Quote Originally Posted by Dave_n View Post
If you look very carefully at the front of each cylinder, you will see a concentric circle about 0.5mm out from the "hole" in the front of each chamber. What was done was to bore out the cylinder and then insert a sleeve in each chamber that brought it down to the S&W Special diameter. ... The ramp plus the sight on top of it often has a Parker-Hale marking if you look closely. The normal proof was the 3.5 tons sq in, rather than the 4 tons sq in of the 38 Special. However, as mentioned earlier in the string, the metal will definitely hold the "normal 0.38 Special" loading. Dave_n
Wow! That's fascinating. I'll take a close look at the cylinder face this evening. If mine was modded via the addition of these sleeves, I can confidently use .38 Specials without fear of case failures.

Thanks, Dave_n and others for this valuable info. For an aging and (I thought) experienced shooter, I still learn something new every day!