Hans Gruber
Member
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2014
- Messages
- 60
- Reaction score
- 33
The one complaint I have with S&W late-model revolvers is inconsistent BC gap. This fact is so well known that a company in Germany has begun producing a very S&W look-alike .500 while touting the closeness and consistency of their BC gap...and this is important. Probably more important than many realize.
"Back in the day" a longer barrel meant greater velocity...one could go to local Bookie and get odds on it. Nowadays, with S&W, longer does NOT automatically mean faster. The difference in a few thousandths BC gap can make a 4" barrel .500 (3") actual barrel, shoot substantially faster than a 6.5" barrel model (6.5 actual inches). This fact has been recorded and posted about elsewhere on this site and it's a shame that S&W provides such poor quality control on an aspect of revolver assembly that is SO EASY to get right on the front end.
Anyway, I saw where yet another poster modified his 8-3/8" model by sawing off the barrel/sleeve, then rebuilding his own barrel nut system in the style of the old Dan Wesson revolvers. A great idea, but a bit more time consuming than I'm currently prepared to go into. So I have studied my 6.5" inch...because IT is the "red-headed step-chile" of the S&W X frame model line! (No offense meant to red-heads or step-children). The other models use a two-piece barrel/shroud where the barrel has a flange on the front end that indexes against the shroud during tightening, and requires a VERY special tool that slips into the barrel rifling to mount and tighten...a tool not easily duplicated by the average "cottage gunsmith." The 6.5" on the other hand uses a true THREE-piece design with shroud, barrel, and front nut. While it requires a specialized tool to twist, it's a shape that CAN be crafted, and perhaps a shape that can be purchased from an alternate source under an alternate nomenclature.
With the appropriate tool it becomes easy to unscrew the barrel nut, and accurately set the BC gap - depending on use, a hunter who desires maximum power, knowing shots will be slower, may opt to go very "tight." A person thinking defense may opt to go the "full five"...but certainly not greater - though it is EASY to measure greater BC's on OEM issue S&W's!
The barrel nut measures just a hair under 15mm across the shoulders - is a rounded, 8-point, or "double square" drive profile, and as it so happens is very close in size to a 5/8" 8-point wheel lock driver...I have just looked this up so don't know the precise differences, but the two are CLOSE and can easily be brought into harmony with a bit of Dremel work...which is a LOT less work than re-making the entire front end, and one keeps all the "good stuff" about the 6.5" barrel - the radially ported barrel, and lower sound pressure pulse directed toward the shooter, while gaining the ability to:
One: Set the BC gap as desired
Two: disassemble the barrel/shroud for cleaning which means hard-cast slugs are not a problem.
I used to own the DW44 with it's prohibition against shooting lead, but quickly found that if I disassembled the B/S after a shooting session, lead buildup was not a problem.
On my DW44 I used to set the BC gap by screwing the barrel down to contact the cylinder face, then back off a quarter turn! This extracted full power from my hand loads during silhouette competitions, and since the shooting pace was slow, heat expansion was never a problem.
I personally find the 6.5" model to be the ideal...only 4 oz heavier than the 4", FAR better pointing, and with the correct BC, providing substantial gains in velocity. I have no doubt that a 6.5" with a moderately "tight" BC gap would likely shoot faster than the 8.5" models with OEM issue, hit-or-miss gap setting! Also, the 6.5" is the only model within the normal length spectrum one can remove the barrel/nut without "cutting," and major surgery.
This makes the 6.5" model the "Sleeper" in the X-frame line...because even though S&W did not likely intend it, they created a barrel-mount system that the end-user CAN work with.
Just some thoughts....
"Back in the day" a longer barrel meant greater velocity...one could go to local Bookie and get odds on it. Nowadays, with S&W, longer does NOT automatically mean faster. The difference in a few thousandths BC gap can make a 4" barrel .500 (3") actual barrel, shoot substantially faster than a 6.5" barrel model (6.5 actual inches). This fact has been recorded and posted about elsewhere on this site and it's a shame that S&W provides such poor quality control on an aspect of revolver assembly that is SO EASY to get right on the front end.
Anyway, I saw where yet another poster modified his 8-3/8" model by sawing off the barrel/sleeve, then rebuilding his own barrel nut system in the style of the old Dan Wesson revolvers. A great idea, but a bit more time consuming than I'm currently prepared to go into. So I have studied my 6.5" inch...because IT is the "red-headed step-chile" of the S&W X frame model line! (No offense meant to red-heads or step-children). The other models use a two-piece barrel/shroud where the barrel has a flange on the front end that indexes against the shroud during tightening, and requires a VERY special tool that slips into the barrel rifling to mount and tighten...a tool not easily duplicated by the average "cottage gunsmith." The 6.5" on the other hand uses a true THREE-piece design with shroud, barrel, and front nut. While it requires a specialized tool to twist, it's a shape that CAN be crafted, and perhaps a shape that can be purchased from an alternate source under an alternate nomenclature.
With the appropriate tool it becomes easy to unscrew the barrel nut, and accurately set the BC gap - depending on use, a hunter who desires maximum power, knowing shots will be slower, may opt to go very "tight." A person thinking defense may opt to go the "full five"...but certainly not greater - though it is EASY to measure greater BC's on OEM issue S&W's!
The barrel nut measures just a hair under 15mm across the shoulders - is a rounded, 8-point, or "double square" drive profile, and as it so happens is very close in size to a 5/8" 8-point wheel lock driver...I have just looked this up so don't know the precise differences, but the two are CLOSE and can easily be brought into harmony with a bit of Dremel work...which is a LOT less work than re-making the entire front end, and one keeps all the "good stuff" about the 6.5" barrel - the radially ported barrel, and lower sound pressure pulse directed toward the shooter, while gaining the ability to:
One: Set the BC gap as desired
Two: disassemble the barrel/shroud for cleaning which means hard-cast slugs are not a problem.
I used to own the DW44 with it's prohibition against shooting lead, but quickly found that if I disassembled the B/S after a shooting session, lead buildup was not a problem.
On my DW44 I used to set the BC gap by screwing the barrel down to contact the cylinder face, then back off a quarter turn! This extracted full power from my hand loads during silhouette competitions, and since the shooting pace was slow, heat expansion was never a problem.
I personally find the 6.5" model to be the ideal...only 4 oz heavier than the 4", FAR better pointing, and with the correct BC, providing substantial gains in velocity. I have no doubt that a 6.5" with a moderately "tight" BC gap would likely shoot faster than the 8.5" models with OEM issue, hit-or-miss gap setting! Also, the 6.5" is the only model within the normal length spectrum one can remove the barrel/nut without "cutting," and major surgery.
This makes the 6.5" model the "Sleeper" in the X-frame line...because even though S&W did not likely intend it, they created a barrel-mount system that the end-user CAN work with.
Just some thoughts....
