Just ordered a model 57, am hoping the cylinder throats were cut with a serviceable tool. Interested to know what is the consensus on S&W's quality control on their current N frame guns and, in particular, the cylinder throats/bore dimensions. Thx in advance . . .
That is like asking us to look into a crystal ball and predicting the outcome. I carried a model 57 for years as a deputy and the older guns were very good on proper sized cylinder throats. As for the ones today would be a big guess on my part. I am afraid you will have to wait until you have the gun and slugged the throats and barrel. If you end up with tight throats, get ahold of Doug Guy on this forum for a reasonable priced throat reaming.
For perfect cylinder throats I send my cylinders to the experts at Bowen Classic Arms.Originally Posted by knifemaker
It's your money. Doug doesn't ream, but uses a Sunnen hone which produces a rounder hole, true to size and with a better surface finish.
Bowen reams, and depending upon the heat treatment of the factory cylinder, you may or may not get truly round holes.
The Sunnen hone does a better job.
The ENEMY is listening.
HE wants to know what YOU know.
Keep it to yourself.
Man!! thats some good info right there. Never knew of that before.
Regards
Art
I purchased a new 57 classic a while back and it has been great. I did not like the crown so I recut it with a brownells tool but that was just me being picky. It was ok as is. Mine will do less than 2 inches at 25 yards off a rest with the right loads. Sometimes much less. One member had a bad experience with one on this forum but mine is better put together than a number of my 1970s and 1980s smith revolvers. I would not do any throat modifications until I shot it a good bit off a bench or ransom rest. A lot of the”older is better” attitude is nostalgia. I have a lot of older Smith revolvers that have various quality control issues and are not as accurate as newer ones . I think for a shooter, not a collector, you have a real good chance of being happy.
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I bought a model 57 last January. I have shot a little over 500 rounds so far and can say it will shoot less then 2" groups at 25 yards using a bench rest. It is more accurate then me. So far I'm very happy with the fit, finish and accuracy of this revolver. As with any production gun it is only as good as the quality control that inspected it before it was shipped. I wish you the very best with your new gun and hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine. Please let us know how you make out.
From what I have seen on the new S&W revolvers the cylinder throats will "likely" be spot on the bore size. My 2 44's were a tight .429 with a couple cylinders that flat out would not accept a .429 pin guage. They left leading in the forcing cone until I reamed them to .431 and size the boolits accordingly. Better accuracy and no leading at all now. If your .41 comes with tight cylinders, size the boolits to the cylinder and shoot it before you do anything to it. You never know how it will react and you can always ream if too small. The factory builds revolvers around the use of factory ammo with that "copper condom" around the lead. Meyer guage co sell individual pin guages and they are very reasonable. If you are a revolver hound, they are invaluable. As far as the rest of the guns go, mine have worked flawlessly. A lot of people don't care for the EDM rifling on the newer guns but the 2 newer ones I have are accurate and handle cast boolits without a hitch. Good luck with yours.
IT AINT what ya shoot--its how ya shoot it. NONE of us are as smart as ALL of us!
I'm sure somebody, had a friend that knew a guy, that had a bad experience with S&W. But in the 60 years I've owned them, I've never shot a S&W I didn't like. I recently shot a brand new model 629 and I don't like the new hammer, Hillary hole and two piece barrel. But this revolver had a really tight lock-up, great trigger and shot great right out of the box. Relax and enjoy your new revolver, it's good as it gets....
We had a member here that had a very bad experience with a recent M57, but I think that’s far the exception.
I’ve had excellent results with smiths except my newer 586 which had to go back for light primer strikes. They fixed it and it’s been rock steady ever since. The 41 and the N frame go together like peas and carrots.
Does the new 629 have a 2 piece barrel?
IT AINT what ya shoot--its how ya shoot it. NONE of us are as smart as ALL of us!
Regular 629 does not but model 69 l frame does. There may a performance model that does but I am not sure .
My Model 57 was bought in the late 70's and shot 3/4 to 1 inch groups at 25 yards sitting shooting across my knees but I was getting a lot of trigger time back then.
Having been down both roads, I prefer Bowen!
Picked up my model 57 yesterday, loaded some 220 gr gas checked bullets in front of 5 hrs of Titegroup. Cleaned barrel, discovered the the barrel has rust in it. Calling S&W Monday a.m.
* * * UPDATE * * * UPDATE * * * UPDATE * * *
Got my 57 back from S&W, all issues resolved! Great shooter with 4.7 gr of Titegroup behind a gas checked, 215 gr SWC sized to.410 and lubed with LBT bullet lube.
Last edited by silhouette_shooter; 10-01-2019 at 11:24 PM.
Oh boy do I know that feeling. You won't be able to call them Monday, and I bet Tuesday will be busy as heck. I went through two model 57's last year with defects. Hold times are long, as they are flooded with calls with all the junk they are putting out recently. The first time I had to put the phone down and wait over an hour on hold. Make sure you get a name and phone number of someone you can call, you do not want to be on hold again.
Chances are slim they will fix it for you. If it goes bang safely, it is "in spec". Is there any chance you bought through gallery of guns? In my case it took 4 months of back and forth with a Paul Remore and each time a return letter stating the gun was working fine. Eventually he wouldn't answer or return my calls. I luckily bought through gallery of guns which has a no-questions return policy. When my second model 57 turned out to be junk, I exchanged it again, and immediately sold the third without ever shooting it.
My advice is to try and return it to wherever you bought it if possible. If not, I wish you luck.
The quality issues with these new S&W's are not exceptions, they are producing junk.
Can you post a picture? Probably hard to get a picture. Where is the rust? Just light surface rust or deep pitting? How did it group?
Thanks
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Maybe I had a bad barrel on the Redhawk . . . Doug did my cylinder . . . Gun shot worse. Of the three cylinders I sent to Bowen, all three guns shot better.
I bought a 58 when 41mg first came out. It was one of most accurate fixed sight guns I've ever owned. The ammo at the time was Peters 210gr and it printed with the sights. I got rid of it to get a 57 and shot it a good bit with 200gr cast/GC SWC. Still have it a 6" and another two in 8 3/8" nickle. Shoot them very little. I fact I have just about quit shooting 357, 41 & 44mg. The last 10yrs I've been into 38sp, 44sp, 45acp and 45Colt revolvers all with target loaded WCs. I know guys with newer S&W 41mgs that swear by them and know of nobody with complaints. I've owned a few that I got on trades but have no experience in shooting them. I'm not sure if I ever shot one unless it was just to test function. The only PIA I've had with 41mag was with 4 5/8" Ruger BHs. When they came out I went through three new ones that wouldn't sight in for elevation because their wasn't enough adj in sights unless you wanted 75-100yd zero. At that point I gave up. Haven't had this type problem with S&Ws of any model.
Didn't shoot it. Corrosion visible in grooves, sent it back yesterday, the thing that was really strange was the amount of powder fouling I got out of the barrel. I went back and forth with a wet patch, (Kroil), and a 45 cal bore brush. First 3 or 4 patches came out midnight black. Really made me wonder. Never have seen that kind of fouling on a new gun. Gun was shipped from RSR. I sent them an e-mail about the gun over the weekend but so far no reply from them. Included a letter with the 57 asking for a different gun. The cylinder throats are oversize, a .410 Hornady bullet will drop through all 6 throats but not a .411 bullet. My super accurate Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter has throats that are .410 and will shoot into an inch at 50 yards. It's scoped, cast bullets from a Accurate Molds mold. Titegroup.
* * * UPDATE * * * UPDATE * * * UPDATE * * *
Got my 57 back from S&W, all issues resolved. Great shooter! 4.7 gr Titegroup behind a gas checked, 215 gr SWC sized to .410 and lubed with LBT bullet lube.
Last edited by silhouette_shooter; 10-01-2019 at 11:27 PM.
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