Model 10-8 Cylinder gap

[hatchet jack]

My mother gave me her HB model 10-8 she carried while she worked at the Sheriffs dept for 18 years. My uncle, a Ft Worth cop bought the gun new and gave it to her to use.

So I'm really happy to be the new owner of this gun. Its also factory nickle plated. But while looking at it I noticed it seemed to have a larger than normal barrel/cylinder gap. So I got out the fan and started inserting gauges and that I could insert a .015 gauge. That should be .006 too wide to be in spec. It seems to have zero end shake.

I haven't shot the gun yet. I have only had it a few months. She had to shoot it in qualifications and the gun works fine. I'm just anal when something is out of spec.

Should I have this repaired and if so by who? I would prefer to send it back to S&W and let them do the work. Any idea on what the cost might be? I suspect the only way to correct this is to set the barrel back a turn the recut the back of the barrel. Any wild guesses about what this might cost from a local GS? Any suggestions for S&W trained gunsmiths in the Ft Worth Tx area?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[alwslate]

At .015 gap I doubt it came from the factory like that. Some bubba decided to use a file on the rear of the barrel to avoid any binding due to fouling I would guess. Sad. Good luck.

 

[robertrwalsh]

I just had a forcing cone recut that cost me $50 but did NOT involve setting the barrel back. In my case the b/c gap was too tight to begin with. I agree with alwslate, that seems to be a seriously excessive gap to have passed quality control to begin with (but stranger things have happened).

 

[Hapworth]

That's too much gap, indeed.

Suggest you do not send it to the factory; except for warranty fixes on newly bought S&Ws, I wouldn't send them anything, especially not the older revolvers.

Don't know any true revolversmiths in the FW area, but if you want to stay in Texas, Ten Ring Precision in San Antonio has a fine reputation.

 

[minconrevo]

Put some fired cases in the cylinders and try your gap gauges again.

 

[chief38]

My personal optimal BCG is .004 - .006" and .015 is way over the top for me. I'd bet you would get spitting if lead bullets were used and velocity loss has to be more than usual. It is something I'd definitely address.

 

[stansdds]

0.015" barrel-cylinder gap is excessive. 0.006" is considered ideal, but S&W's current standards indicate 0.010" as maximum. I guess it's possible that this revolver fell out of the factory with an excessive gap. It's also possible that someone filed the barrel extension to create a larger gap, perhaps thinking this would improve reliability when shooting soft lead bullets. Another possibility is that the revolver did develop significant end shake and shims were placed inside the cylinder, which would push the cylinder away from the barrel.

 

[cndrdk]

Any suggestions for S&W trained gunsmiths in the Ft Worth Tx area?
Thanks in advance for any help.

Henry Grimes Gunsmithing in N. Richland Hills, TX is good. Might give him call.

 

[Nick B]

At .015 gap I doubt it came from the factory like that. Some bubba decided to use a file on the rear of the barrel to avoid any binding due to fouling I would guess. Sad. Good luck.

It most likely did come from the factory like that . My LGS got in a new Performance Center 629 and the counter guy let me check the gap because I could see it was excessive. I stopped measuring at .014 . Could of easily gone a few thousand more .

 

[alwslate]

Well then the new Performance Center name should be Poor Performance Center.

 

[Piwo]

I bought a brand new model 49 in 1990 as an off duty piece. Never even thought to check the b/c gap. Qualified with it. Noticed one day that the b/c gap seemed excessive. Measured it at .018! From the factory! Sent it back and they fixed it...now its .011! Still have it, shoots great. Puts out a lot of blast when you fire it, though. Stopped carrying it awhile ago and moved on to other guns.