There's been a few threads here again lately about the model 25-5. Rather than post this in someone else's thread and veer it too far off course, I thought it might be helpful to many if I posted this again. I have been away from this forum for a while, but I used to post this here regularly when members would start asking about this subject. The following may also be of benefit to potential buyers of 25-2's since many of them suffered from the same factory flaw of having over sized throats.
For the record, there were a few model 25's with the N serial prefix that were built at the end of that serial number system's range that were produced with the proper throats as S&W was starting to listen to their customers and had started to tighten up their specs (though in the case of the 25-2, the throats varied from correct, to as bad as the early 25-5's were all throughout its production life for some reason). Finding a 25-5 that has a pinned barrel that has the potential to be a good shooter is generally a matter of luck, but knowing how to check them prior to buying can be helpful if you are looking for a shooter more than a one for your collection.
The following may help many of you-
The older Pinned guns with the N prefix had over-sized throats and were not the best shooters. Some with a N prefix did have the correct throats, but they are the exception to the rule, as most will be .455"-.458" in diameter. Any 25-5 with the ABC 1234 serial system will have the correct throats in it and should be a great shooter ( as long as it has been taken care of, of course). All 25-7's and later guns will also have the proper throats.
To check the throats, take a jacketed bullet (use a jacketed bullet and not lead, since lead is normally lubed and sticky in and of its own nature anyway, which can give a false impression that they are fitting correctly) with you (Hornady 300 gr XTP's work best because they are longer and are .452" in diameter) and drop it into the chamber from the rear. If it falls right on through, the throats are too large ( normally .455" or bigger) to give very good accuracy with standard .45 Colt bullets that run .451"-.452". If it hangs up briefly in the throat, then falls on out, you are looking at throats that will be in the area of .453"- .454", and will work with some of the larger bullets out like the factory Win, and Rem swaged lead bullets, and may work fairly well with standard diameter .45 caliber bullets.
If it hangs up in the throat, but can be pushed on through using a pencil or pen, and using only finger pressure to do so, you have a gun that will potentially be very accurate and what you are looking for in a shooter.
If you get one that has large throats, the Winchester and Remington swaged lead bullets that they sell at places like Cabela's will usually improve their accuracy with standard loads by quite a bit since they run .456" and .455"respectively, and have hollow bases to help the bullets obturate and fill the throats which in turn help align them with the bore before entering the forcing cone.
For the record, there were a few model 25's with the N serial prefix that were built at the end of that serial number system's range that were produced with the proper throats as S&W was starting to listen to their customers and had started to tighten up their specs (though in the case of the 25-2, the throats varied from correct, to as bad as the early 25-5's were all throughout its production life for some reason). Finding a 25-5 that has a pinned barrel that has the potential to be a good shooter is generally a matter of luck, but knowing how to check them prior to buying can be helpful if you are looking for a shooter more than a one for your collection.
The following may help many of you-
The older Pinned guns with the N prefix had over-sized throats and were not the best shooters. Some with a N prefix did have the correct throats, but they are the exception to the rule, as most will be .455"-.458" in diameter. Any 25-5 with the ABC 1234 serial system will have the correct throats in it and should be a great shooter ( as long as it has been taken care of, of course). All 25-7's and later guns will also have the proper throats.
To check the throats, take a jacketed bullet (use a jacketed bullet and not lead, since lead is normally lubed and sticky in and of its own nature anyway, which can give a false impression that they are fitting correctly) with you (Hornady 300 gr XTP's work best because they are longer and are .452" in diameter) and drop it into the chamber from the rear. If it falls right on through, the throats are too large ( normally .455" or bigger) to give very good accuracy with standard .45 Colt bullets that run .451"-.452". If it hangs up briefly in the throat, then falls on out, you are looking at throats that will be in the area of .453"- .454", and will work with some of the larger bullets out like the factory Win, and Rem swaged lead bullets, and may work fairly well with standard diameter .45 caliber bullets.
If it hangs up in the throat, but can be pushed on through using a pencil or pen, and using only finger pressure to do so, you have a gun that will potentially be very accurate and what you are looking for in a shooter.
If you get one that has large throats, the Winchester and Remington swaged lead bullets that they sell at places like Cabela's will usually improve their accuracy with standard loads by quite a bit since they run .456" and .455"respectively, and have hollow bases to help the bullets obturate and fill the throats which in turn help align them with the bore before entering the forcing cone.
