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S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present All NON-PINNED Barrels, the L-Frames, and the New Era Revolvers


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Old 03-20-2015, 08:32 PM
Beecherkid Beecherkid is offline
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Default Mdl 25-15 Design Flaw?

My new 25-15, 25 Colt cylinder is getting flame cutting from the drilled & tapped hole that is in the top strap for the scope mount nearest the barrel.

I didn't know what was causing those erosion marks on the outside of the cylinder initially, so I sent the revolver back to the Mothership for repair thinking they made the marks by holding it in some sort of jig during manufacture.

The revolver was returned to me in about a month with a new cylinder installed. Great, I thought, and grabbed a handful of cartridges and stepped out the back door to give it a go. After I fired 12 cartridges I noticed those little round circles starting to appear. That is when I figured out what was causing the initial problem so on the phone to Customer Service.

The CS technician confirmed what I discovered. I asked him how to prevent the problem of having those circles from being cut in again.

I was informed to "just live with it" and "we don't get that many back".

I just about fell out of my chair hearing that and asked him if I may speak to someone else. He said "yes, I'll transfer you to my supervisor." That is when I get a voice mail box from someone called Kate saying leave a message.

Thoughts Please? I don't want to rush to judgment and say I'll NEVER buy another new S&W product again.

P.S. I stopped shooting the revolver because eventually those erosion circles will be through the blueing and into the steel just like before.
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Old 03-20-2015, 08:56 PM
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The thought is that this is completely normal for all revolvers which are factory drilled and tapped. It is not flame cutting, simply deposits from combustion gasses reflected from the hole. Many revolvers will show a row of three rings, one from each screw hole. All revolvers will get deposits on the outside of the cylinder, these just have holes that leave a round deposit. Simply clean the gun and accept that guns get dirty when fired!
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Old 03-20-2015, 09:31 PM
Beecherkid Beecherkid is offline
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I initially thought that it was just fouling and continued to clean it off. After while it was through the blueing. That is why S&W RELACED the cylinder and the CS tech confirmed that.

Thank you for your thoughts on this matter.

P.S. I have other blued revolvers that are drilled and tapped and do not exhibit the problem.

Last edited by Beecherkid; 03-20-2015 at 09:34 PM.
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Old 03-20-2015, 11:01 PM
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While it is unusual for something like that to wear through the finish, it is not something I'd be all that concerned over.

My drilled/tapped guns were stainless and they had marks on the cylinders at the first hole location. It's definitely not something exclusive to that model. It was definitely more apparent in my 44 Mag. If I wanted them to look like new forever they'd stay in the box.
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Old 03-20-2015, 11:06 PM
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The Phenomenon has to do with the length of the screws

If the screws are flush with the underside of the topstrap the gasses do not reflect

It is only if the screws are short that the gasses reflect back toward the cylinder
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Old 03-21-2015, 09:22 AM
Beecherkid Beecherkid is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by colt_saa View Post
The Phenomenon has to do with the length of the screws

If the screws are flush with the underside of the topstrap the gasses do not reflect

It is only if the screws are short that the gasses reflect back toward the cylinder
That was my thinking also and even asked the CS tech if they could send me a longer screw that I could install and cut flush and finish to the top strap. He said they didn't have any.

My second thought was to clean the area and apply some type heat resistant flush compound [JB Weld, exhaust manifold putty] and finish smooth.

If there is no real solution so be it, but....S&W repaired it once and I don't want to have it be an ugly duckling again.

Thanks for the constructive opinions.
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Old 03-23-2015, 05:07 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beecherkid View Post
That was my thinking also and even asked the CS tech if they could send me a longer screw that I could install and cut flush and finish to the top strap. He said they didn't have any.

My second thought was to clean the area and apply some type heat resistant flush compound [JB Weld, exhaust manifold putty] and finish smooth.

If there is no real solution so be it, but....S&W repaired it once and I don't want to have it be an ugly duckling again.

Thanks for the constructive opinions.
Since two of the three holes would have nothing inside, unless scoped, it seems setscrews with a bit of threadlocker would do the job very permanently.

Not that my opinion regarding cosmetics is worth squat. My feeling is that if the thing isn't showing use, then I don't need it and should be considering swapping it off.


Lovin' the burn!
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Old 03-23-2015, 10:19 AM
HarrishMasher HarrishMasher is offline
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Originally Posted by jaymoore View Post
Since two of the three holes would have nothing inside, unless scoped, it seems setscrews with a bit of threadlocker would do the job very permanently.

Not that my opinion regarding cosmetics is worth squat. My feeling is that if the thing isn't showing use, then I don't need it and should be considering swapping it off.


Lovin' the burn!
Wow yours is really bad, it turned your gun green! OP is yours starting to turn green yet?
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Old 03-24-2015, 05:28 AM
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Wow yours is really bad, it turned your gun green! OP is yours starting to turn green yet?
The green may be mold from hunting in the rain.:


BTW, backspray bounce isn't limited to drilled and tapped topstrap revolvers. Note the baked on carbon about midway back on the cylinder of this no dash 617:


Only d&t blued revolver I can think of in my pile is a neglected 586 circa 1997. Barrel's too short for most of my current games, but maybe it just needs a mircoreddot to get back in the fray. See if I can burn the bluing off it, too.
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