I bought a model 57-5 .41 mag mountain gun recently, and just yesterday it arrived at the dealer, and the mandatory 10 day wait begins for CA ownership.

I had an opportunity to look at my new revolver while the paperwork was being completed, and I'm not happy with the way my new gun looks. It appears to be defective.
The barrel seems to be not screwed in all the way.
There is a gap of about .010" (possibly more) between the front of the frame and the underlug and other surfaces of the barrel where I'm used to seeing the metal surfaces mating tightly.
I've never seen a gap like that on any other revolver I've owned.
In addition to that, the B/C gap looks excessive.

I didn't go to the visit dealer expecting a problem like this, so I didn't have a set of feeler gauges with me at the time.
But I will post the exact #s today after I go back to look at the gun for a second time.

Meanwhile, any suggestions?

This is one of several S&W revolvers I've owned, and the only one there's been any problem with.
But it's also the first one I've owned that was produced in the 21st century.

Thanks BK

The gap between the lug and the frame is highly variable. It seems to be more apparent in my -2 and newer guns than pre-models. I would only worry about that if the barrel/rib did not seem to be verticle. As for the cylinder gap that is a known tolerance and I am sure others will give the correct stats for that.

__________________
Revolver luvin' Mountaineer

I've heard that the B/C gap should be .006" ideally.

Does anyone else have that barrel/frame gap on their Mountain Gun.. or other N frame?

I picked up my gun and had some handloads ready so I fired it that day.
The loads were 7 gr of unique over a 210 plated bullet.
I like the balance of the gun firing that load... Not too crazy about the grips... But overall, the concept and the weight and balance are good IMO.
When I was pricing revolvers, it caught my attention that the Mountain Guns were priced approx $200 less than the Classic model, and after examining mine closely there's no question why. The quality control on the 57-5 is inferior to anything I've seen from S&W.
I hate to say it but the quality on my Ruger impresses me more than this S&W.. I never thought I'd end up saying something like that.
The cyl end shake is good
Lock up could be improved upon, but is acceptable.
B/C gap is wide, and the barrel end at the rear is not true - The gap is .003" wider on one side than the other. Very noticable when firing, as the flame from the gap is consistently brighter on the left than on the right.
The bluing isn't that great, but I sort of expected that.
And the grips.. I have a feeling that they were intended to be customized by the guns owner. That's my plan anyhow.

The lock.. I can leave the gun in my dresser drawer loaded an nobody's gonna accidentally shoot themselfves or a neighbor with it.

I don't like to be the complainer, and if it weren't for the uneven BC gap I wouldn't be posting this at all.
The Mountain Gun is not a 'high end' gun and it's a good thing that a guy can get a utility grade magnum N-Frame for a reasonable price.
But the BC gap issue is one that I have a hard time living with.
So I'm just wondering whether I should return the gun to the factory or how I should handle this?
I'm not expecting that this gun will be as accurate as I'd like with this problem.

Any ideas?

Thanks - BK

beekay,

You never say just what the B-C gap measures so it is hard to address that issue.

The B-C gap is hand fit using a flat file. Being a hand operation with a hand-held tool means that a slight variance side-to-side is more common than not. .002 is quite common and frequently more. So long as the wide side does not exceed the specification S&W isn't likely to do anything about that. Having said that, it can't hurt to call customer service and discuss your concerns with them, they just may send a call-tag so you can send it back to be looked at. The phone number is 800-331-0852.

So far as accuracy is concerned, the B-C gap has absolutely no effect on this so don't worry about it. Accuracy is determined by relationship between bullet, cylinder throat and barrel dimensions, as well as how precise the alignment between the bore and the individual charge-holes is.

With the cyl forced to the rear, the B/C gap is .009 on the right side and .012 on the left.
Much more flame on the left when firing, but if that has no effect on accuracy then I won't sweat it.
I have no way, that I'm aware of, for checking cyl alignment at lock-up.
I'll just try it out and see how it shoots. If it's reasonably accurate, I'll learn to like it I'm sure.

Thanks for the info.

So, as long as it was brought up, is there a way that the chamber/barrel alignment can be checked on an N-frame by myself at home without expensive tools?
I'd like for this gun to be a good shooter.
The utility grade fit and finish I can live with, MIM and lock too.
A "beater" gun may be the one that's there for me when I need it most. But I'd like it to have hunting level accuracy for an iron sight revolver. Although it will be used mostly for long range plinking... 100 yds or so is fun.

If I'm thinking about having the factory do something to it, should I have a gunsmith look at it locally before sending it in?
If so what should I have checked by my local guy and what's the best way to work with the factory to get the desired results?

Thanks - BK

I know what you mean about the gap.

My 57-5 has the same issue.


The factory grips suck pretty bad, too. I knew the grips were poor when I bought the gun and planned on replacing them from the start.

I'm very pleased with the outcome.






I bought the gun to be a woods carry gun and it's simply perfect for that. With the current rounds it's loaded with it will drop any wild hog or deer that I want to take.

It balances very nicely in hand and isn't overly cumbersome as a sidearm.

I saved ~$300 off the cost of a new production Classic and no telling how much for a nice collectable grade .41RemMag.


It's all about compromises, I suppose.

Thanks for posting the pic 6pack - I have the 6/5shot combo as well. So did you settle on a load that groups pretty well from your 57-5?
I'll be trying to find loads that group well with mine pretty soon here.