N frame porn.

[gringop]

Forgot the pics of the 1917. I'm sure those stocks came off the 25-5, I've got the originals around here somewhere along with the lanyard ring.




And this is how you get a San Antonio gunshow $150 Brazilian re-import 1917 to shoot dead center of pins.




Gringop

[mikey357]

1950 Target, pre-Model 26 .45 ACP

I've long thought the pre-Model 26 is perhaps the most elegant of all the post--WWII N-Frames--Always wanted to chop one back to 5", but never got up the NERVE to do so, not even with a well-worn ''Shooter Grade" gun I had 10 or 15 years ago.
One of the oddities I have in my lil' stash of parts is a Factory Nickel Four-inch Barrel off a pre-Model 26--Now to find an AFFORDABLE shooter-grade gun that won't need a buncha' 'smithing to make it right...

[Exiledviking]

1950 Target, pre-Model 26 .45 ACP

Wow, that is a beautiful revolver! I wish I could hit the Like button at least 5 times for this revolver. Makes me want to throw caution to the wind and order a current production S&W model 25.
I'll have to take a better picture of my 25-5 before posting it here in light of those 2 pictures above.

[jtcarm]

I've long thought the pre-Model 26 is perhaps the most elegant of all the post--WWII N-Frames--Always wanted to chop one back to 5", but never got up the NERVE to do so, not even with a well-worn ''Shooter Grade" gun I had 10 or 15 years ago.
One of the oddities I have in my lil' stash of parts is a Factory Nickel Four-inch Barrel off a pre-Model 26--Now to find an AFFORDABLE shooter-grade gun that won't need a buncha' 'smithing to make it right...

Donor .45 ACP target revolvers are hard to come by.

Besides not being as common as duty & field guns, you don’t get the holster wear, and their target-shooting owners took good care of them.

Best hope would be a former pin gun, or one Bubba inherited from his Uncle Joe.

If I had the barrel, I’d give some serious thought to using a donor Model 28, then get it re-barreled & re-chambered by a really good revolver smith (who are getting scarce.)

That also has the advantage of properly-sized chamber throats. IDK about the Model 26 & it’s predecessors, but Model 25s are notorious for their cavern-sized throats (I think the 25-5 is when they finally fixed it). My 25-2 measures .455 on some some of the chambers.

[Half Moon]

Donor .45 ACP target revolvers are hard to come by.

Besides not being as common as duty & field guns, you don’t get the holster wear, and their target-shooting owners took good care of them.

Best hope would be a former pin gun, or one Bubba inherited from his Uncle Joe.

If I had the barrel, I’d give some serious thought to using a donor Model 28, then get it re-barreled & re-chambered by a really good revolver smith (who are getting scarce.)

That also has the advantage of properly-sized chamber throats. IDK about the Model 26 & it’s predecessors, but Model 25s are notorious for their cavern-sized throats (I think the 25-5 is when they finally fixed it). My 25-2 measures .455 on some some of the chambers.

My recollection is the 1955 Targets (Model 25) got deeper rifling (along with other things) to better handle cast bullets than the 1950 Targets (Model 26). Chamber throats remained oversized on either though. Don't know if this changed in later production years.

[jtcarm]

My recollection is the 1955 Targets (Model 25) got deeper rifling (along with other things) to better handle cast bullets than the 1950 Targets (Model 26). Chamber throats remained oversized on either though. Don't know if this changed in later production years.

I’m pretty sure the 25-2 got the shallow rifling designed for hardball.

Mine has six grooves, unlike the standard 5 on S&Ws. Maybe the extra groove was to compensate for the shallow rifling.

The groove diameter on mine is a tight .4515.

Makes no sense. They made a barrel specifically for hardball and pair it with big chamber throats. Jacketed bullets generally like tight throats.

Maybe they re-used the same tooling from the 1917 Army.

[Dave T]

I shot a M25-2 in practical pistol matches for a couple of years. My solution to the cylinder throat problem was to use cast bullets sized to .454". They shot as good as I could (probably better from a rest) and I could hit anything I shot at if my trigger control was working.

The one I have now, a custom blue steel "mountain gun", is a M25-2 with a M1950 barrel cut down to 4". It digests Berry's plated bullets with out a glitch and again, shoot as well as I can. YMMV!

Dave

[jtcarm]

I shot a M25-2 in practical pistol matches for a couple of years. My solution to the cylinder throat problem was to use cast bullets sized to .454". They shot as good as I could (probably better from a rest) and I could hit anything I shot at if my trigger control was working.

The one I have now, a custom blue steel "mountain gun", is a M25-2 with a M1950 barrel cut down to 4". It digests Berry's plated bullets with out a glitch and again, shoot as well as I can. YMMV!

Dave

Ooh!

Pictures, please?

[Rock185]

I'm another long time N-Frame fan, and have had multiple 27s, 29s, 57s and one 28 over the years. Only managed to hang onto one of them though, a 5" 27-2 I bought new back in the '70s.

[okie john]

I'm another long time N-Frame fan, and have had multiple 27s, 29s, 57s and one 28 over the years. Only managed to hang onto one of them though, a 5" 27-2 I bought new back in the '70s.

If you're only going to hang on to one, that's a pretty solid choice.


Okie John