My Jinks letter from S&W states....

"was shipped from our factory on May, 1985 and delivered to John Jovino Inc., Troy, NY. The records indicate that this revolver was shipped with a 6 inch barrel satin finish and checkered Goncalo Alves target grips. The 3 inch barrel is a new addition to the handgun. The records also indicate that this revolver was returned to Smith & Wesson for service on October 20, 2006. It is possible that is when the 3" barrel was installed."

Am I correct to assume that the barrel was NOT installed by S&W in 2006 since it is stamped "Effector" and may have been sent in for some other reason? Confused........

Nice gun and thanks for posting letter results.
It was alway my impression that Jovino shortened all barrels to their stardard and then roll stamped them.

It was always my impression as well. I believe it was sent in for some other reason, not to have a 3" barrel installed. I am very relieved that it went straight from S&W to Jovino though, that is a great sign.

What exactly did the process involve from Jovino?

Tom

How come we don't have a 'jealous' smiley?

I could really use it right about now....great piece!

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On the Oak Savannah

I always use this one because it is "green with envy"....

Congrats on that!

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July 4, 1776 not Jan 30, 1909

i concur with everyone else...that's a great looking piece!!!

From what I have read, Jovino cut the barrels themselves and I would suspect any factory work had nothing to do with a barrel replacement. Had a guy in a shop tell me last year about an Effector someone tried to trade in and he wouldnt take it because he had no idea what it was -and it was in 41 mag....

Jayzus, Mary, and Joseph!!! That makes me wanna cry!!!

Me too.........

Dig those laminated stocks. Were they a Jovino addition, too?

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

No, those are S&W laminated stocks

Here is my Jovino that shipped to John in NY City as a M25-2 in Dec. 1983. It is one of the less common nickel Jovinos,; most were blue. As you can see, there is no "Effector" name or any other writing on the barrel. I believe that this is the more common barrel lug contour of the Jovino's of this era. When the barrel is shortened this much, the front locking lug is removed and is replaced with a ball detent on the crane that is locks up very tightly.

Marshall Tom,
To answer your question, the common Jovino modifications were the shortened barrel, ball detent on crane, rounded grip, action job, modified hammer spur and trigger face. He was one of the first to popularize the large bore, short barrel guns before most of the factories saw how popular they were and jumped on the bandwagon. Jovino's gun store was across the street from the NYPD and was a popular hang-out for the officers.

When I carry a large bore revolver, this is my favorite.

Bob

Beautiful shooter bettis1.

Me three! My favorite caliber for getting her done!

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V/R
Roger / SG

Here's the 25-2 without the nickel.

Very nice!!

Those are great looking guns. The new UDR revolvers look like a modern version of them, especialy since they also have the ball and detent lock up. I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

JOVINO- shorten these barrels back in the day - Who now does this type of barrel work on N Frames???

Magnaport....I will post pictures in 3 months or hunt down "whitecoyote"'s thread on Magnaport customs

Did the Jovino M25 use moon clips?
How was the workmanship on these jovinos? And does S&W honor the warranty on these?

The Jovinos do use moon clips and the workmanship is excellent. The Jovino shop was a significant buyer of guns from the Factory but I have no idea whether the Factory honors the warranty following the customization.

Bob

How did they keep the front sight on if they cut the barrel down? I mean it looks like a factory sight and not a sight base that was added to the b arrel

I want a short-barrel N-frame!

Soldered?

This is the muzzle of my 57 and 657 Jovino Effectors.





KO

Interesting link on conversion and sight replacement here....

4 conversion

Gemini Customs also does a chop down bearing lock up also. Most here have seen my 686+ with the double ball bearing lock up and full length extractor.