I've replaced 2 barrels on M-15s. First one was a 5 screw I bought at a gunshow. Price was right and I was collecting 5 screw revolvers. First cylinder full I got 4 rounds down range before the throat cracked and the gun froze up. I picked up a used barrel at a local gunshop that had a gunsmith and lots of used parts $25.00 ( a long time ago). The second was last year a different gunsmith shop where I hang out had a gentleman come in with a M-15 with a piece of throat blown out. I returned to the first gunshop and picked up another barrel, still $25.00. It was an easy fix. No, I'm not going to tell you where I got my parts, I may need more later.
I've heard of m-19 throats cracking but haven't run in to one yet.
SWCA 892
Very interesting your experience of forcing cone cracks on M15's, especially the older five screw pistols. Anyone who knows about WW2 era foundry technology knows the steels of the era had a lot of slag, inclusions, and non homogeneity, compared to late 20th century steels. Assuming the steels were made in modern furnaces. I find it interesting, the country of the Philippines banned induction furnaces this century, about 90% of the rebar produced in the Philippines was produced in induction furnaces, and due to the process, were substandard. No doubt all sorts of structural collapses were occurring for the National Government to ban the things. The Philippines purchased these furnaces from China, the country of which had banned them precisely for the same reasons the Philippines were banning them. Clever Chinese businessmen sold Filipinos Chinese induction furnaces cheap, and the Filipino public suffered the cost. Induction furnaces would have been state of the art after WW1, and through the 1960's. And yet, due to the worship of old things, old steel is believed to be better than new!
Phillip Hemphill, a 2 times Bullseye National Champ and 15 times PPC champ, at one Bullseye match he told me of a K frame S&W he used that the forcing cone cracked. Phillip shot an ungodly number or rounds every week. He also competed in many matches. He said the forcing cone cracked with rounds that made "major". Some matches required major rounds and K frames were not holding up. This lead to the introduction of the L frame revolvers which has less forcing cone exposed, and a heavier frame and cylinder.
Phillip did shoot 500,000 rounds of light loads through a K frame. The PPC shooters used just enough gunpowder to keep the bullet stable at 50 yards, course had strong hand and weak hand sequences, there was no need to shoot hot loads with one hand, or even two hands, since everything was against the clock. On high mileage K frames extractor stars wore, (no doubt cylinder hands and stops too) the pistol(s) got out of time. He said a firing pin broke. Either a gunsmith or S&W refurbished his K frames and he was back out shooting them. I will bet, S&W fixed his guns for free, as Phillip was well known enough that he received free ammunition from ammunition companies. I am sure he replaced mainsprings and other springs along the way.
He did say he saw only one shooter who used a Colt. Colts went out of time faster than the S&W pistols. But shooters did use Colt barrels on their S&W pistols because Colt barrels were tighter, and more accurate. Colt barrels tend to measure 0.355" compared to 0.357" for S&W.
