Cylinder Clearance Model 25-2

[Dogbone44Spl]

I just measured the S&W at .040 with a Starrett dial caliper. These must be made by TK for Smith. My 25-2 worked fine with empty cases. Need to get to the range.

 

[WR Moore]

Just a late thought, but if you can't get any clips of the correct thickness, but have one that works as a guide, there is a work around. If there's a local machine shop (or you know someone who works in one who might be able to do a "friend job"), with a surface grinder, it'd be the work of maybe 10 minutes to get those clips down to proper specs. Or at least it will if the clips are made of magnetic steel.

 

[CRT2]

I have located a company, Moon Clip Depot that produces moon clips for the 25-2 that measure .0375 (10 clips measured from two different suppliers). They work in my 25-2 and I've retested the other moon clips and they are too thick.

Timing has been checked as has the cylinder alignment. Guess I'm ready to take the S&W to the range. One day this week.

 

[Hondo44]

Model 25-2 and listed as NIB. Bought moon clips and auto rim ammunition. Loaded moon clips and tried 4 from TK and 2 from Wilson Combat. Cylinder closes with effort and cylinder turns with effort. Tried the auto rim ammunition and the same issue.

Finding clips that will fit is one thing. But originally you posted above that you had the same issue with the 45 Auto Rim. That tells me there is some issue with the gun. Factory Auto Rim shouldn't be a problem. We don't usually see high primers with factory ammo.

Did you pull the cylinder off of the yoke shaft to make sure no one has added a shim washer in the cyl center hole to correct cyl end shake? Not likely if the gun is truly NIB, but you never what you might find. For some reason the cyl headspace is awfully tight on that gun.

 

[CRT2]

At the range and limited time. Target at 5 yards and 12 shots in one hole - and yes the hole was larger than .45. Really impressed with the accuracy of this revolver.

 

[H Richard]

I've used the Ranch product clips in both my 25-2 and a Brazilian model. I have very seldom had any problems. If you stick to all the same brass you won't have any problems.

 

[6string]

There's a very important point that has been overlooked.
-Make sure the chambers are clean! These were originally built as target guns. The chambers were cut so that 45 ACP ammo headspaced off of the casemouth. The moon clips are only for expediency of carrying ammo, loading and unloading. They were not intended for headspacing. This is for target revolvers only!
The downsides are that 1) the chambers must be clean or the case may not fully seat, and 2) your ammo must be match grade. If your brass (reloads) are too long the gun will jam and if too short you may get misfires and bad accuracy.
My suspicion is that as careless customers griped, S&W began to cut chambers a little deeper, and for similar reasons increased cylinder throat diameters. The price for this was accuracy.
My observation is that most 1970s 25-2s don't shoot nearly as well as 1950s era 1950 and 1955 .45 Target models. This is dramatically evident at the 50 yd line.
But, by the 1970s folks were rarely shooting bullseye with revolvers.

Also, besides checking moon clip thickness, try dressing them on a lapping stone or other flat surface. You'll be surprised to see how those "flat" moon clips aren't so true.

 

[Beemer-mark]

I would start by cleaning well under the extractor and mating cylinder seat. You can use a regular or wire toothbrush for that.

Check the ejector rod to make sure it's tight.

These are the 2 most common cylinder open/close problems.

Plus three. I would do this before I even would think about measuring anything. Until S&W changed the thread it was / is very common for the cylinder to unscrew a little and bind the cylinder.