'New' Performance Center 25-10 with canted barrel.

[Allen-frame]

Well, I guess it happens to most of us at one time or another.

I received my model 25-10 from the seller off Gun broker and the barrel is
overtightened a few degrees.

I don't know if you can see it in this photograph, but it is to such a degree
that the ball detent lock on the front of the yoke will not engage the
notch in the lower part of the ejector rod shroud.

I now have 3 of these guns and the other two are fine.
So, I called customer service and they are e mailing me a shipping label.

Here is my own twist to this story;

When I send it back I am going to ask if the P.C. gunsmith that works
on it will simply remove the barrel and replace it with a 4 inch
tapered barrel from the last production run of the 25-13 mountain gun.

So I would end up with a blue, no lock, Performance Center Mountain gun
chambered in 45 Colt.

Imagine this gun with a 4" barrel with a ramp front sight.

I am waiting to see if the barrel is still available.

I will update this thread as the situation develops.


Regards
Allen Frame

 

[Allen-frame]

I have an update to this thread.

I sent my Performance Center model 25-10 in for warranty repair.
The barrel was indeed overtightened and the front sight is off-center.

The P.C. gunsmith has replied that sometimes in removing crush fit
barrels that frames crack where the barrel screws in.
He has applied some penetrating oil at the joint where the barrel meets the frame
and is waiting until after the end of the year to take action.

There are no more frames available for replacement of any pre lock guns.
The management deemed it more cost effective to just offer a new gun
instead of repairing an old one with a new frame.
And all old stock replacement frames were destroyed in a inventory
purge a few years back.
I will not divulge my source for this information but trust me it is 100% reliable.

If my 2001 Heritage gun is broken in the process of repairing it
I will simply be offered a new gun as a replacement.

Mind you, this gun has never been fired, and is new old stock bought from an auction for $1100. plus shipping.

I wait patiently to hear what the gunsmith has to say,.

I have all but stopped the barrel change to create the Mountain gun.

If I just get my P.C. 25 back in good working order I will be happy.

No more projects sent to Smith for modification. Just too risky these days.

Allen Frame

 

[scooter123]

Allen, if my recent experience with my 2011 625 JM is any indication these barrels aren't really "crush fit", just tighted down very tight. My guess is that they are installed in the range of 50-75 foot lbs. When I re-installed my barrel after crowning it the threads ran in completely free until about 20-30 degrees short of aligning with the frame and I needed the help of an 18 inch pipe on the frame wrench to creep it into perfect alignment. That isn't the typical behavior of an interference fit thread, normally they start dragging well before the point where they are fully tightened. However, since S&W has a long history of tweaking their processes I'll concede that it's possible the barrel on your 25 was an interference fit but find it doubtful.

BTW, I also discovered why these cocked barrels seem to be so much of a problem. The issue that arises is the difference between the Static and Kinetic coefficient of Friction. Let that barrel stop during the installation and the torque required to get it moving again goes up a lot. As a result, you have to keep the frame moving while trying to bring it into perfect alignment and with the amount of torque required that isn't at all easy. Even with that cheater pipe it wasn't easy and I have a lot more respect for anyone doing this all day long.

I also think that he may have been feeding you a bit of a line about his concerns over the frame cracking. The steels used on these revolvers is extremely tough and not very likely to crack, however bending the frame is a risk. Most likely he didn't want to tell you that S&W would be closed for the Holidays and didn't want to spark an argument. Of course with zero spare frames on hand it's nice to see that he's taking measures to insure that your frame will not be either bent or cracked. After a long soak with pentrating oil I think it's a pretty sure bet you'll get your 25 back without any issues. As for not sending any guns in for future work, who would you rather have working on your gun, a gunsmith who shows care and concern for the potental for damage or a gunsmith who say "no worries" and slaps it into a vice without thought? Personally, I'd rather have a gunsmith who worries about the potential for damage and takes steps to minimise the risk.

 

[18DAI]

Its sad that one has to be concerned about sending a revolver to S&W for warranty work because they no longer make one as nice to replace it with. Regards 18DAI

 

[GF]

"And all old stock replacement frames were destroyed in a inventory
purge a few years back."

Well... that makes perfect sense. (?)

I'm getting ready to send a 27-2 back for repairs and I hope the process goes well as far as S&W still having parts to fix a 30 year old revolver.

Good luck on this project Allen.

GF

 

[Allen-frame]

Scooter , point well made. I am just dreading the day when something goes wrong
and I am offered a modern gun as a replacement for an older model,
if you know what I mean.

This really begs the question for me, How did this gun leave the
Performance Center in the first place with the barrel so obviously overtightened?

Thanks
Allen Frame

 

[Engine49guy]

If the frame is damaged perhaps S&W could pull an N frame from the line before its drilled for the internal lock ,
And maybe with all the PC resources they could drill and install some sort of set pin to align the barrel perfectly and keep it that way ...

A pinned barrel and no IL....Hmmm ...I would buy a gun like that !
CRAZY!

 

[scooter123]

The P&R revolvers also had their share of cockeyed barrels. In addition as I found out with my 625 JM there is an actual need to have the barrel a bit over tightened, otherwise you'll find you have to shift the rear sight well right to get it zeroed.