Nice 1973 Model 25 that I purchased last year. Looks to be hard chrome. Ball detent on the crane with detent on barrel shroud. Barrel unmarked. S&W letter has been requested
3/4/14 Update as requested. Not Jovino, S&W letter arrived, went to Metairie. Louisiana


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Nice lookin pistola.How does it shoot? Can't say if it's a Jovino but it looks well done.

Thanks.
It is a great shooter. Finish is better than the pictures, sorry there so big.

Nice piece. Looks like nickel to me. Could be a Jovino gun, they did them in nickel. Let us know what the letter says.

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WC!45,
I was thinking nickel, it seems to be a cleaner brighter finish without typical nickel fine scratches.

I'm surprised that none of the Jovino experts responded. Possibly there would be some significant characteristics that would indicate it was or might possibly be an earlier working.
I'd kinda like to know myself. It's a interesting piece and a looker at that. Hope someone could give you a better answer.

That is awesome (a word I dislike but is completely appropriate here). I've always thought the barrel profile of the Jovino conversions is more aethetically pleasing than the factory short barrled 24/624/629.

There was just one sold on GB to one of our forum members. I was going to bid, saw who it was, realized he had more money than I, and backed off.


http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=393997381

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Sure you did

Nice snubby.

Remember, dozens, perhaps hundreds of gunsmiths were doing that same conversion in those years.

There is zero doubt that it is not a Jovino Effector. The barrel profile is not typical for an Effector. Also the hammer spur looks like it is wrong, though there is no really good angle to tell in the posted pictures.

It may not be a Jovino conversion at all.

Thanks for the comments and compliments.
Yes, definitely not an Effector.
From old posts, most Jovino's had the ball detent/ detent reversed from my revolver.
Spur is partially shortened and trigger rounded.
Jovino or not, someone did nice work.

Jovino guns did have recontoured hammer spurs, as well as smoothed and rounded triggers. I hadn't noticed the reversed ball detention before, that leads me to think it may not be a Jovino gun, that's not the sort of thing you vary from gun to gun. It could also have been something another shop did to set their version apart as a number of them, like Austin Behlert, were doing similar conversions. Still a nice looking piece, regardless.

The gun in the gunbroker listing may be a Jovino gun but it is not an Effector. The Effector guns had 3" barrels and retained the full length guide rods.

An interesting thing about Jovino guns that a lot of folks aren't aware of is that they were never actually built by John Jovino. He opened the business in 1911and sold it in the '20s, the new owners never changed the name. Jovino guns were built by employees of the John Jovino Company.

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Original post Edited to note not Jovino, She's a great southern revolver.