earplug Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I'm considering buying a rough looking 6 inch M-25-2 S&W. I currently use a four inch 625-8. I need to shoot more A's and do it faster. I also compete in local club level Bullseys league. My 625-8 is not half as accurate as my M-14 S&W. Anyone have experience with older M-25-2's? Would like to put a TI cylinder, on it and possibly do a pin on front sight conversion, DA action job, crane ball lock and narrowed trigger and some sort of reblue or plating. I'm hoping a budget of $500-600 does this seem reasonable for gunsmithing cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waltermitty Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I'm considering buying a rough looking 6 inch M-25-2 S&W. I currently use a four inch 625-8. I need to shoot more A's and do it faster. I also compete in local club level Bullseys league. My 625-8 is not half as accurate as my M-14 S&W. Anyone have experience with older M-25-2's? Would like to put a TI cylinder, on it and possibly do a pin on front sight conversion, DA action job, crane ball lock and narrowed trigger and some sort of reblue or plating. I'm hoping a budget of $500-600 does this seem reasonable for gunsmithing cost? If you do all the gunsmithing that should cover the cost of the parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Sahlberg Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 An oder M-25 will be just as accurate as a Mod 10, 14, or 65 in Bullseye if you reduce the load to an acceptable PPC 700 fps like the M-14. The 6" sight radius will help alot, especially if you fit on a good Bullseye / PPC sight like a Bomar Aristocrat. Accuracy comes from lots of practice, a good trigger job, a very clear sight picture, and the correct load. A Ti cylinder, and crane yoke detent will do nothing for this and cost you alot of money. Now this gun is set up for Bullseye and PPC, NOT IPSC / ICORE / or Steel. After shooting this gun in Bullseye, your 4" gun will start grouping better as any good Bullseye/PPC revo shooter should be able to hit 'A' zone shot at 50 yds offhand with no problem. Leave the 6" for your accuracy sports and the 4" for IPSC/IDPA. Practice is what we all need to improve but practicing with a decent gun, very good ammo, and good drills makes anyone improve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Well, the cylinder is, what, $175 or so? I can't remember exactly but it's in that range. An SDM or EGW front sight is going to be about $35. Refinishing the gun can be expensive, but if you shop a little, you should be able to get it professionally reblued for $100, or hard-chromed for $150. Narrowing the trigger and doing the action would ordinarily not require any parts replacement, although it's not uncommon to find 25-2s out of time and in need of a replacement hand. If the gun has been shot a lot, a new cylinder stop and spring would probably make sense. Maybe a few other odds and ends. Labor for everything should run you about $200-250. Earplug, I'd say your budget is right on the money. In the long run, you might be money ahead by waiting until a nicer 25-2 comes along, then you can avoid the refinishing cost, and you would be more likely to avoid labor upcharges caused by problems trying to get a loose action back in order. Also, do not expect miraculous accuracy from any 25-2. They usually shoot OK with jacketed or plated bullets (and usually not with hard cast bullets), but as a general rule I find that 625s are more accurate. Good luck with your project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 A Ti cylinder, and crane yoke detent will do nothing for this and cost you alot of money. I agree with Bill on this. The only real reason to intall a Ti cylinder on a revolver is to solve the problem of peened cylinder notches that some people have experienced with stainless steel 625 cylinders, and that problem has not manifested with the carbon steel 25-2s. Otherwise, the Ti cylinders are not necessarily an advantage. Those crane ball locks don't really do anything either. Back when we were trying to solve the accuracy issues with the 25-2s, I experimented with them quite a bit. I even have one 25-2 with multiple crane ball locks! They never made any discernable difference. One thing you want to avoid is buying a worn 25-2 with a center-pin hole in the frame that has become enlarged and egg-shaped. Fixing this issue is usually not worth the effort. So again, earplug, I would caution you to avoid buying an old beater gun with problems that need fixing--unless you can get it dirt-cheap, there are still nice 25-2s with very little use popping up in the $500-600 range every now and then. I've seen two in the past year that I could have bought for $500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Only good reason to use a titanium cylinder would be that it won't have the way oversize throats the 25-2's are notorious for. You'd really be better off just putting a red dot sight on your 625 and shooting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pskys2 Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Ran across a beautiful 25-2, 6 1/2" with a pinned barrel, no box, no rust and only light marks on the cylinder (though I did notice a bit of peening on the cylinder notches). Timed good and all for $750. Tempted, but hated to start hacking on such a nice gun. And if I have it, it will get hacked. Thought about Bagakis and his snappy looking Revo, thought about what JM and Carmoney use and decided to pass. Probably saved it for a collector somewhere. But, there's just something special about a good "BLUED" S&W Revolver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earplug Posted January 21, 2008 Author Share Posted January 21, 2008 I have been told that the TI cylinder will reduce the DA trigger pull due to less rotating weight. Have also been told that the older broached barrels handle lead better then the new EDM barrels. I suppose a used five inch 625 would be a easier find for a project. The frame is already drilled for a scope mount. Plan A was to shoot lead bullets. But, there's just something special about a good "BLUED" S&W Revolver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I have been told that the TI cylinder will reduce the DA trigger pull due to less rotating weight. I think you would find the difference in measurable trigger pull to be pretty minimal. The Ti cylinder does create a slightly different feel, both in terms of shooting the gun, and in handling reloads. I think it's pretty questionable whether the difference in feel is actually "better." Dan finally installed one in his 625, due to the peening problem, and at Nationals in Sept. he was complaining that the lack of cylinder weight had changed the dynamics of his reload, and not for the better. I still maintain that the Ti cylinders have a tendency to get stickier quickier. A few people have argued that point with me, but I've noticed those same guys tend to sneak away to the safe area to brush their chambers after every few stages. Stock 25-2s are known to be awful with cast lead bullets. The 25-2 my son shoots will intermittently keyhole cast bullets at 15 yards. Yet it shoots just fine with jacketed or plated bullets. I don't know whether it's the cylinders or the barrels that cause that problem. There is a widely-reported problem with the cylinder throats on many specimens of the 25-5 model (.45 Colt version), but I'm not sure if that issue affects the 25-2. So I guess I don't know if the Ti cylinder would improve accuracy with cast bullets. I do know that with the cost of bullets jumping through the roof, I will be shooting more cast lead this year..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sweeney Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 My 25-2 showed a noticeable improvement in accuracy with a Ti cylinder installed. Trigger pull remained the same, until it went to Randy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I've measured the throats on several 25-2's . I think the smallest was .4545", most were .456ish. Way big. I put a Ti cylinder in my 625. I did like the fact that the cyl spins easier while you're pulling the trigger, you can tell a difference, and the gun seems to torque less. You can see it in your sight picture, it's more stable. The lighter your DA pull, the more you notice the effect the decreased cyl weight has. That said, I took it out and put the SS cyl back in because I didn't like the gun being lighter (recoil/muzzle flip). The Ti cyl is going in another 625 that's getting a longer heavier barrel to give back the weight you lose from the cylinder (and longer sight radius). Extraction with the Ti cyl was sticky until I polished the chambers. The coating S&W uses seemed to be creating the problem (or they coated over a lousy finish). The surface finish of the chambers was pretty bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Well, the cylinder is, what, $175 or so? I can't remember exactly but it's in that range. Won't he also have to fit a new ejector star with it? last time I did that, it was a ton of time labor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Well, the cylinder is, what, $175 or so? I can't remember exactly but it's in that range. Won't he also have to fit a new ejector star with it? last time I did that, it was a ton of time labor. Yeah, I think the guys who are putting the Ti cylinders into 625s are just swapping in the original extractor star, but that wouldn't work with one of the older guns. I did factor that into the labor estimate--I figure $150 is reasonable for a competition action job, including a chamfer and trigger contour, so that leaves the other $50-100 for miscellaneous stuff. I'm not sure how long it would take to completely refit an extractor star--maybe I didn't allow enough extra labor for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waltermitty Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Well, the cylinder is, what, $175 or so? I can't remember exactly but it's in that range. An SDM or EGW front sight is going to be about $35. Refinishing the gun can be expensive, but if you shop a little, you should be able to get it professionally reblued for $100, or hard-chromed for $150. Narrowing the trigger and doing the action would ordinarily not require any parts replacement, although it's not uncommon to find 25-2s out of time and in need of a replacement hand. If the gun has been shot a lot, a new cylinder stop and spring would probably make sense. Maybe a few other odds and ends. Labor for everything should run you about $200-250.Earplug, I'd say your budget is right on the money. In the long run, you might be money ahead by waiting until a nicer 25-2 comes along, then you can avoid the refinishing cost, and you would be more likely to avoid labor upcharges caused by problems trying to get a loose action back in order. Also, do not expect miraculous accuracy from any 25-2. They usually shoot OK with jacketed or plated bullets (and usually not with hard cast bullets), but as a general rule I find that 625s are more accurate. Good luck with your project. Earplug, If I were you I'd print this out as a quote and get a "Ship to:" and an "FFL#" from Mike and get that puppy in the mail... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkelso Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 I just had a new Ti cylinder installed on my 5in 625. It was 145.00 and 50.00 to have it timed. I haven't shot it yet but the pull feels nice. And it came chamfered, with the star. I like the way the weight is now more out front. I'll probably hit the range tomorrow. Kelso Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now