Bought a 25-3 a couple of weeks ago. The gun was in like new condition and maybe had never fired hard to tell . Got all the box and book and stuff even a letter .

It shoots well to excellent IMO . My load is a 250gr. berrys over
14.8 of HS7 .

The problem that I have is the gun spits a bit too much for my liking making it actually not fun to shoot . I get stuff on the left side of my face and it seems to be somewhat more than unburned powder . I know that the slower powders spit more than the fast .

I have a 25-5 and it does not do it with the same load .

When I first got the gun , it tore the plating off of the bullets and I was finding it in the crane area .

I beveled the forcing cone a bit by hand as best I could with what I have . The cone bevel was almost none existent as compared to my 25-5 .

So I got a range rod and checked it out . It showed a tick/ rub on a couple of chambers.

It showed slow timing with the rod and close to not locking up on a couple . So I fit a new oversized cylinder stop with the stop favoring the right , removing material from the left side of the stop. This fixed the tick , down to a very slight rub and then I fit a new oversized hand so as to keep the thing carried up fairly tight .

The cylinder to barrel gap is .0065 as best as I can measure with very little end shake .

My question is what do you guys with some experience think , as shown in the pictures below the forcing cone on the 25-3 is nothing like the 25-5 and I understand the diff in the cylinder length but is this normal ?





Here is the forcing cones , first the 25-3 :

Then for comparison the 25-5 :

Also is this a rework ?




Here is the letter ,

I believe that I tried some jacketed bullet loads IIRC but have not tried any lead loads yet .

Any help I would appreciate , kinda disillusioned with this one .

Thank you gentlemen ,

Kirk

That forcing cone looks non existent

That is a very short forcing cone, but with spitting, I'd look at the alignment of the chambers to the barrel.

I would try opening up that forcing cone a bit with a taper reamer if you can find one that fits inside the frame.

Otherwise, that barrel will have to come out and that's no fun.

Also is this a rework ?



Thank you gentlemen ,

Kirk[/QUOTE]


So any idea on the rework anyone?

I agree with the forcing cone diagnosis. I bought a used 625 some years ago cheap that spit HORRIBLY. Had the barrel set back and the forcing cone recut and now it may be the most accurate gun I own. Zero spitting.

Interesting, the gun looks hardly used, but the forcing cone looks like it is shot out!!

I think I would send it back to the factory.

__________________
Richard Gillespie
FBINA 102

First, cut the forcing cone with the correct tool so it looks like the 25-5.
Second, you may be pushing the chamber past the barrel with the material off the left side of the stop and the wider hand.
If you get those 2 items right, it will be OK.

You can rent the reamer:

The best chamber reamer rentals and gunsmithing tools from 4D rentals

The rifling extends right to the beginning of the barrel so it looks to me like the forcing cone was never actually cut.

I agree with sending it to the factory...

Yup! Send it in.

Brownell's sells a forcing cone tool kit that can cut an 11-degree taper as well as another degree also. If John 1125 can fit a cylinder stop & hand to that revolver, I'd think he'd be able to ream the forcing cone properly as well. S&W does make an occasional error but this gun should be correctable, given proper analysis of the problem's cause and use of correct tools. Good luck!

It's a 5 minute job to cut the forcing cone with the Brownell's tool kit. I've done lots of them.

So any idea on the rework anyone?[/QUOTE]

The 56673 is an assembly number, put on the major parts at the beginning of the production process so they all go back together at the end. The others are assembler's, fitter's and inspector's marks, nothing to indicate it was redone.

__________________
Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Let's see if I understand all this:

The gun clearly has something wrong with it----and if it ain't exactly wrong, it sure as hell ain't right----AND by all appearances it was made that way---and you didn't make it---the factory did.

So far so good?

Fine---so what to do? We have two schools of thought----which in and of itself, is pretty amazing---but there they are nonetheless.

1. Send it back to them that made it.

2. Fix it yourself.

I can certainly see the allure, of fixing it yourself---but not the sense---as in it doesn't make any---none.

Ralph Tremaine

And on closer examination this would appear to be one the 125th anniversary guns---yes? If so, my surprise at less than excellent quality is gone----which is to say if the mechanical aspects are of the same quality as the engraving done on the fancy ones, it was slapped together in a big hurry, and needs some expert help. The good news is you can fix mechanical stuff. Engraving? Not so much. My remedy? Do as I did-----sold 'em both (one plain and one fancy)---good-bye and good riddance!!

Thanks for the replies gentleman. Here's where I'm at so far. Retimed the gun with new stop and os hand. Using a range rod I got things to line up pretty well.

As I said the gun was really slow on a couple of holes.

Then i began to adjust the forcing cone. Went at it with an 11 degree cutter. Using a plug gauge I opened it up to the max on the gauge. Then off to the range.

The gun was considerably better but not perfect yet. So I opened up the fc a bit more to the same depth as my 25-5. And then I recheck the timing again - adjusted the stop maybe a quarter thou. Just to get things as perfect as I could running the rod with the muzzle pointed up gun in vise.

I have not had time to try the gun out since I'm traveling the weekend. I expect I'm much done with it.

I'm going to try some different bullets / loads at some point also.

So as to the idea of sending the gun back - well it's a bit different for everybody. I agree the cheapest way to get the gun fixed may be to send it back. I've been that route 40 years ago with very little satisfaction on a S&W or two.
I no longer work for 4 bucks an hour so I do mostly as I please with my firearms, and am usually looking for projects.

If I can't fix it or the gun requires work on a mill or lathe work I have a source for that also.

We can talk about the quality or my views on Smith and wesson quality later. Let's just say most all of my purchases of the smith's are before the 1980 date range.
Thanks,

Kirk


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__________________
GVF Investments
Kingman , Ks

Sounds like that end is done. If not shooting tight groups yet, time to recut the muzzle crown with a proper piloted tool. Those are often off center at least some, sometimes a lot, usually somewhere in between. I have accurized a lot of revos by just making sure both ends are like they should have been to start with.

The last thing to check is for barrel constriction in the area where the barrel threads into the frame. I have seen this part as much as .003 smaller than the rest of the barrel. You can measure this by sliding pin gages down the barrel from the muzzle end. The largest one that fits in the muzzle should slide out the forcing cone end. If it gets stuck, try the next smaller size until one will come through. They are graduated in .001 inch increments.

If there is a constriction, you can fix it by removing the barrel and facing a thou. or 2 off the back of the barrel where it meets the frame. You want the barrel to stop against the frame with the front sight about 12:30 looking from back to front. Bringing the front sight to 12:00 from this position will not crush the barrel. You can use blue Loctite to hold the barrel if you want belt and suspenders or if it times up to 12:00 or past. The amount to face off the back can be a bit finicky if you're not an experienced metal worker.

Not a gunsmith but have watched them work. First thing they’d do is put a "range rod" (I believe that’s its name) through the bore, to determine if the chambers are in line with the bore.

If they’re not aligned you’ll hear a "tick" when the rod moves from the barrel into the chamber.

In any case, I think a trip to the mothership is in order.

Rich

John1125 already said he used a range rod to check it with. He seems to be doing a fine job. Sometimes sending it back to S&W isn't the only answer.

Would a standard range rod show a constricted bore at any point or is that too loose.?


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__________________
GVF Investments
Kingman , Ks

Oh and the gun is and always has shot very good groups,I have no problem with accuracy just uncomfortable spitting.


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__________________
GVF Investments
Kingman , Ks

I don't know about a fine job. But I'm a little more skilled than a gorilla with a hoof rasp!🤪


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__________________
GVF Investments
Kingman , Ks

A close fitting range rod will show a constriction. If it shoots very good groups, that is not a problem. It's probably done at this point. If the muzzle crown is off or the barrel is squeezed down, it won't shoot small groups. The target is always the final judge.

UNFORTUNATELY, I BELIEVE THAT THIS WILL BE THE ONLY CERTAIN CURE FOR YOUR PROBLEM......

I HAVE NO IDEA OF THE COST, IF THIS PROCEDURE IS BEYOND YOUR CAPABILITY.....

IMHO, YOUR BEAUTIFUL REVOLVER IS WELL WORTH THE INVESTMENT TO TURN IT INTO AN EXCELLENT SHOOTER, THAT YOU WILL ENJOY.....

__________________
'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

There is one thing that I am having trouble with and that is a cutter to just break the edge made by the new cut on the FC.

Brownells sells one but it is listed as 38-41 cal.

Mansen sells one but I don't know if they would thread on the rod sold by brownells? I have the rod and bushings that brownells lists.

I guess I could buy the Mansen set up also.

Any thoughts ?

Thanks , Kirk

Just take a small flat file and lightly dress the burr, going flat across the back of the barrel. You want a pretty sharp corner there, from the back face of the barrel to the inside of the forcing cone. Any chamfer will let more gas escape. Same for the front of the cylinder.

Thanks ,

Kirk