GunBroker.com - Error

 

[Smith Shooter]

Dan Wesson has a convertable 357 magnum revolver that has quick barrel/shroud changes. It's called the Pistol PAck. You might want to look for the set. If I remember corectly there are 4 differnt barrel lengths in the set, and they're designed to be user swappable.

I remember those Dan Wesson interchangeable barrel revolvers but they were built on a fairly large frame (L or N-size?) so they are hardly a substitute for a J-frame as a CC gun. I also remember them having four different barrel length available: 2" (or 2.5"?) ,4", 6" and 8" and they came with a wrench to tighten the muzzle nut and a thickness gauge to set the cylinder gap. They had a reputation for being very accurate and handgun silhouette competitors loved them.

 

[Layne12gun]

Not worth doing . just buy yourself another target gun

 

[Cal44]

Best to just get a 686 with a 6 inch barrel for hunting.

And keep the 649 as a CCW gun -- it's ideal for that.

 

[Bumpus]

I have the Locking 649 with the 2 inch barrel and I am wanting to get a barrel that is 4-6 inches for when I go target shooting or make to make it a hunting gun during season. Does anyone know if other .357 mag j frame barrels would fit? Or of a place that sells aftermarket barrels for this model? Any information would be tremendously appreciate!

V/R

As others have alluded to ...

Your pistol simply isn’t designed for that purpose. Firearms so often aren’t “one size fits all” so to speak. The idea behind J-frames like your model 649, was that they are to be used as concealed carry firearms. Can they be used for target shooting? Sure. However, they’re not intended to be guns that will be comfortable firing for an entire afternoon of .357 Magnums day after day. They’re supposed to be small and light - easy to carry every day. They were also never intended for hunting purposes.

Firearms tend to be specialized tools. Very few of them are really “jacks of all trades” ... Target/Hunting handguns tend to be larger and heavier simply to better accommodate the goals of those pursuits.

Your model 649 is not one of these guns. It IS however, an excellent example of an easily concealable defense revolver.

Sorry that I couldn’t pass along better news for you.

 

[Cliff]

Dan Wesson's are a great choice for someone who wants a multi-porpoise hand gun. They do have a learning curve.I guess the old D-W forum is still up, it has very useful info on these. Try one you'll like it.
Cliff