I corrected the endshake problem on my 25-2 with the advice from you good people but now I wonder about my barrel to cyl gap...its at 9 thou....should I shim the yoke or leave it be? is it enough to affect accuracy?

After moving the cylinder back to remove excessive end shake, the remedy to close an "out of spec" front gauge is to have the barrel set back. Your current B/C gap of .009" is within specifications. The rear gauge or headspace is actually more critical........the correct rear gauge is .090" - .096". (.45ACP)

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

sounds like a job for the gunsmith to me. this gun has been shot enough it had the barrel replaced and I wonder if the cyl needs replaced too.... how do i check the lock up play

how do i check the lock up play

You don't really.
Unlike the older Colt revolvers, revolvers like the S&W are intentionally designed not to lock up tightly.
This is to allow the bullet passing from the chamber to the barrel to force the cylinder into alignment.

Pulling the trigger while checking for cylinder looseness is NOT a test for anything except on the older Colt actions. The older Colt's like the Python lock up tightly in what Colt called their "Bank vault" lockup when the trigger is held back.

In the S&W there are two tests for cylinder "tightness":
1. Is the gun accurate?
2. Is it spitting bullet metal out the barrel-cylinder gap?

If it's accurate and not spitting metal.....it's good.

Even in guns that seem to lock tightly there's still enough backlash designed in to allow the necessary movement.

Lateral play on the cylinder at lock up involves many factors, including the integrity of the cylinder stop window in the frame, the cylinder stop slots in the cylinder , and the cylinder stop itself. Probably best to have it evaluated by an experienced S&W gunsmith or armorer.

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

If you have minimum endshake messing with the yoke will hot close up b/C gap. As mentioned only way to fix is to set back barrel. .009 is on the large side, but, not really terrible and setting back the barrel will set back your wallet somewhere over $100-200 I would imagine.

Usually only way rotational looseness should occur is a LOT of very fast cocking or dbl action shooting battering the locking bolt, its frame window or the cylinder notches. If this has happened you may see or feel a bit of raised metal on edge of cylinder notch from bolt bang into it repeatedly or even around the bolt's window in frame. Like Armor said, you can have it checked. But, the main question is does it spit lead? Is it accurate or not. If it is accurate and doesn't spit lead, I wouldn't worry about it. There is always going to be some powder blast at the gap and with a .009 gap it will be very noticeable. But, if its spitting lead I doubt it is accurate.

You could get a range rod. A metal rod that just slips down the rifling of the barrel. End should pass from barrel to cylinder without hanging up even with cylinder held with light pressure to ether side. A 45 range rod should have an OD 0f .441 (it is smaller than .452 groove diameter to allow for rifling) This means you could have .0055 movement in either direction from center on a chamber and still clear the cylinder face and be in spec. Thats why revolvers have forcing cones to allow for the movement and as stated above as bullet passes from cylinder to barrel forcing cone it lines everything up correctly.

And S&W's have some "rotational looseness" to let the chamber (throat) and barrel (forcing cone) align as the bullet passes from cylinder to barrel. For a (short) time the bullet is in both and a little "rotational looseness" lets the two align.

I appreciate all the input as I am new to a gun that has been shot a lot. former owner used it in competition and the practice that goes with that. The barrel has been replaced it was shot so much. it doesn't spit lead that i noticed but I usually shoot JRN. I did run a box of SWC thru it and the groups were tighter . the accuracy varies from shot to shot. one will be reall close and the next misses the target. I've been shooting every week for a yr and a half so I don't think its all me. I was hoping the endshake would correct it..it was .004 out. can I get a range rod at the gun shop? thanks for all your patience...I'm a hell of a mechanic but new to gun problems

forgot to add you can see a bit of deforming at the window on cyl

Even with the best of intentions, troubleshooting this kind of problem on the forum is like trying to do surgery over the phone.

Rather than making the problem worse, it seems it would likely serve both you and the revolver to take it to a trusted, trained local gunsmith for a "hands on" evaluation, or call S&W Customer Service. 1-800-331-0852.

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

I think that in your situation Armour is right. A good smith can look it over and tell you whats up. We can only give you ideas? I have a tenancy to try to fix everything and over the Internet that often doesn't work well. Besides even if you do find the problem fixing it with no real experience can be difficult and hazardous to you gun.

While I do believe that Smith's "new B/C Specs's" are up to .012" their old spec's when your 25-2 was manufactured was .006" IIRC. I could be mistaken, but this is what I believe to be the case.

If I am correct here, then indeed your 25-2 is out of spec. as per when it was made. That said, it is questionable if S&W will even be willing to work on it because of its age. Even if it is within spec. .009" is more than I'd be willing to personally settle for. A good qualified GS should be able to handle this although it will cost a "few bucks"!

All that said....... if this is basically a Range only gun, the most important and justifying factor here is how the gun performs. If you are NOT getting any lead spitting or major loss of velocity you may just want to live with it. If this is a HD gun or Hunting gun than this issue becomes more important.

The bigger issue with 25-2's is .454" - .456" throats they commonly have.

I understand what your saying...ppl try to get me to analyze their cars over the phone all the time. I will get it looked at. thanks for the input.

When I get a new gun, I shoot the gun resting on a bench and the front supported by something solid to control movement while shooting. It somewhat eliminates errors by flinching and the groups should somewhat close. Some of the shooters at the club make a gun look like something is wrong with it even at 21 feet. Normally we shoot at 50 ft. Keep us posted. Good luck, Larry